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PEOPLE’S COALITION GOVERNMENT, FIJI Suva, Fiji Islands Website: http://www.pcgov.org.fj 

NEWS RELEASE February 6, 2001

CALLS FOR RESPECT FOR LAW IN FIJI

The United Stated government has called for respect for law in Fiji.

A Fiji Sun article today quoted the U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Osman Siddique, expressing concern at the lack of progress in the investigations into the terrorist activities of May 19 and after.

Siddique also stated that numerous important investment projects are on hold because no one wants to invest in a place that does not respect law or is not stable.

The Sun quoted Siddique as also saying: "Tourists will not come to places if they feel threatened or fear political instability."

The U.S. has maintained its position since 19 May that the country must return to a democratic government. A major U.S. investment in recent years, the Cost-U-Less chain, has already...

SOUTH PACIFIC REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (SPREP) Apia, Samoa

NEWS RELEASE January 31, 2001

Spreading a positive environmental message around the Pacific took another step forward with the recent signing of a building contract involving the Japanese and Samoan governments, and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

The contract is for the construction of a fully furnished Training and Education Centre at SPREPs recently opened headquarters at Vailima.

Once it is up and running, SPREP Director Mr. Tamarii Tutangata says the benefits to Pacific island people will be far reaching.

Due for completion in January 2002, the Centre will provide education and training on environmental management and conservation, plus multimedia facilities for environmental journalism and reporting for its 26 member countries.

A Japanese technical expert will assist in the setting up of the new facility and to assist with the technical...

THINK - AND ACT

By Giff Johnson

Pacific Magazine with Islands Business February 2001

When Charleon Falau auditioned for a theater group in Vanuatu in the late 1980s, he had little idea that the actors would emerge at the forefront of many controversial political and social issues - not just in Vanuatu, but in countries throughout the Pacific region.

Vanuatu’s Wan Smolbag theater company started out with a health thrust in the late 1980s. In the early days, it gained popularity with plays targeting the spread of HIV/AIDS. The skit, "Like Any Other Lovers", was so well received that the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) funded its production as a video that was widely disseminated in the Pacific. In recent years, Wan Smolbag (WSB) has expanded its horizons, tackling child and spouse abuse, sexual health of young people, prevention of TB and malaria, fisheries and forestry awareness, conflicts between village and urban life, and good government...

By La Poasa

PAGO PAGO (February 5, 2001 - Samoa News/PINA Nius Online)---With a newly-issued business license in hand, the Tonga Corporation is moving forward with plans to market fresh produce and Tongan-made goods in American Samoa.

The company is wholly owned and financed by the Kingdom of Tonga, which has also set up a similar sales outlet in Hawai‘i.

Tonga Corporation marketing officer Peniamina Paea told Samoa News that that the company plans to construct a warehouse in Tafuna in June that will most likely open in late September or early October.

Paea said the company has renewed a permit from the Department of Agriculture allowing it to import such produce as taro, watermelons, yams, other vegetables, coconuts and pineapples and handicrafts from Samoa, the United States and Tonga.

The imported produce can be exported later to other countries too, according to the marketing officer.

The Tonga Corporation is also looking at importing...