Cook Islands Chiefs call for dissolution of government.
Updated
A group of nobles in the Cook Islands is attempting to have the country's government dissolved. Last week the House of Ariki, proclaimed it wanted control of all land in the country and with it control of the leadership of the government. The proclamation followed two months of meetings and negotiations between the House of Ariki and a self proclaimed Maori Sovereignty campaigner. And while land control is the publicy stated reason for the statement, the move has also been linked to the untapped underwater magnesium resources within the Cook Islands economic zone.
Presenter; Campbell Cooney
Speakers: Sir Terepai Maoate, Deputy Prime Minister Cook Islands; Ulamilla Wrag, Raratonga based journalist; Bruce Mita, Maori Sovereignty campaigner
COONEY: Last Thursday in the Cook Islands eight of the 15 Chiefs from the House of Ariki, the body made up of nobles appointed in 1966 to advise the government, delivered this proclamation recorded by Cook Islands television.
PROCLAMATION IN MAORI
COONEY: Speaking in Maori the House of Ariki was proclaiming it had dissolved the leadership of the Prime Minister and his government. Local journalist Ulamilla Wrag was also there.
WRAG: This gist of it is that they're wanting all their lands back or in other words they want the country reverted to customary law and what they meant by customary law, they meant they wanted control of all their land as well, that includes lands where government offices are located.
COONEY: While the members of the House of Ariki say the proclamation was made to return them to the position in society they expect they should hold, Ulamilla Wrag says it appears the worst kept secret in the Cooks is that this move has more to do with getting control of offshore mineral deposits.
WRAG: A couple of months ago there was a New Zealand Maori gentleman by the name of Bruce Mita who had been consulting with some so-called spokesperson of the House of Ariki telling them that they need to put together a declaration or a proclamation regarding the offshore manganese resources that we have on our sea beds here in the Cook Islands.
COONEY: Various media outlets have described Bruce Mita as a New Zealand Maori sovereignty campaigner and a former director of a funeral home in Sydney. An on-line search found a Bruce Mita named as Director of Mitacare Group 3FM based in Sydney Australia and a provider of funeral services. Of the two phone numbers we could locate for the business one was disconnected, the other was for a totally unrelated business. A further search of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission database found that Mitacare Group 3FM was wound up in 2006. We also made inquiries to New Zealand media outlets about his role as a sovereignty campaigner, with most responding that he was unknown to them.
Our efforts to contact him then have proved unsuccessful, and he was just as unenthusiastic about talking to Cook Islands Television.
BRUCE: You're not listening to what I say, I said no comment.
COONEY: The deputy prime minister of the Cook Islands Sir Terepai Maoate told local reporters he firmly believes last week's move has more to do with mineral wealth than sovereignty.
MAOATE: I think there's an element of greed here, that they see this mineral deposits down there as something they can become the administrators of and they think it is a big thing coming to fruition.
COONEY: With that in mind he says the Cook Islands government has ordered an investigation.
MAOATE: We are waiting for an investigation by the police, they'll be looking and listening to the tape and they'll be looking at the proclamation statement in a written form, and they will be reporting to Cabinet as soon as they can.
COONEY: But the move by the House of Ariki seems to have garnered little support from the public. Cook Islands TV recorded these responses to the proclamation on the day it was made and later in the streets of Raratonga.
TV VOX POPS: "The Cook Islands belong to us the people, not to you anymore. Do you honestly think we're going to give it back to you? Now in the past you've all behaved like tyrants, now do you honestly believe that we're going to follow you? You don't lead our country, we the people decided where we're going to go."
"They should have spoken to their people first and then see what the people think."
"Very disappointed with what they've done. I don't think, I believe that I don't think they're serving their people. I'm embarrassed to be known as a Cook Islander as I watched that on TV last night."
