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The Vanuatu Government says it will not accept the appointment of Fijian diplomat, Amena Yauvoli as Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
At the same time the Council of Ministers has instructed the Government to support United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s full membership of the MSG.
The Minutes of the Council of Ministers (CoM) decision No 57 of 2016 that was released by the government’s public relations officer, Hilaire Bule, was clear on the position taken by the CoM.
The Minutes also carried the decision of the CoM that encouraged Vanuatu’s candidate for the MSG Director General’s position and any other candidate to seek judicial review over the appointment.
The CoM decision also clearly affirms Vanuatu’s earlier position that the appointment of Mr Yauvoli was not done properly and certain provisions of the MSG guidelines may have been breached.
The staunch decision came only days after the chairman of the MSG, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare warned against any misleading statements from MSG members.
According to Mr Sogavare, the process that was highlighted in Article 15 of the MSG Agreement is misleading, confusing and simply out of place.
“The process mentioned in the article can only apply to normal recruitment process of the DG when his contract comes to an end naturally. In addition, only part of the recruitment process was published and therefore did not give a clear picture of the process. The complete process of the recruitment of the DG commences six (6) months prior to the expiration of incumbent DG contract which cannot be applied when the incumbent DG suddenly resigned in short notice. Appropriate legal advice was sought from the Secretariat on the authority of the MSG Chair to appoint the DG”, said the MSG chair.
“The option available to the MSG Chair is to exercise his authority to fill the position immediately as required under the MSG Agreement. This is due to the urgency of the matter and the need for the Secretariat to function effectively. Article 8 (8) allows the MSG Chair to make decisions on behalf of MSG on issues of urgency after consultations with his colleague Leaders”, said Mr Sogavare.
From commentaries carried on Vanuatu’s position, it appears the Vanuatu prime minister, after consultations with his government officials with the frontline knowledge of consultations on the position of MSG secretariat was convinced that process for the appointment was made in haste prior to the MSG heads of government meeting in Port Vila next month.
Ambassador Yauvoli was reported to have arrived in Port Vila last week on tourist visa. No further details were made available on the visit as Foreign Affairs officials were not officially advised of the visit.
In addition to its hard-hitting position, the Vanuatu Council of Ministers has also instructed the government to give its full support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s full membership at the MSG. It instructed the government to ensure ULMWP’s application for full membership be on the agenda for next month’s meeting of the MSG leaders’ summit in Port Vila.
The Vanuatu Government’s position falls in line with the Port Vila-based Free West Papua Movement to strongly support West Papua’s full membership at the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
The Vanuatu CoM also agreed for Vanuatu to take a tough line against Indonesia by removing it as associate member of the MSG.
The MSG leaders’ summit takes place on 6 May 2016 in Port Vila.
The controversy over the appointment of the MSG Secretary General came a few weeks after an Indonesian ministerial visit to Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Prior to the ministerial visit, there was a separate Indonesian officials’ visit to Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. The visiting officials to Vanuatu and Solomon Islands consisted of Indonesia’s top military personnel and researchers under the Ministry of Politics, Military, Security and Justice.
In Vanuatu, the visiting Indonesian officials claimed they were an advance team to prepare for an Indonesian ministerial visit that is yet to eventuate.
An observer close to West Papua, who has asked for anonymity commented that the visit of the Indonesian officials may have sensed the consistency in Vanuatu’s support for ULMWP for independence and for it to gain full membership with the MSG.
Pic courtesy SIG - MSG Director General Amena Yauvoli (L) with MSG Chair and SI PM, Manasseh Sogavare