PACIFIC BRIEFS 8/2/2017

FUGITIVE US SAILOR TO BE EXTRADITED TONGA – The federal court in Honolulu has allowed the extradition of an American man wanted for the murder of his wife in Tonga.

Dean Jay Fletcher escaped from Tongan police in September and sailed to American Samoa where he was arrested and charged for entering the US territory illegally. The US Department of Justice had requested his extradition after he was turned over to US Marshal Service agents in Pago Pago and taken to Honolulu. US Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield concluded that Fletcher is extraditable for each offence for which extradition was requested. The Tongan government has charged Fletcher with murder, manslaughter, and inflicting grievous bodily harm on his wife Patricia Linne Kearney. Under federal government law, the US Secretary of State makes the final decision to extradite Fletcher, who remains in the custody of the US Marshal Service in Honolulu.

Big shift afoot in nuclear compo law

French Polynesia – The French joint law commission has decided to remove the term ‘negligible risk’ from the nuclear compensation law in what is seen as a breakthrough for French Polynesia’s test victims. The unanimous decision is now to go to the National Assembly and the Senate for approval as Paris is to make good on its promise to loosen the law. The compensation law, drawn up by Herve Morin when he was the defence minister in 2009, has been widely criticised for being too restrictive because almost all claims have been thrown out. A month ago, two French lawmakers urged the social affairs minister Marisol Touraine to amend the decree on compensation to ensure that unsuccessful claimants can resubmit their files. One of the MPs Jean-Patrick Gille said veterans would find it incomprehensible if the earlier rejection of their compensation bids were to be final.

Call to bring refugees to Australia

AUSTRALIA – Australia’s Human Rights Law Centre is joining calls for all refugees and asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island and Nauru to be evacuated immediately and brought to Australia. A protest march took place in Sydney, Australia on Saturday to protest against the treatment of the refugees by Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the US President, Donald Trump. More than 60 refugee support groups have signed an “Open Statement” calling for both major parties to form a bipartisan commitment to evacuate the camps and bring people to safety. The centre’s director of legal advocacy Daniel Webb said the Australian government could not just sit back and hope for the best and must show some leadership. Webb said the only humane solution was to bring all the refugees to Australia and end their limbo and uncertainty.

Bougainville braces for landslides

BOUGAINVILLE – The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) in Papua New Guinea is expecting more destruction in the aftermath of a major quake just over two weeks ago. A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit on January 21 causing a number of landslides which claimed two lives and left people displaced. Because of a lack of funds the ABG’s acting President Raymon Masono said they had not been able to undertake necessary rescue or rehabilitation work. He said they were trying to find money to allow them to do so. He said the onset of wet weather meant more landslides were likely. “Now that the rains are coming heavily, as a result of the earthquake we expect more landslides to occur, since the ground is now unstable.”

Overnight curfew of road lifted

NEW CALEDONIA – The French authorities have allowed the road south of New Caledonia’s capital to remain open at night after a week of closing it for security reasons. Just over a week ago, unidentified gunmen fired at traffic and also injured two police officers near St Louis, prompting a 36-hour closure of the only access road south. On Friday, about 2000 people rallied outside the French High Commission to show their exasperation over the insecurity and nightly road closure which affected most residents. The High Commissioner Thierry Lataste said in the past three months, 60 police operations were carried out in St Louis, involving at least 40 police officers every time. He said the individuals who shot at police last weekend and injured two officers must be arrested and this should happen soon. Kanak leaders have been alarmed at earlier comments by a High Commission official who warned of a military-style operation if St Louis residents failed to hand over the suspected gunmen.