Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa has advised Samoa’s head of state that it is necessary to dissolve Parliament so the country can move to an election.

This follows the bill for the budget not getting enough support for a first reading on yesterday, and Fiame announcing she would therefore seek an early election.

Tuimaleali’ifano Va’aleto’a Sualauvi II has accepted Fiame’s advice and a formal notice will be duly gazetted to confirm the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.

• READ MORE: Other Samoan reports

Parliament will go into caretaker mode, and the Cabinet will have the general direction and control of the existing government until the first session of the Legislative Assembly following dissolution.

Fiame, who has led a minority government since being ousted from her former FAST party in January, finally conceded defeat on the floor of Parliament yesterday morning after her government’s 2025 Budget was voted down.

MPs from both the opposition Human Rights Protection Party and Fiame’s former FAST party joined forces to defeat the budget with the final vote coming in 34 against, 16 in support and two abstentions.

Defeated motions
Tuesday was the Samoan Parliament’s first sitting since back-to-back no-confidence motions were moved — unsuccessfully — against prime minister Fiame.

In January, Fiame removed her FAST Party chairman La’auli Leuatea Schmidt and several FAST ministers from her Cabinet.

In turn, La’auli ejected her from the FAST Party, leaving her leading a minority government.

Her former party had been pushing for an early election, including via legal action.

The election is set to be held within three months.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

West Papuan pro-independence supporters are calling Indonesia’s condemnation of Israel hypocritical considering its occupation of Papua for 61 years.

The Indonesian government, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President, has condemned the Israeli government’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.

In a statement, a United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) spokesperson said: “Indonesia’s stance on the international stage contrasts with its actions in Papua”.

“Indonesia mediates conflicts in several Asian countries but lacks a roadmap for resolving the conflict in Papua.”

The group is calling for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to immediately form a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged human rights violations. They have also asked for a review of Indonesia’s UN membership.

In November last year, the Pacific Islands Forum appointed the Fiji and Papua New Guinea prime ministers as special envoys to Indonesia to “address the West Papua issue“.

The ULMWP are asking for Indonesia to let the two leaders visit Papua.

Hard to compare with Gaza
Human Rights Watch researcher in Indonesia Andreas Harsono said the situation in West Papua was hard to compare to Gaza.

“Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank, of course, is recognised by more than 130 countries, members of the United Nations. Meanwhile, West Papua is being discussed mostly among seven or maybe 10 other countries, so this is difficult to compare.”

He said Indonesia — the most populous Muslim majority country — had religion in common with Palestine.

But Harsono said West Papua did need more international attention and there was little understanding of the conflict inside Indonesia because of propaganda.

ULMWP executive secretary Markus Haluk reiterated calls for a UN fact-finding mission.

“We want the UN to send their fact-finding mission to West Papua to witness and to prove that there is a slow-motion genocide, ethnocide and ecocide happening in West Papua,” Haluk said, speaking to RNZ Pacific through a translator.

It is an ongoing plea for the United Nations to visit. In 2019, the Indonesian government agreed in principle to a visit by the Human Rights Commissioner but that promise has not been fulfilled.

Haluk said the “big brothers” in the region — referring to New Zealand and Australia — could bring up the UN fact-finding mission when the nation’s leaders meet with their Indonesian counterparts.

“There has been several visits by the leaders but it seems like the issue of West Papua is not as important as the other issues such as trade,” he said.

‘Refusing to take responsibility’
Former New Zealand Greens MP Catherine Delahunty said she felt frustrated that West Papua had not got the attention it should, especially considering it was in “our own backyard”.

Nearly all foreign media has been banned from entering West Papua.

“Anyone that criticises the regime has great difficulty getting into that country to report and local journalists are subjected to sustained threats and so we’re in a very unhealthy situation in terms of public understanding of just how drastic the situation is,” she said.

Delahunty said Indonesia had been intimidating smaller nations, while larger ones like New Zealand and Australia were “refusing to act”.

“They are refusing to take responsibility for their own part in allowing this to continue.”

She said New Zealand and Australia could create consequences for Indonesia if it continued to not allow the fact-finding mission, by doing things like stopping military exchanges.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said New Zealand “follows human rights developments closely, and takes all allegations of human rights violations seriously”.

“New Zealand continues to register concerns about the human rights situation in Papua via appropriate fora. New Zealand encourages Indonesia to promote and protect the rights of all its citizens, and to be transparent in policy relating to Papua.

“New Zealand recognises Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including in Papua.”

In a statement to RNZ Pacific, the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington said the government of Indonesia was committed to accelerate the development of all provinces, “including our brothers and sisters in Papua”, to lead and enjoy a prosperous way of life.

“Papua is highly respected as an honourable region and will continue to be maintained as such,” it said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The New Zealand government is deploying dozens of Defence Force and police personnel to Honiara in the coming days “to help restore peace and stability”.

Since rioting and looting started in the Solomon Islands last week, Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea have sent troops to help keep the peace there.

An initial NZDF team of 15 will join them tomorrow, followed by a larger group of 50 at the weekend.

• READ MORE: Pacific regional response to Solomons post-riots crisis takes shape
• Other Solomon Islands crisis reports

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the response was short-term and to help restore peace and stability.

“New Zealand is committed to its responsibilities and playing its part in upholding regional security.

“We are deeply concerned by the recent civil unrest and rioting in Honiara, and following yesterday’s request of the Solomon Islands government, we have moved quickly to provide urgent assistance.

Samoan police are also on standby to send personnel to assist peacekeeping forces.

Unrest stemmed from protest
The unrest stemmed from a protest calling for the removal of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare that spilled over into rioting and left major destruction in the capital.

Earlier today, it was reported that the Solomon Islands government had warned that instigators were planning what it called “another evil plan” to decimate the whole of Honiara.

A government statement said the destruction of local businesses was done by “heartless people with selfish agendas”.

It warned that instigators were planning a next phase of unrest, including the declaration of Malaita province as an independent state.

Malaita’s provincial Premier Daniel Suidani, whose administration has fallen out with the national government, denies claims that he instigated the unrest.

Malaitans played a central role in last week’s protest before opportunists and looters co-opted the mobilisation into major unrest.

Ringleader statements on Facebook
The government statement said it was aware of reports that ringleaders behind the unrest were openly stating on Facebook that “in order to build a new house, the old house must be first destroyed”.

“Such statements are not helping the volatile situation we are currently experiencing in Honiara,” the statement said.

“To the peace loving and right minded Malaitans, we should ask ourselves whether we are comfortable with the violent advocators to lead our people to an independent state.”

However, the national government said it was encouraged by “the wisdom of the majority of our citizens not to employ violence, looting or threatening tactics to impose one’s evil plan of decimating Honiara city, the capital of Solomon Islands”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Samoa’s Parliament will convene tomorrow as originally planned

The Supreme Court has issued orders to uphold the original proclamation, dated 20 May 2021, by the Head of State of Samoa to convene the country’s 17th Parliament following the April 9 general election.

The orders of the court were signed and issued today in an unprecedented urgent Sunday sitting by Chief Justice Satiu Simativa Perese with Justice Tafaoimalo Tologata Leilani Tuala-Warren and Justice Vui Clarence Nelson.

• READ MORE: Samoa Supreme Court hears FAST party challenge over shock edict

The court orders declare the original Proclamation of the Head of State as lawful while stating that any subsequent or conflicting declarations were not aligned with the Constitution, and also went against recent judgments of the court.

Speaking to the media outside court, former Attorney-General Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu confirmed the court orders had addressed a challenge filed by Latu Lawyers on behalf FAST party, challenging the late night proclamation by the Head of State to suspend the opening of Parliament.

“Those were basically the two orders.”

Is Samoa in a constitutional crisis? https://t.co/ILl6ohKEQM

— Te Ao with MOANA (@TeAoWithMOANA) May 22, 2021

Asked if the nation could expect another move to “sabotage” Parliament convening in the next 12 hours, Taulapapa said her clients, the FAST party, stood prepared for anything further developments.

FAST party ‘prepared’
“Our clients are prepared to address anything else that might come up, and continue to rely on God’s grace.”

A special sitting of the Supreme Court was held 11am today following an application by FAST lawyers led by former Heather-Latu challenging a late night proclamation by the Head of State issued by email from the Government Press Secretariat at 9.09pm last night.

The second proclamation issued within 48 hours by Samoa’s Head of State HH Tuimalealiifano Va’aletoa Sualauvi II sent a wave of shock through the nation, as it proclaimed a suspension on his original writ, and postponed Parliament from convening tomorrow morning.

The court also directed that a copy of the orders be given immediately to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.

Meanwhile, in another twist to yesterday’s proclamation, RNZ Pacific reports that the Head of State has departed his official residence in Apia’s Vailele and returned to his village of Matautu-Falelatai on Upolu’s south-west coast.

The move has included a police guard, reportedly for his safety.

Last week, a bus load of matai from the village arrived at his residence in the capital to offer their support after some threats had been made against him on social media.

RNZ Pacific correspondent in Apia, Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia, said the Tuimaleali’ifano left Vailele yesterday after making the latest proclamation.

“And moved to his village. He’s now there and operating from his village of Matautu-Falelatai. And now you see police officers are there protecting him.”

The Head of State’s village is nearly two hours from the capital, Apia.

Sina Retzlaff is a Samoa Global News website journalist.

So it’s clear: the @nytimes seems to be doing a better and more committed job of covering the Samoan election than the whole NZ media. (Excepting Radio NZ Pacific–which is tasked with Pacific, and which still doesn’t have someone in Samoa). #Embarrassing #nzpol #palota2021 https://t.co/moVXQJI9kP

— Damon Salesa (@DamonSalesa) May 22, 2021

By Kendall Hutt in Auckland

Journalism students from across the Pacific will have the opportunity to understand one another’s news cultures as the Pacific Cooperation Foundation’s media programme enters its third year.

Two final year student journalists from New Zealand will head to the Pacific next month, while three Pacific-based student journalists will travel to New Zealand for the two-week internship.

Michelle Curran, project manager of the PCF media programme, says the exchange aims to offer a regional perspective to participating interns.

“Our hope is for interns to gain a broader awareness of how media operates in different countries, the differences in resources available, and to broaden their network.

“The ideal outcome is to produce journalists with an in-depth regional perspective and knowledge of Pacific issues.”

One of these journalists is Auckland University of Technology’s Brandon Ulfsby, who is bound for Samoa.

Ulfsby says his motivation for applying stems from the fact Pacific news is an area which can be expanded on.

‘Make Pacific mainstream’
“I definitely think there is a lot more room to kind of build on existing platforms and really make the Pacific the mainstream, because I feel at the moment it’s quite situated in itself, that it’s separate news, it’s Pacific news that only people who are interested in it sort of focus on it.”

This absence is something the PCF has identified, Curran says.

“These students will eventually help raise the standard of journalism in the region, and increase the awareness of Pacific issues in New Zealand.”

Ulfsby, who is of Cook Islands descent, says he is looking forward to highlighting the human face of the Pacific.

“Really delving into the lives of people is something I want to cover.”

Having the ability to network and work alongside senior journalists and editors is also an important opportunity, Ulfsby says.

“It’s just experiencing a different newsroom culture and at the same time I want to elevate Pacific stories and give those people a voice, so that other people can hear them and possibly influence change.”

‘Every day reality’
For Shivika Mala and Linda Filiai, both from the University of the South Pacific, bringing awareness to climate change while in New Zealand will be key.

“I will try to inform New Zealanders about the effects of climate change in the Pacific. I do understand that New Zealand and the Pacific Islands prioritise different issues.

“It’s important for the people in New Zealand to know that some people in the Pacific Islands are suffering from extreme weather events such as cyclones, coastal erosion, droughts, and water shortages.

“Sea level rise is one of the greatest challenges,” Filiai says.

Mala, however, is determined to convey that climate change is an every day reality for the Pacific.

“It’s funny how some people are not aware about climate change and how the Pacific Island countries are vulnerable to its effects.

“It is our everyday reality and people must know about it because sadly, we are the ones who contribute to it.”

Filiai and Mala acknowledge they have been given a rare opportunity.

“This is a great opportunity for us in the Pacific to experience how news media operates in a developed country like New Zealand.”

Joshua Kiruhia of Divine Word University in Papua New Guinea will join Filiai and Mala in New Zealand, while Massey University’s Safia Archer will also head to the Pacific.

The Pacific Media Centre at AUT will host the Pacific regional students for half a day on their New Zealand programme.

The PCF media programme will take place between June 26-July 11.

• PCF student interns gain new perspectives
• Storytellers of the Pacific challenge old societal norms

A small, enthusiastic crowd gathered among the shelves of one of Auckland’s libraries earlier this week to listen to a lively and engaging talk on the practice of malu, the Samoan female tattoo.

The event, part of Papatoetoe Library’s regular “Tea and Topic” programme, was organised to celebrate Pasifika, when every March the diversity of cultures throughout the Pacific region is marked.

The talk was delivered by Leota Alice Meredith, a Samoan-New Zealander who discovered an appreciation for her home culture when she travelled to Samoa in her early 20s.

Her motivation behind the talk was “giving back to community”.

Meredith acknowledged she was not only inspired to speak about the malu, but to give her audience an opportunity to learn more about the Pacific and its people.

“I’m sure you have questions in regards to Pacific people and their mannerisms. I mean, look at what I’m wearing,” she laughed with her audience.

‘Main print’
Meredith described the malu, Samoa’s female tattoo, as the “main print or tattoo on the back of the legs” and readily showed off her own.

“Thank goodness, I managed to remember to shave my legs this morning.”

Tattooed in 1995 by the late Su’a Suluape Paulo – who was considered a master of his art – Meredith admitted she got through the four-hour ordeal by listening to the radio on her Walkman.

Meredith highlighted how the process of traditional tattooing involved three apprentices to the tattooist, some who begin training as young as seven or eight years.

“You learn by observation, so the sooner the better.” The first of these apprentices or assistants is responsible for pulling the skin taught so the tattooist’s tool bounces cleanly, while the second is responsible for diligently wiping away the blood.

The third assistant, Meredith jokingly added, was capturing the tattooist’s ashes “from the constant train of cigarettes” he supplied Paulo.

She outlined how the mix of blood and water, a result of cleaning the malu, was not a pleasant smell for Paulo, while cigarette smoke was.

But when asked by one audience member if it was painful, Meredith replied:

‘I wasn’t going to stop’
“Oh, yes, four hours and I was lucky. I wasn’t going to stop. As soon as he started I knew I wasn’t stopping. Because I knew if I stopped, that might be game over before you know it, and I was very adamant I did not want to wear tights for the rest of my life.”

But, as Meredith explained, the malu is not as painful as the male equivalent.

This is because the final part of the male tatau, or tattoo, consists of tattooing into the navel, which holds much spiritual significance because the umbilical cord symbolises life.

Importantly, malu also involves a journey, a journey Meredith explained must not be done alone.

“With the tattooing, you always go in partnerships. There’s always a pair of you. They say you don’t tattoo by yourself. It’s because when you journey through anything that is painful, you don’t journey alone. It’s something in all of us, in life in general.”

Malu also involves the “ritual” of cracking an egg over one’s head upon the tattoo’s completion “as a sign of renewal,” Meredith said.

Meredith also explained to the audience the numerous traditions and norms behind Samoa’s rich tattooing history, led by two families – Sa Su’a and Sa Tuluo’ena.

Revived the art
“The Su’a family literally revived the art of traditional Pacific tattooing, in the world,” Meredith said.

She also not only described how there are certain times to display the malu – less one becomes cursed – but how the female tattoo in the past involved a certain hierarchy.

“Originally, only a chief’s daughter could have the malu.”

But, inevitably, as time has passed, the malu – and tatau itself – has evolved.

Meredith explained how this has largely come due to the introduction of health regulations, which has seen the turtle shell and bone of traditional tools replaced with titanium.

Debate has also raged about whether non-Samoans are entitled to bear the malu and tatau, and if women are entitled to wear male tattoos and vice versa, a debate Meredith chalked down to “pushing boundaries”.

She could see where “traditionalists” were coming from, however.

“We’re surrounded by cultural protocols in order to map our cultural significance.”

Kendall Hutt is the Pacific Media Centre’s Pacific Media Watch contributing editor.

• The iconic Pasifika Festival celebrating its 25th birthday at Auckland’s Western Park this weekend. More than 220 performance groups and 60,000 people reportedly took part.

A group of New Zealand-born Samoans meet every Tuesday night at Newton Pacific Island Church (PIC) to connect with the Samoan language and their culture.

The 10-week Fa’amatai Bilingual class, run by the Pasifika Education Centre (PEC), is a first step for those wanting to learn Samoan rituals and protocols.

The tutor of the class and also PEC Pasifika cultural adviser, Alaelua Taulapapa Leasoiloaifaleupolu Malesala, says the class was important as it allows the community to stay connected through language and culture.

“Many of our New Zealand-born Samoans and even some people that were born in Samoa travelled to Aotearoa at a very young age,” he says.

“They are now in positions of leadership in the New Zealand community which works with a lot of our Samoan community but they don’t have the ability to communicate with our Samoan people in the times that they do come together.”

This class ensures Samoan knowledge is imparted to those that reside in New Zealand, he says.

For many of the students, the class has come to represent a revitalised connection to their language, culture and ultimately embracing their Samoan roots.

Passing on to grandchildren
Class member Peter Ah Kuoi says it is not only a “reconnection” for him, but learning Samoan language allows him to pass what he has learned on to his grandchildren.

“In our class today we learned about a legend, and it was a beautiful story, I think I could tell it to grand kids.

“I kind of missed the boat with [teaching] my children [Samoan] but I now have five grandchildren who I think at this age would be sponges for all these myths and legends of who we are and where we come from.

PIC church member in Newton Theresea Miller says the class will help her connect and better communicate with members of the Samoan community.

“We go on visitations [for church] and it’s good when we go Samoan families that we know the [cultural] processes.”

Mary Anne Copeland says she is taking the class to learn about the formal protocols and Samoan speeches.

“I’m really good with street talk I guess, talking within my own family. But being able to stand up and say a lauga (speech) and to stand up and be able to do a lot of the formal protocols, which normally I wouldn’t do, that’s what the extension of this programme has been able to help me with.”

Staying informed
Alaelua Taulapapa Leasoiloaifaleupolu Malesala encourages all Pasifika people to attend the language classes to stay informed and connected with one another.

“We must always make that connection with home,” he says.

“This is your opportunity to be exposed, be supported and gain some learning for yourselves so you can continue on with your role and responsibly within your aiga (family).”

This story is in celebration of 2016 Samoan Language Week (29 May-4 June 2016)

The theme for this year is:“E felelei manu, ae ma’au i o latou ofaga: Birds migrate to environments where they survive and thrive.”