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BANABANS
TAKE THE BPC TO COURT
By
1965, the Banabans
frustrated by decades of
constant disputes over
their land leases,
inadequate royalties, and
realizing that the British
Government had no
intentions of looking
after their affairs, lost
all trust and took the
final step of instigating
legal proceeding in the
British Court.
Here they hoped
that the British justice
system would prevail, and
right the wrongs of the
past.
BANABAN
FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE
The
Banabans further extended
their fight for justice in
January 1974, when they
submitted a petition to
the British government
calling for the separation
of Ocean Island (Banaba)
from the Gilbert and
Ellice Island Colony (now
known as the Republic of
Kiribati) and the
recognition of Banaba's
independence.
The Banaban
petition was referred to
the Governor of the
Colony, who duly consulted
the newly-formed Council
of Ministers which had
been set up in May 1974,
following the introduction
of a new constitution in
the colony.
It replied that it
did not consider that the
question of the separation
of Ellice Island had any
bearing on the future of
Ocean Island, which was
considered an integral
part of the Gilbert
Islands and added that it
would oppose separation
and independence for Ocean
Island (Banaba) either now
or in the future.
OUTCOME
OF U.K. COURT CASE
The
Banabans court case
against the British
Government and the British
Phosphate Commission (BPC)
would finally come to an
end in 1979 and become
known as one of the
longest court cases in UK
history.
The Banabans would
win their case against the
British Phosphate
Commission for their
failure to replant a part
of their island, but were
awarded derisory damages
of £UK9,000 and made to
pay their own court costs
which amounted to over £UK300,000
As a result of
political pressure the
British Phosphate
Commission offered £UK780,000
which the Banabans knew
was still wholly
insufficient and would not
provide sufficient funds
for the replanting of
their island.
In
their other action against
the British Government for
breach of trust, the
Banabans lost.
The judge held that
even though they had had a
‘raw deal’, in law
there was nothing that
could help them.
However, he made
plain that there were
grave breaches of a higher
or governmental trust
which his court was
powerless to remedy, and
made an unprecedented
appeal to the Government
to act accordingly.
BANABAN
PENSION FUND THAT IS HELD
IN TRUST
After
press and radio coverage
in UK culminating in the
BBC television film “Go
Tell it to the Judge”,
and as a result of
political and
parliamentary pressure,
the British Government
offered (provided the
Banabans did not appeal in
their action against the
Crown) to set up a trust
fund to produce a pension
for the Banaban community.
They insisted that
the capital, which
amounted to £UK6.5
million ($AUD10 million)
and taken from the BPC
reserves must be put into
the trust fund and only
the interest from it paid
to the Banabans.
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