Almost Independent

BRITISH WEST INDIES

Independence is good for my country We have no sugar, but we got tourism Papa Bird is the Moses of Antigua. The "Papa Bird" celebrated in this popular calypso song is Vere Cornell Bird, a mulatto who for two decades has been the prophet of Antiguan independence. Ever since Britain began the evacuation of empire, even the tiniest of its island colonies in the West Indian crescent has craved recognition of its separate identity. Last week Britain granted "associated statehood"--something above colonial status but below independence--not only to Antigua but also to Grenada, St. Lucia, Dominica and the group of St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. In May, St. Vincent will get "associated statehood." The new states will conduct most of their affairs through popularly elected legislatures, but by mutual agreement, Britain will handle (and pay the bills for) their foreign affairs and defense. Full independence is a luxury that none of them can afford.

African slave labor once scraped fortunes for British planters from the soil of these lush islands, but today they are rich only in scenery, have precarious, one-crop economies, which have been hurt by increased competition abroad. The St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla group (pop.: 60,000) suffers from uncertain prices for its sugar. The fortunes of St. Lucia (100,000), Grenada (88,000) and Dominica (67,000) slide or surge along with the world price for their bananas. Only Antigua (65,000), with its casino and 33 hotels, attracts a sizable tourist crowd; it needs visitors more than usual this year because drought has ruined the sugar crop.

The best hope for prosperity seems to be some form of regional grouping that would enable the West Indians to combine their resources. The five new states have agreed to establish a single supreme court--but so far, that is all. Past attempts at federation have flopped. The most notable one collapsed in 1962, when the larger islands of Jamaica and Trinidad-Tobago, fearing that the smaller islands would become an economic burden on them, opted for full independence instead of a federal arrangement. One of the strongest opponents of federation was Antigua's Papa Bird, whose title last week was elevated from Chief Minister to Premier. He has a point when he argues that islands with different histories and customs would not merge smoothly at present. For example, English-speaking Antigua, which has a pronounced partiality for the U.S. through contact with tourists and the Virgin Islands, differs from such southerly islands as St. Lucia, where a Creole patois is widely spoken and the culture is French.

Yet even Papa Bird recognizes that "one day the islands will get together." No one doubts that their newly achieved status of separate, quasi independence is only temporary.

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