Coup in Paradise

Takeover by bow and arrow

Swaying palms, warm breezes, gentle waves--when it comes to the Melanesian archipelago of the New Hebrides, the standard tropical cliches are in order. The 72-island chain was, after all, the model for James Michener's Bali Ha'i in Tales of the South Pacific, later turned into a musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Now, after 74 years of joint British-French colonial rule and on the eve of independence, the archipelago and its 100,000 inhabitants are experiencing their first political upheaval.

As revolutions go, it has been a gentle affair. On May 28, 800 Melanesians, some toting clubs and bows and arrows, took over the island of Espiritu Santo, the largest in the chain. Accompanied by 50 colons, mostly French, the islanders captured Santo's police and radio stations, seized an armory, and proclaimed "the provisional government of Vemarana." The rebels, who are French speaking, reject the New Hebrides independence plan because they fear the new regime, dominated by the English-speaking populace in the capital of Vila, on the island of Efate 170 miles to the south, is insensitive to their needs.

The secessionist movement is headed by Jimmy Stevens, 58, who drove bulldozers before emerging as a separatist leader of Espiritu Santo. "Moli" (chief), as his supporters call Stevens, was elected Chief Minister of Vemarana after the takeover. Holding court in a former dance school that now bears the pidgin-English sign VEMARANA OFIS, he told TIME Correspondent John Dunn: "Time is not important here. We will be open for business in a few days. We want to be free to make our own decisions, to run our own economy and have a picnic when we feel like having one."

If Stevens has charisma, he also has an unusual outside sponsor in Michael Oliver, 51, an American real estate developer, coin dealer and fervent antiCommunist. In the mid-'70s, as the leader of a group called the Phoenix Foundation, Oliver tried--and failed--to build a Utopian, tax-free haven for free enterprise on Abaco, in the Bahamas. Over the past decade, Oliver estimates, he has spent $130,000 on air fares, radios, even flags, in support of Stevens' secession movement.

Last week at his home in Carson City, Nev., Oliver welcomed the minicoup. Eventually he hopes to move to Santo, where he plans to operate a 2,000-acre sugar plantation. "The islanders want development," he says. "They want electricity and roads and jobs. They don't want to live in the bush with the mosquitoes. There's no such thing as the noble savage."

Both France and Britain are treading lightly. Since 1906, when they began to administer the New Hebrides jointly, the islands have lived under two flags, two bureaucracies and two languages. Independence is scheduled for July 30, and London and Paris are hoping that the local government can work out a compromise. "We absolutely refuse to get involved," French Overseas Minister Paul Dijoud said after a meeting in Paris last week with his British counterpart, Peter Blaker, who called for fresh talks with the rebels but also warned that Britain might consider military action if the insurrection continues.

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