Acting P.M. invokes divine weapons

By Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu 23 September 2017, 12:00AM

The Acting Prime Minister, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, has appealed for calm and called on the nation to pray in light of a threat from North Korea to detonate a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific region.

Contacted by the Sunday Samoan for a comment yesterday, Tialavea said Samoa does not have the means to stop threats by big countries like North Korea.

But he said Samoa’s weapons are prayers and faith. 

“These are the pillars of life in Samoa we should lean on in times of need,” he said.  

 “In my own personal view of this, we are people of faith. Our country is founded on God and so threats such as this should not put fear in our people.

 “We are not alone in this. We have God by our side and I am confident Samoa is safe from harm.” 

The Minister urged members of the public to remain calm and know that this is another challenge that all Samoans must combat with a prayer. 

He added that the government is monitoring the situation.

 “In terms of security, our government has a special committee in place to deal with any types of disasters,” he said. 

“The Committee is made up of intelligent Ministers who will consult and come up with a solution to deal with any predicament we face.”

Tialavea said he is constant communication with Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who is New York for the 72nd U.N. General Assembly.

On Friday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said North Korea could consider a hydrogen bomb test on the Pacific Ocean of an unprecedented scale.

The threat is not lost on Tuilaepa in New York.

During his address before world leaders, Tuilaepa urged the parties involved to give peace a chance.

“We meet this week against the backdrop of a world plagued with uncertainty and a sense of ebbing hope,” Tuilaepa said (read his full speech on right and page 11). 

“We cannot help but watch with trepidation and uneasiness the global dynamics nudging our world perilously close to a potential catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. 

“As small island Pacific countries, we are no longer protected by our isolation - we are bystanders but with the greatest to lose in the unfolding power drama being played out in the Korean Peninsula. We pray for visionary leadership with sound moral judgment on both sides to ensure we give 'peace a chance.'

“It explains why I signed yesterday on Samoa's behalf the "Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons". As a signatory to this historic treaty, we wanted to demonstrate unequivocally our aspiration to have a world without nuclear weapons (see story page 14). 

“The conventional narrative that the possession of nuclear weapons will act as deterrent to make the world a safer place to live, is not borne out by the current realities otherwise the developments in the Korean peninsula would not have happened at all.

“We firmly believe that possessing nuclear weapons and adding new nuclear powers only make our world less safe, less secure and less peaceful - hence the need to rid our world completely of all nuclear weapons.

No matter the noble goal for having such arsenals, availing them to the wrong and unprincipled hands is a recipe for doom and mayhem, as people, after all, are human and mere mortals.

“But all is not yet lost. The adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants which offers a united approach to address the plight of the world's displaced peoples, the creation of the United Nations  Counter-Terrorism  Office  aimed  at  enhancing  the Organization's capability to assist Member States in implementing the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy and the historic, first ever Treaty banning nuclear weapons, are all positive developments moving forward.”

By Joyetter Feagaimaali’i-Luamanu 23 September 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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