Proud to be part of Commonwealth

THE visit by the Prince of Wales and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, would have been once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many Papua New Guineans to catch a glimpse of British royalty.
To hear the warm words spoken by Prince Charles of his fourth visit to the country and to see the man, who will be the next king of England and Britain and leader of the Commonwealth of Nations, would have been a memorable experience.
“Mi namba wan pikinini bilong kwin na wanpela 10 lapan bilong Manus.
“Mi bringim tok amamas blo mejesti kwin bilong Papua Niugini na olgeta hauslain bilong mi lon dispela taim bilong daimon jubili bilong Misis Kwin (I am the first born child of Her Majesty the Queen and I am the 10th chief of Manus.
“I bring your greetings from Her Majesty the Queen of Papua New Guinea and from all my family members during this celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen,” Prince Charles said as he addressed an audience of several thousand Papua New Guineans at a morning ecumenical service yesterday at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.
The crowd, ever-appreciative of the prince’s attempt at Tok Pisin, roared with an approving “yes” after he asked, also in Tok Pisin, if he had spoken correctly his remarks in the country’s most widely-spoken language.
As the representative of the Queen celebrating her Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne), Prince Charles can be pleased in the knowledge that we, the largest nation in the Pacific, outside Australia and New Zealand, are very much a loyal subject and proud to call ourselves a member
of the British Commonwealth.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill reiterated PNG’s recognition of Queen Elizabeth II as the “Queen of PNG” and as a symbol of unity throughout
the Commonwealth in his welcome address to Prince Charles and the
Duchess of Cornwall.
“I believe the monarchy is as relevant and vital today as it has ever been,” O’Neill said.
“Her Majesty contributes to our stability and harmony in many, many ways. I affirm our allegiance to Her Majesty as our head of state.”
Ever since independence, Papua New Guinea has endeavoured consciously, and otherwise, to build a national identity and character, a tangible and meaningful aspect of our experience that we, as a people, could grasp to act as a unifying element in our history.
Being part of the British Commonwealth offers a reference point.
We have naturally adopted the language of the Commonwealth and have close relations with another member of this special group of nations – Australia.
Apart from our Melanesian heritage, it has been the Australian colonial government of Papua and New Guinea, under the auspices of Britain, which has
made this country what it is today.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to Australia and Britain.
Part of Australia’s history is forever entwined with Papua New Guinea’s World War II, the time which saw Australian troops fight to repel the Japanese advance on the now famous Kokoda Track.
During the ceremony, the prince, who is colonel-in-chief of the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, presented the battalion with new colours.
He also paid tribute to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, who were alongside Australian troops during the terrible and arduous Kokoda campaign.
“I grew up with stories of the extraordinary courage of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels which made possible the successes of the hard-fought campaign along the Kokoda Track, so it was the proudest moment when I became your colonel-in-chief in 1984,” the prince said.
It was a fitting acknowledgement since Nov 2, 1942, marked the day Kokoda was liberated by Australian forces, helped a great deal by the indigenous population.