By Len Garae

A person has to be so desperate that he is prepared to sell his or someone’s island for a mere Vt38 million or $AU400,000, says the Vanuatu Daily Post.

The amount is the price tag for the beautiful Turtle Island, approximately the size of Iiriki Island, which is located between Aore Island and Malo Island and is known as a popular picnic spot.

The Vanuatu SDA Mission has alerted Daily Post to the "For Sale" Notice for Turtle Island for $400,000.

It is not clear at this stage who is behind the notice but historical documents we have in our possession show that on October 25 of 1982, the President of the Vanuatu SDA Mission, Pastor D.V. Bertelsen wrote to the first ever Director of Lands since Independence, Selwyn Leodoro, who was also the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Committee, expressing the Mission’s interest to return the island to the Lini-Government at the time to turn it into a Natural Site.

In his response to the letter, the then Chairman of Environment and Conservation Committee, Selwyn Leodoro wrote,

"Thank you for your letter dated 25th October 1982 concerning the above-mentioned island as a National Site.
"As promised, your proposal was discussed at the national Environment and Conservation Committee meeting held on 29th October 1982.
"The Committee fully supports the proposal and has recommended to the Minister for Land and Natural Resources to declare the island a Natural Conservation Site. Such a declaration will be signed and publicized shortly."

We got in touch with the former Chairman and he was shocked to hear that Turtle Island has been put up for sale. He recalled that when he answered the pastor’s correspondence, it was merely two years after independence and the Lini Regime was still organising itself.

"I remember that at the time Pastor Sethy John Regenvanu was the Minister responsible for Lands and Natural Resources. There were so many challenges in front of him at the time as the country was also returning to the second national elections in 1983 so I do not believe he ever made the declaration to have the island preserved and maintained as a Natural Site," Leodoro said.

In a more recent correspondence dated November 20 of 2003, Legal Counsel for the Australian Union Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Mission, Bill Bani & Partners wrote to the Department of Lands in Luganville saying:

"We advise we act for the Australian Union Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. According to our instruction or search in the registry of title office in Vila, our client as the registered Lessee of the Turtle Island which is a dependent Island of Aore since 12th of May of 1949. We enclose a pre independence certificate of title to prove that.
"At present we understand the Island is unoccupied and is disputed by several claimants.
"Since our client has a vested interest on the island prior to independence, we are requesting a post independence Lease title to our client by virtue of the Land Reform Act Cap 163.
"In the event where our office holds our client’s request is time barred, we advise our client’s position is paramount to any person and should be accorded a certificate of negotiator to negotiate a new lease on the Island.
"We trust our client’s request will be attended to urgently. We thank you for your assistance and we hope to receive your response on the matter soon."