Letters: Bizarre system of colonial rule

Sir: Dr Steve Kisely (letters, 24 June) cites the administrative systems of the condominium of the New Hebrides as a possible precedent for the introduction of similar arrangements in Northern Ireland.

It is true that in the New Hebrides there were parallel British and French administrative structures, but few with personal experience of the condominium (or the pandemonium, as it was otherwise known) would agree that the system "worked tolerably well".

Administration on the ground was hampered by a lack of common purpose in Paris and London, frustration and delay were the order of the day, and New Hebrideans had no say in the creation of what was a bizarre system of divisive colonial rule. It has proved an unhappy legacy for the young republic of Vanuatu.

RICHARD DORMAN

Chairman

British Friends of Vanuatu

Cheam, Surrey