Erika and Achim Ginsberg-Klemmt,
Bantschowstraße 2, 22391 Hamburg, Germany
z.Zt. 44-519 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Kaneohe HI 96744, Hawaii, USA

Secrétariat Générale de la                                                                  Hawaii the 3rd of August 1999
Commission Européenne
Mr. Jürgen Tiedje
Rue de la Loi 200,
B-1049 Bruxelles/Wetstraat 200


Reg. : "Statut Particulier au sein de la République Française" in Tahiti


Dear Mr. Tiedje,

Thank you very much for your E-mail from the 16th of July 1999.

To answer one of your questions, we have not yet received a written decision from the French Haut-Commissaire Jean Aribaud regarding our application dated January 27^th, 1999 for a "Carte de Séjour". What we received yesterday, was an anonymous warning by e-mail :
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push-push@imail.com wrote to us :

First a question: do you thing that you still could get established in tahiti now ?
If you understand the question you might understood the consequences.
Tahiti is too small for you right now, and too small to allow people to answer.

That mean if someone established in tahiti try to openly disagree with you, he could see his business or his position melting like an old fruit forgotten under a hard sun !

If you could settle down in tahiti you would have the most difficult job in the world, trying to survive in a such a trap. Everybody knows everyone. And simple things would become impossible to you. Some have forwarded you email to advised people. Cool down now, try to do something with the EU gov's or citizen if you wish, but forget about Tahiti.

You don't gona change the world that way. It's too late.
good luck anyway.
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I visited the French consulate in San Francisco on the 28^th of June 1999 to inquire in person about the status of our application. After having photocopied my passport and documents (including the letter from the European Commission) a serious looking officer behind a bulletproof window informed me that I must restart my entire application process from scratch. After consulting his supervisors, he insisted that there was nothing else he could do and handed me three general application forms for a "Visa de long durée". An armed security officer ushered me to the front door.

This was indeed very different from the "soirées Franco-Allemandes" that I used to attend at my bi-national French-German university ISFATES.

You asked in your e-mail if I would like to establish a permanent residency in a PTOM, or would prefer to keep my permanent residency in Germany. If you were in my position right now, what would you want?

We try to keep our humor at this point, and would still like to obtain our "Cartes de Séjour", even if they might have a more symbolic value.

On the 14^th of July 1999 we filed an appeal with the Cour administrative d’appel de Paris against the Tribunal Administratif’s decision from May 25^th 1999. You can find a copy enclosed. Yesterday we have called the Cour Administrative d’appel de Paris, 10 rue Desaix, on the telephone to inquire about the date of our court appeal : They have received our appeal and it takes an average of 2 YEARS to fix the date.

Please note that the Tribunal Administratif de Papeete informed us of our court date a few days AFTER the court date took place, on the 11^th of May 1999. Meanwhile, the French Haut-Commissariat in Papeete denied us permission to stay in the country. Vive la France!

You have quoted in your e-mail a paragraph from the currently valid European agreement :
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Article 232 of Council decision 97/803/EEC of 24 Nov. 1997
"Article 232
En ce qui concerne le régime applicable en matière d'établissement et de prestation de services, conformément à l'article 132 paragraphe 5 du traité et sous réserve des paragraphes 2 et 3:

- chaque Etat membre traite sur une base non discriminatoire les ressortissant, sociétés et entreprises des PTOM, qui ne relèvent pas de lui,

- les autorités compétentes des PTOM traitent sur une base non discriminatoire les ressortissants, sociétés et entreprises des Etats membres.

Toutefois, les autorités compétentes d'un PTOM peuvent établir des réglementations dérogeant, en faveur de leurs habitants et des activités locales, aux règles normales applicables aux ressortissants, sociétés et entreprises de tous les Etats membres, pour autant que de telles dérogations soient limitées à des secteurs sensibles dans l'économie du PTOM concerné et s'inscrivent dans le but de promouvoir ou soutenir l'emploi local.
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Should I now try to convince my local government in Hamburg to discriminate against French businesses and French citizens? I do not think I would find much support.

The above quote sounds so wonderful; almost as romantic as a passage from our Treaty of Rome:
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Article 8.
1. Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union.

2. Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Treaty and shall be subject to the duties imposed thereby.

Article 8a.
1. Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in this Treaty and by the measures adopted to give it effect.
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Basing their argument on the Rome Treaty, the French citizens Mme Christine VEDEL and M. Jerome JANNOT took the French Republic to court on the 20^th December of 1995. Magically, the Conseil d’Etat au Contentieux abolished the Caution de Rapatriement EXCLUSIVELY for French citizens in French Polynesia, while all other EU-citizens are still welcomed in French-Polynesia by the colonial law from 1939. Is this legally correct, Mr. Tiedje?

As you can see on our newly enhanced website http://www.move.to/tahiti
we have found evidence that the European Commission has recently donated 291 Million DM to French Polynesia for the building of two luxurious cruise ships. This is a very generous donation for such a small group of benefactors. Is there any region in the European Union that receives more money per citizen, any other region or DOM/TOM that demands US$ 1324.74 caution de rapatriement from fellow EU-members or any other region in the EU where citizens do not need to pay income tax?

I remember having asked the European Commission about the 1998 F.E.D grant for French Polynesia in a previous E-Mail several months ago. So far I have not received an answer to this question. The grant was given for "environmental cleansing" according to the French Polynesian magazine "Tahiti-Pacifique". Would you please tell us if these 27.5 Million DM were in fact used for the decontamination of the former nuclear bomb test site on the Mururoa Atoll?

Mr. Tiedje, we have received a reply from Herrn Stefan Wahl, from the German foreign ministry to our letter from the 29^th of June, where Stefan Wahl declares in the name of Minister Joschka Fischer:

Der französische Staat erhebt zum Schutz der Umwelt eine Kaution bei Einreise ausländischer Staatsangehöriger in Französisch Polynesien. Hintergrund ist, daß das biologische Gleichgewicht der Inseln leicht durch menschliche Einflüsse gestört werden kann. [..]

We would like to know from the European Commission: Is there in fact a legal foundation for Mr. Wahl’s conclusion that the monetary repatriation bond of US$ 1324.74 per person is required to protect the biological equilibrium of the former nuclear test site from the human impact of NON French EU-citizens, or is this conclusion solely based on Stefan Wahl’s incompetence?

I know we have already asked a lot from the European Commission, but we would also request you to help us obtain a written decision from Haut-Commissaire Jean Aribaud about our application for a "Carte de Séjour" from the 27^th of January 1999. Six months time should certainly suffice to make this decision.

After the expected birth of our daughter at the end of August, we are planning to return to Europe and would like to visit you and the European Commission in Brussels in person. Would this be possible?

Indeed, we want to thank you and the European Commission for your help and appreciate, if you could keep us informed about the advancements of the Infringement Procedure No. 99/4232, SG(99) A/1883/2, after Article 169 of the EU-Treaty against the French Republic.

Sincerely,

Or, as shouted Fletcher Christian and his mutineers of The Bounty, when Captain Blight and his breadfruit plants were cast over the railing into the azure-blue South Pacific waters:
"Bye, bye, Tyranny!"*



Achim and Erika Ginsberg-Klemmt

http://www.move.to/tahiti

P.S. : We would like to add a petition from the 1^st of August 1999 that is supported by the crewmembers of 25 European sail yachts to protest against the current immigration and repatriation bond "laws" in French Polynesia.

cc : Président de la République Française, Monsieur Jaques Chirac
cc : Ausswärtiges Amt der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Herrn Stefan Wahl

Attachments :

- Patrick PEAUCELLIER : " Le budget 1999 est le meilleur quantativement que la Polynésie ait jamais connu " : Le ministre territorial des Finances et des Réformes administratives a présenté le projet de budget du Territoire pour 1999, un budget de 122,5 milliards de Fcfp qui se caractérise par " un renforcement de la croissance et des investissements ". (Les Nouvelles)
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As I already stated in my last letter to you from the 3^rd of August 1999, the European Commission has donated 147.5 Million ECU to French-Polynesia for the construction of two luxurious cruise ships.

I must congratulate M. Bruno PEAUCELLIER, the French-Polynesian representative at the EU in Brussels and brother of finance minister Patrick PEAUCELLIER, for being a very good representative of his "Territoire au sein de la Republique".

Should my calculation be correct, the French-Polynesian yearly budget of 122,5 millards Fcfp is the equivalent of 102.7 Million ECU. This implies that M. Bruno PEAUCELLIER convinced the European Commission to make a donation that equals 143.7% of the Territoire’s yearly budget in 1999. This seems to be an unprecedented success. Please correct me, should these conclusions be incorrect.
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POLYNESIE 29 et 30/10/1998 - Monnaie
- L’euro ne passe pas : Débat surprenant à l’Assemblée de la Polynésie. L’opposition, y compris les indépendantistes, a voté pour l’Euro, alors que la majorité ne souhaite pas entrer complètement dans le nouveau système. Selon Patrick PEAUCELLIER : " S’intégrer à l’Euro, c’est perdre un espace de liberté ". (Les Nouvelles 30/10)
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POLYNESIE 15 au 19/01/1999 - Economie/Monnaie
- Le 5.5 est mort, le CFP est… " dévalué " : (…) Aujourd’hui la parité officielle est de 0,0838 euro pour 1 franc CFP. Contrairement à ce que l’on nous avait dit sur tous les tons, la valeur du franc pacifique n’est plus attachée à la valeur du franc français mais directement à la valeur de l’euro. (…) Force est de constater, qu’aujourd’hui, le franc CFP a perdu de sa valeur par rapport au franc français. En Nouvelle-Calédonie, les banques ont décidé de prendre en charge la dépréciation induite par la nouvelle méthode de change. Aucun des banquiers polynésiens que nous avons contactés ne se dit prêt à supporter cette charge. (La Dépêche 17/01)
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As we can learn from these articles, the crewmembers of the 25 protesting European sailing yachts who complied by the currently valid colonial décret from the 27^th of April 1939 and who obediently paid their caution de rapatriement, have lost a portion of their hard earned money in January 1999. They have lost their hard earned money because the French-Polynesian Franc CFP is not directly connected to the French Franc any more : It is now directly connected to our united European currency : The Euro !

Herr Stefan Wahl from the German Foreign Ministry stated in his letter Gz.: 514-516.00 FRA from the 8^th of Juli 1999 to us :" Die Kaution umfaßt die Kosten eines Rückfluges in das Heimatland des Einreisenden, so daß die Kaution je nach Herkunftsland unterschiedlich hoch ausfällt. Die geleistete Kaution wird bei der Ausreise zurückerstattet, wobei aber eventuelle Kursschwankungen vom Ausreisenden getragen werden. Dies gilt sowohl für Verluste als auch für Gewinne."

I am very surprised to read words from the German Foreign Ministry testifying that we have to expect "Kursschwankungen" between the participating currencies of the Euro. I must have completely misunderstood the concept of our united European currency. Maybe Stefan Wahl meant the "Kursschwankungen" that occur, when angry sailors cannot steer their boats on a straight line anymore, because they feel discriminated and betrayed.

Herr and Frau Klingenmann made in their last letter to the Director and Chief editor of the political magazine Tahiti-Pacifique, Alex du Prel, an important statement: The Socredo Bank in Bora Bora, owned by the "Territoire au sein de la Republique," has handed out three 10,000 CFP counterfeit bills to a departing sailor, when the bank reimbursed the "caution de rapatriment". I wonder if Mme Weinman, honorary Consul for the Federal Republic of Germany with French nationality offered her help, or hid behind her well known "ça s'est pas mon travail" strategy.
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POLYNESIE 23 et 26/01/1999 Politique/Municipales/Europe
Le scrutin municipal ouvert aux européens : Les ressortissants de l’Union européenne en séjour sur Territoire pourront voter, et même postuler aux fonctions de "tavana", lors du prochain scrutin municipal de mars 2001. Une des conséquences des accords de Maastricht qui ne changera pas grand chose sur le terrain politique. Du moins pour l’instant... (La Dépêche 26/01) __________________________________________________________________________________________________

The above newspaper article confirms that the Maastricht Treaty in fact does apply in French-Polynesia ! This above article also confirms that Haut-Commissaire Jean Aribaud was not correct when he declared in his letter to us from the 9^th of February 1999 that the European Treaties of Rome and Maastricht are "not applicable".

Mr Tiedje, I mentioned in my last letter to you on the 3^rd of August that I was not so sure anymore whether I wanted to remain permanent resident in the Federal Republic of Germany or become a permanent resident in Tahiti. I have made up my mind. I would like to become a candidate in the upcoming March 2001 municipal elections in Tahiti against President Gaston Flosse to protect the interests of non French EU-Citizens in French Polynesia. I would also like to live in French-Polynesia for an extended period to study and learn from the successful lobbyists and the smart politicians of French-Polynesia in order to replace incompetent representatives of my own country like Herrn Stefan Wahl in the German Foreign Ministry.

Sincerely,

Dipl.Ing. Achim Klemmt

-    Our Reply to President Jacques Chirac, August 5th 1999

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