‘Our independence did not come easy… Remember our sacrifices.’ — Motarilavoa Hilda Lini

Her Lying in State ceremony took place at the Pig Tusk Area of Parliament House, where the President of the Republic, the PM, Cabinet Ministers, former PMs and Presidents, Heads of Diplomatic Missions, representatives of United Nations agencies, and members of local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and civil society gathered to pay their final respects to the former state Minister and MP for Port Vila.

In the absence of Speaker of Parliament Stephen Felix, the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Maxime Banga, and several MPs who are currently on an official tour in Australia, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, MP John William Timakata (MP for Shepherds Outer Islands), along with Assistant Clerk Leon Teter and staff of Parliament House, received the coffin of the late Hilda Lini and coordinated the ceremony in collaboration with the Protocol Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Former MP for Efate Rural and former PM Barak Tame Sope, along with former President of the Republic Kalkot Mataskelekele, were also present to pay tribute.

According to Pacific Women in Politics, following Vanuatu’s independence in 1980, Lini became the first woman elected to Parliament in 1987. Between 1991 and 1995, she served as Minister of Rural Water Supply and Health. In 1993, she also acted as Minister of External Affairs and Tourism. From October to November 1996, she served briefly as Minister of Justice, Culture and Women’s Affairs.

In 1996, she was replaced in government by her brother, the late Father Walter Lini. Following this, Hilda Lini resigned from the National Party and went on to found her own political party, Tu Vanuatu Kominiti. Between 2000 and 2004, she served as Director of the Pacific Concerns Resource Centre. She held a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Journalism from the University of Papua New Guinea.

In early August 2014, former Daily PostSenior Journalist Len Garae interviewed Barak Sope and Hilda Lini after they were nominated by the Government of Timor-Leste, among 23 Fighters for Freedom, to be awarded medals on behalf of Vanuatu during the country’s 13th Independence Anniversary celebrations in Dili on 30 August.

A letter from the Presidency of the Republic of Timor-Leste read: “By virtue of having been included in the list of individuals that will be awarded a decoration on August 30 of this year by the Presidency of the Republic in Dili, His Excellency the President of the Republic has charged me with inviting you to the decoration ceremony.

“The decoration’s purpose is to acknowledge the important contributions made during the struggle for national liberation for the self-determination and independence of the people of Timor-Leste. Consequently, through Resolution No. 11/2012 of May 19, the National Parliament established the honorary title of ‘Supporter of the Struggle for National Liberation’.”

Mr. Garae wrote that Sope would travel as the former Secretary General of the Vanua’aku Pati (VP) and former Roving Ambassador of Vanuatu under the late Father Walter Lini’s government, while Lini was recognised as the former Editor of the VP Viewpoints newspaper and former head of the VP Women’s Wing.

They were the only nominees from the Pacific region, underscoring the historic commitment placed by the founders of Vanuatu’s independence struggle on the shoulders of its people.

Sope told Garae that the spirit in which they carried out their duties—both regionally and internationally—to support the independence movements of colonised peoples had remained unchanged. “It brings us great joy to be still alive to see the end of nuclear testing by France at Moruroa Atoll, the independence of Timor-Leste, and we hope to also witness the freedom of other countries in the Pacific, including West Papua, New Caledonia and Tahiti,” he said.

“We feel greatly honoured to be nominated by the Government of Timor-Leste to receive the hero’s medal. We want to dedicate them also to the late Father Lini and all other leaders who are no longer with us.”

Lini’s resolute support for the freedom of colonised peoples was evident in her active participation in protests against France’s nuclear testing at Moruroa Atoll in Tahiti.

She explained at the time that what set Vanuatu apart from other Pacific nations was the Government’s proactive advocacy for colonies, including at the United Nations—a stand not commonly taken by other governments in the region. “Churches, civil societies, women and youth supported us. At the Nuclear Free Pacific Conference hosted by Vanuatu in 1983, we insisted that the name be changed to Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific, because you could not protest nuclear testing without also addressing the sovereignty of the peoples affected,” she said.

When asked when she first came into contact with East Timorese, Lini recalled a speaking tour in 1976 with Donald Kalpokas to Kanaky (New Caledonia), Australia and New Zealand. “While in Australia, the first East Timorese I met was called Santos—he looked part Portuguese, short and had very dark hair. Later, I met East Timorese leader José Ramos-Horta, then in exile. These encounters opened my eyes. I realised we from Vanuatu were not alone in our struggle for freedom,” she said.

“Nearby Kanaky and Tahiti, East Timor, West Papua, Ecuador, Nicaragua, South Africa and Namibia in South West Africa were all demanding independence. That’s how we built networks that are still alive today.”

In New Caledonia, she lived with Kanaks; in Australia, with Aboriginal people; and in New Zealand, with Māori communities. “This broadened my understanding of the ways Indigenous peoples live. In Vanuatu, our island communities still have intact customs and traditions, but in those countries, Indigenous peoples had already lost so much of their way of life and were struggling to survive day to day,” she said.

On the 38th anniversary of the Vanuatu National Council of Women (VNCW) in 2018—which she helped establish on 15 May 1980—Lini called on women across the nation to unite with purpose and meaningfully participate in national decision-making, particularly in Parliament.

She reminded women of the sacrifices endured during the pre- and post-independence struggles. “You know, our independence did not come easy. Some did not want us to be independent, and this caused serious disturbances within families. Part of the country did not want to break away. In the end, the Kumul Force from Papua New Guinea was called in to quell the rebellion,” she said.

“Both Francophone and Anglophone women came together and decided to form the national women’s organisation to support families.

“We saw the need for women to step in and support families when men were arrested and detained. Lesline Malsungai (elected the first President of VNCW) went to Malekula where unrest had broken out and men were taken to prison. She met with the women left behind.

“I went to Fanafo (headquarters of the breakaway movement led by Jimmy Stevens), where many men were arrested and imprisoned in Luganville, and met with the wives of Jimmy Stevens and other affected women.”

She said there is an ongoing need for women and girls throughout the country to remember the sacrifices made by the founders of VNCW and to unite in order to meaningfully participate in decision-making, including in Parliament.

In a condolence message posted on Facebook, the Prime Minister’s Office wrote: “On behalf of the Government, we wish to extend our deepest condolences to the Lini family on the passing of the late Motarilavoa Hilda Lini—one of the first to break through our male-dominated Parliament during those early days. She later championed many causes, including a Nuclear-Free Pacific. Rest in peace, soldier, for you have fought a great fight.”

Speaker of Parliament Stephen Felix also extended his condolences to the family and loved ones of the late Hilda Lini, stating: “She was more than a former MP. She was a trailblazer who paved the way for women in leadership and politics in Vanuatu. Her courage, dedication, and vision inspired many and have left an indelible mark on the history of our nation.

“As Vanuatu continues to grow and celebrate its independence, her story and contributions will forever be remembered and honoured. She has left behind a legacy filled with wisdom, strength, and cherished memories that we will carry with us always.”

David Robie, founding director of the Pacific Media Centre and editor of Pacific Scoop and PMC Online, wrote: “Our condolences to the Lini family from all of us at Asia Pacific Reportand the Asia Pacific Media Network(Pacific Journalism Review – APMN). Hilda was such an inspiration and a tireless campaigner for a Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific, and global nuclear justice. I have fond memories of that 1983 NFIP conference in Port Vila's Independence Park in the heady early days of Vanuatu's freedom from colonialism. I shared with her on some projects, and her late brother Walter wrote the original foreword for one of my books, Eyes Of Fire: the Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior. RIP ‘warrior.’”

According to the official programme, the coffin of Late Motarilavoa Hilda Lini departed the mortuary for her home at Ohlen at 7am yesterday, before proceeding to Parliament at 10am.

Following the ceremony, her body was taken back to her Ohlen home and then to Maliudu Nakamal, where a kastom overnight vigil took place.

This morning, Tuesday 27 May, a Funeral Service is being held at 8am at Tagabe Anglican Church. At 1pm, her final journey will begin from Port Vila’s Bauerfield Airport to Sara Airport.

She will be laid to rest at Laone, North Pentecost.