Pitcairn

If it hadn't been for the impossibility of anchoring offshore, in the days before power made such feats possible, the officers of the British naval ship that circled the Island in search of mutineers could have very well come ashore and ended the saga of the quintessential Mutiny before it had gained momentum. The continuity of this two century sojourn on this one-mile-by-two-mile dot in the South Pacific, a week's sail south east of Tahiti, may have come up against an obstacle every bit as formidable as the Royal Navy bent on justice at the height of their might.

There is a threat to the security of a society that has prevailed on Pitcairn Island for 214 years, except for a short hiatus. It could suffer a irrecoverable blow if the trial of the seven men, who have been charged with sexual misconduct, results in convictions. In 1999, an island woman complained to a visiting British policewoman of sexual abuse. That being said, two Pitcairn women have claimed that they were threatened by the police if they didn't provide information.

Getting to the truth in this Byzantine imbroglio would test the wit and the wisdom of Solomon. Some islanders have stated that they believe this is a plot by Britain to see the end of settlement on the island. If the alleged offenders, whose names have not been disclosed, were to receive lengthy prison sentences, there would not be enough man power to man the longboat that ferry supplies ashore from passing ships, which are few and far between in this day of containerization.

After a prolonged legal battle the seven have established their right to be tried on their home island. Defence and prosecution lawyers have agreed that the female plaintiffs will be allowed to give evidence via video satellite link-up from their present homes in New Zealand and Australia. If convicted, the men will be jailed on Pitcairn in a prison staffed by jailers sent from New Zealand. When it is necessary to launch the whaleboat, couldn't the men be let out of jail for an hour or two? It's not as if they could escape.

Extradition proceedings are under way against a further six accused who reside in Australia and New Zealand.

The Scotsman News wrote "the sordid accusations of rape,indecent assault and indency committed against women and children - have plunged Pitcairn into its deepest crisis since the Bounty mutineers first arrived in 1790 with their Tahitian women.

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