Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events,

I July I992 to 30 June I993

Reviews of Marshall Islands andNauru are not included in this issue.

BELAU

Primary and general elections, thebeginning of the Nakamura adminis­tration, progress on the political statusissue, and the trial of John O. Ngi­raked, were the major events of 1992­93 in Belau.

The primary election of 22 Septem­ber 1992 signaled a dramatic shift froman older to a younger generation ofpolitical leaders. This was the first pri­mary race since the constitution wasadopted in 1981, and its purpose was toavoid the possibility of candidates win­ning with less than a majority of thevotes. There were three candidates forpresident, four for vice president, and8490 voters (74 percent) turned out tovote. In the presidential race, JohnsonToribiong (3191 votes) beat outgoingvice president Kuniwo Nakamura(3138) by a mere 53 votes, with incum­bent Nagiratkel Etpison (2089) in thirdplace. Tommy Remengesau Jr polledhighest with 2832 votes in the vice pres­idential race, with Sandra Pierantozzi(2038) beating out Minoru Ueki (1861)and Moses Uludong (1632) for secondplace. The first two finishers in eachrace were eligible to contest the elec­tion proper.

The finalists had just five weeksbefore the general elections to reevalu­ate their strategies. Nakamura's cam­paign team established satellite head­quarters sites in nearly every major

village area in an effort to reach thegrass-roots voter. Pierantozzi, the firstwoman to run for high executive officein Belau, invested enormous energyand about US$50,000 into her cam­paign. On election day, eighty percentof voters turned out, and the results ineach race were very close. Nakamuraemerged victorious over Toribiong by amargin of 134 votes in the presidentialrace, while Remengesau defeated Pie­rantozzi by 320 votes for vice presi­dent.

There were a few minor surprisesand numerous close finishes in the racefor the thirty albiil Era Kelulau (PalauNational Congress) seats. For exam­ple, in Airai State, incumbent HideoTell beat his main challenger by justeleven votes; S. Tudong beat incum­bent L. Ngiraiwet by eight votes inNgardmau State; and in Peleliu StateH. Kebekol defeated incumbent JoeKintol by fifteen votes. The closest raceof all was on the distant southwestisland state of Sonsorol with an elector­ate of ninety-seven voters, many ofwhom live in Koror. There FlavianCarlos defeated Marcellino Xavier byjust two votes.

Belau voters were also asked todecide whether to amend the constitu­tional provisions regarding the transitof US nuclear powered and armedships and aircraft. Ibedul Gibbons andothers challenged the way the issue waspresented on the ballot, but the BelauSupreme Court upheld the referendumresults. Voters approved the amend-

POLITICAL REVIEWS

ment, making it possible to overridethe nuclear provisions in the constitu­tion with a simple majority of voters,rather than the previous 75 percent.This helped clear the way for theeighth, and probably last, referendumon the Compact of Free Association,likely to be held in November 1993.

The arrival of the Nakamura ad­ministration represented an importantturning point. Nakamura was electedby a majority vote, slim though it was,is articulate in both Palauan andEnglish, and knowledgeable of localtraditions and customs. He graduatedfrom the University of Hawai'i with adegree in economics, and has been verysuccessful in both private business andpolitical office. He is dedicated toimproving government services, asuperb planner, has keen interpersonaland political insight, and is an effectiveleader.

Nakamura quickly negotiated asolution to the long-standing problemof the IPSECO power plant loan default.The debt would be settled by a pay­ment of US$20 million over five yearsto the consortium of British banks. Theplant had an estimated value of US$19

million, and the original loan madeto Belau in 1983 was supposedly forUS$32.5 million. The consortium alsoagreed to dismiss its suit against Belaufiled in 1985 with the US District Courtof New York.

Nakamura also made substantialprogress on the political status issue.As vice president, he had negotiatedthe 1989 Guam Accords, which gaineda half dozen important modificationsto the compact from the Bush adminis­tration. Soon after taking office, Naka­mura attempted to build on these ear-

165

lier concessions, working closely withlocal leaders, as well as State Depart­ment officials in Washington. In a 6May letter to Nakamura, US Secretaryof State Warren Christopher outlinedsix major assurances regarding thecompact. This development cleared theway for the passage of Public Law 4-9,the Compact Implementation Act of1993, which recognized these changes,and gave the president authority toestablish a date for a further referen­dum on the compact. If everything goesaccording to plan, Belau will finallyexchange its Trust Territory status forthat of a Freely Associated State in late1993 or early 1994.

Perhaps the most important ofChristopher's assurances concerned thetwo issues that probably preventedpassage of the compact in the previousseven referenda. Regarding the landissue, the Christopher assurance reads:"It is the intention of the United StatesGovernment, other than during peri­ods of crisis or hostilities, not to exer­cise its rights . . . to train or maneuverin Palau." In addition, "the UnitedStates Government will not designateadditional defense sites in Palau underthe Compact unless such sites are nec­essary for the purposes contemplated... in the Compact," that is, activitiesand operations directly related to thesecurity and defense of Belau. It wasagreed that two defense sites, MalakalHarbor and Airai Airport, would beused by the United States.

Christopher also indicated that theUnited States would take full responsi­bility for any nuclear accidents:

In peacetime, the United States wouldrespond to a nuclear incident or toxic

166 THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING 1994

accident in Palauan territorial waterscaused by United States forces as wewould if the incident or accident were totake place in United States territorialwaters ... the United States wouldassume no-fault liability coverage, withno limit in compensation for nucleardamages. The United States will alsoensure that our allies who possess nu­clear capabilities, and who may exercisein Palauan territorial waters, providesimilar assurances.

On 29 April 1993, John O.Ngiraked, a prominent figure in Belauand former candidate for the presi­dency, and his wife, Emerita Kerradel,were found guilty of aiding and abet­ting the murder of Haruo I. Remeliik,Belau's first president (Pacific DailyNews, 30 Apr 1993). They were sen­tenced to life in prison, and began serv­ing their sentences on 15 June.

Patrick Ramarii, the confessed gun­man in the Remeliik nurder was givcm alesser sentence of fifteen years becauseof the plea bargain arrangement he hadmade with the government prior to thelong trial. Remarii testified that Ngi­raked, his wife, and a close associate,the late Heinrick Ngowakl, offeredhim gifts and up to US$I million in cashif the assassination propelled Ngir<l.kedinto the presidency. A fourth defen­dant, Sulial Heinrick, was acquittedon the basis that he was coerced intoinvolvement in the crime by his step­father, Heinrick Ngowakl. It appearsthat Ramarii, who was imprisoned onan unrelated assault charge in 1992,admitted to the murder and agreed toplea bargain only after Ngiraked couldno longer make payments to him.

DONALD R. SHUSTER

COMMONWEALTH OF THE

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

The year 1992-93 was one that mostresidents would probably like to for­get. There were setbacks for the gov­ernment, a serious blow to privateenterprise, and social problems such asillegal drugs began to have a very seri­ous impact on society. Little that couldbe considered positive occurred.

Governor Larry I. Guerrero becameembroiled in impeachment proceedingsduring the year. In September 1992, hepaid the Mitsubishi company US$2 mil­lion against a US$5 million debt for thepurchase of a new generator. Therewas no appropriation. On 19 Septem­ber he made a further payment of US$3

million, again without any appropria­tion. He claimed at the time that thesewere available and unencumberedfunds. At this time, Shell Oil wasunsuccessfully seeking some US$4 mil­lion in past due bills for fuel deliveriesto the utilities corporation.

On 26 September, RepresentativesHeinz Hofschneider, Stanley Torres,and Tom Villagomes openly discussedimpeaching the governor for his ac­tions. That night their houses wereshot at from a passing vehicle. Thepolice investigation revealed that theshots were fired from a nine-millimeterweapon, a type of gun that only thepolice were authorized to use. Testsconducted with the help of a forensicspecialist from Guam failed to locatethe weapon in the police arsenal, andno arrests were made.

On 23 October the governor orderedhis cabinet to get their families to lobbythe legislators regarding the impeach­ment proceedings. Meanwhile, he

POLITICAL REVIEWS

appointed the brother of the senatepresident to a position on the Com­monwealth Trial Court. The appoint­ment was confirmed without a publichearing, much to the chagrin of thelocal bar association.

On 2 November the House commit­tee dropped impeachment proceedingsagainst the governor, stating that hewas not guilty of treason or felony.Members did, however, feel he wasguilty of other less important infrac­tions. On 5 November the new judgewas sworn into office.

Another significant issue during theyear involved the Commonwealth Util­ities Corporation. Controversial Exec­utive Director Ray Guerrero tenderedhis resignation (again) on 17 July 1992,saying that he did not need the harass­ment he was getting from the legisla­ture and others. The board of directorsaccepted his resignation, but thenreversed its decision after receiving aletter from the governor citing the pos­sible results of Guerrero's departure,and implying that essential servicemight be interrupted.

In October, following the governor'spayments to Mitsubishi and others,Representative Heinz Hofschneiderattempted an audit of the corporation'sfinances. He asked for about US$90million worth of canceled checkssigned only by Guerrero. He did getphotocopies of the checks, and alleg­edly found some discrepancies. WhenGuerrero refused to supply the origi­nals, Hofschneider issued a subpoenawhich Guerrero refused to honor.Hofschneider then hired DennisO'Shea, a private lawyer, as a specialprosecutor to bring charges of con­tempt against Guerre,ro.

Then in February 1993, when ShellOil was threatening to stop deliveriesof fuel to the government because ofunpaid bills, Guerrero (and GovernorGuerrero) asked some of the biggestbusinesses on island for advance pay­ments of future utilities charges. Theywere able to raise enough cash to per­suade Shell not to interrupt service.The private businesses were skepticalabout the utilities corporation's cashflow situation, and afraid that theymight have to foot the bill again thenext time around.

The legislature was unable to presscharges against Guerrero because of atechnicality (there was no representa­tive of the Public Auditor's officepresent when the subpoena wasserved). Threatening a counter suit fordefamation of character, and as Hof­schneider considered another sub­poena, Guerrero then proceeded toprovide the requested original checks.

Relations with Washington weremore strained than ever. In June 1992,US Congressman Lagomarsino orderedthe CNMI to provide information con­cerning tax rebate payments. He wasacting on information that the CNMIwas rebating 95 percent of taxes col­lected by government over and abovethe local tax on wages and salaries,while at the same time negotiating foradditional funding from the UnitedStates under Section 702 of the cove­nant. After initially refusing on thegrounds of "internal sovereignty," Gov­ernor Guerrero surrendered the rebaterecords in July when Lagomarsinothreatened a congressional subpoena.

At congressional hearings on 30 Julyin Washington, chair Miller and sub­committee chair Ron deLugo blasted

*##t~'ifi'i$fiJl4jM!fM.f&n+.ba.Mif#!!r;!;;5;'.,"')J!5IMM;M!&hhP;h.OOi."q;;Pil 'M·· nmen

168 THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC. SPRING 1994

the government of the CNMI andraised serious questions about localimmigration policies, labor conditions,tax policies and social problems.Miller's committee then gave theCNMI a stern warning about possiblefederal actions if the situation was notresolved swiftly. Miller later soughtanswers to a list of sixty-one questionsabout the situation in CNMI.

Following these hearings, GovernorGuerrero's public relations officereleased a press statement saying thatmany of the issues had been resolved ina private meeting with CongressmanMiller. Miller was most upset, andclaimed that no such meeting hadtaken place. He wrote to Guerrero stat­ing that this was a serious breech oftrust which undermined the credibilityof the CNMI government.

In October, Miller warned theCNMI again about reported laborabuses in the garment industry andthreatened to cancel the duty freeaccess to the United States of the gar­ments if conditions did not improve.RepresentativeLuis Payne of West Vir­ginia introduced a bill in congresswhich would require that at least 50percent of CNMI garment workers beUS citizens or local hires, and earn theUS minimum wage of US$4.25 perhour. The "Payne Bill" was introducedtoo late in the year to be passed by thecurrent congress, but served as a warn­ing to the CNMI. Five thousand work­ers are employed in the industry,mostly from China and Thailand.

At another hearing in early March,the governor and his staff were"stunned" by the tongue-lashing theyreceived from Miller and other con­gressmen. According to them, the

CNMI had not dealt satisfactorily withthe immigration, tax reform, laborabuses, and other matters raised theprevious year. Later in the month,Miller expressed his opposition to con­tinued funding of the CNMI under Sec­tion 702 of the covenant.

To complicate matters, CiliforniaCongressman Gallegly introduced twobills that would alter the nature of thecommonwealth. One would requirefederal control of immigration, and theother would immediately apply the fed­eral minimum wage to all sectors of theeconomy. For better or worse, ifpassed, these bills would close downthe present economic system of thecommonwealth.

Perhaps the most heated internalissue in recent years concerns the 1992CNMI Supreme Court decision thatthe purchase of land by an otherwisequalified local citizen using moneyfrom an outside source was in violationof the constitution. This interpretationled to a series of lawsuits by originallandowners attempting to recoverproperty on the grounds that the origi­nal transaction was unconstitutional.Twenty-one cases were filed, mostly byone lawyer, challenging the legal statusof some major investment properties,including the us$IOo-million NikkoHotel and related properties, thePacific Islands Club, and the Duty FreeShoppers store. The owner of theNikko Hotel, Japan Airlines, made itclear that if it loses the property, it willwithdraw all of its interests from thecommonwealth, including the airline,and a major tour agency.

This issue is extremely complex,and has created a great deal of uncer­tainty about all land transactions. All

POLITICAL REVIEWS

but one title insurance company haspulled out in frustration, and investorsnow seek public land for their invest­ments. Most major resort and otherconstruction activity has come to ahalt, leading to the repatriation ofbetween three and five thousand con­struction workers.

Social issues were also of concernduring 1992-93. Three non-residentworkers were murdered, and all thecases involved the use of "ice" (crystalmethamphetamine), which reachedepidemic levels in the Commonwealth.There were about one hundred sixtypatients (the youngest eight years old)at the hospital seeking voluntary de­toxification.

A World Health Organizationreport on the sex industry estimatedthat there were up to three thousandprostitutes on Saipan, mostly Filipinas.Women working in bars and restau­rants boycotted a newspaper thatpublished the report, on the groundsthat it implied that they were all prosti­tutes. They filed an unsuccessful defa­mation suit. Another group of women,led by the Tinian Women's Associa­tion, successfully pushed legislationbanning prostitution in the Common­wealth. However, the law was notbeing enforced because Public Safety(police) did not have the necessaryresources.

Elections were also a feature of1993. Following a May primary, onlyincumbent Larry Guerrero and Ben­jamin Manglona for the Republicans,and Froylan Tenorio and Jesus Borjafor the Democrats, were eligible to runfor governor in November 1993. In theprimary, Guerrero narrowly survived astrong challenge from Juan Babauta,

thought to be the golden boy of thereformers in the CNMI.

SAMUEL F. MCPHETRES

FEDERATED STATES OF

MICRONESIA

After "long and rigorous" congres­sional confirmation hearings, Presidentalter swore in the last six of his cabinetofficials. He noted that another mile­stone had been achieved with theappointment of Camilo Noket ofChuuk State as the first Micronesianattorney general, meaning all cabinetpositions were filled by "our own capa­ble FSM citizens."

During an August 1992 special ses­sion, the FSM Congress approved leg­islation to establish a College of Micro­nesia-FSM, approved the presidentialnominations to the board of regents forthe college, and confirmed Dr CatalinoCantero, of Pohnpei, as the secretaryof the newly created FSM Departmentof Education. The legislation replacesa treaty between the Republics of Palauand Marshall Islands and the FSM,which expired on I March 1993.

The national congress was dividedover the issue of membership of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) andthe World Bank. Chair of the Ways andMeans Committee Claude Phillip ofKosrae State challenged his colleaguesto overcome personal differences andvote for IMF membership, and SenatorPhillip pointed out that membershipwould make financial assistance avail­able for education. The legislation wassubsequently approved by congress inanother session.

A divided congress also deferred

17° THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING 1994

action on the so-called Westpac pro­posal to a later session. The proposalwould allow the national governmentto lend US$10 million for fisheriesdevelopment to Westpac, a joint ven­ture between FSM and some US citi­zens. The money would come from abusiness development fund establishedunder the Compact of Free Associa­tion, and be used to purchase threefishing vessels. Chair of the Committeeon Resources and Development Sena­tor Redley Killion of Chuuk Stateargued that the project would producejobs, train local people in the technicaland managerial aspect of the tunaindustry, generate revenue and foreigncurrency, and boost exports. However,Senator Moses Mackwelung of Kosraepointed out that the proposal was forvessels alone, and was contrary both tothe advice of fisheries consultants andcommon sense. He argued that shore­line developments, such as canneries,dry docks, and freezers, should comefirst in a fisheries development project.President Olter subsequently submitteda bill to congress which would facili­tate the Westpac proposal by alteringthe rules governing business loans toforeign-owned companies.

Meanwhile, another FSM joint ven­ture with an outside company wentus$r.66 million into debt. CarolineFisheries Corporation is a joint venturebetween the National Fisheries Corpo­ration, the Economic DevelopmentAuthority (an agency of Pohnpei StateGovernment), and an Australian part­ner, Tuna Development Company. Ini­tially, the joint venture purchased threeold and small purse seiners from theAustralian partner, which then re-

ceived a fee to operate the vessels fromits base in Australia. After the com­pany incurred a substantial deficit inthe first year of operation, the twoFSM partners injected more than US$1million in fresh capital to purchase asystem of payaos 'fish aggregate de­vices' to save the company from shut­down. The recovery was successful butshort-lived, as Japanese and Taiwanesefishing fleets licensed by the FSM sabo­taged all the payaos units. In addition,the aging fishing vessels needed dry­docking and refitting, and tuna pricesdropped well below their projected lev­els. Late in 1992, the directors of theTuna Development Corporation, theEconomic Development Authority,and the executive director and chair ofthe board of National Fisheries Corpo­ration resigned or were replaced.

All ten two-year term members ofthe Seventh FSM Congress were re­elected on 2 March 1993 (the other fourmembers represent the states ofKosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap forfour-year terms). In May, congressdecided to seat Senator Kalisto Refalo­pei of Faichuk, Chuuk State, despite acontroversy over his reelection. Na­tional Election Commissioner BobMori initially denied a request for anew special election for Faichuk voterson Guam, but a panel of three judgesof FSM Supreme Court overruled hisdecision. Speaker Jack Fritz arguedthat the constitution gave congressjurisdiction in such matters, and de­fended the decision to seat the senatorwithout a special election. Congressfailed to act on the president'S requestto appropriate US$38,ooo for the spe­cial election.

POLITICAL REVIEWS

President Olter's election as chair ofthe two-day conference ofFSM statesgovernors and national leaders in Maywas seen as a favorable response to hisadministration. He advocated unity ofpurpose through goodwill among lead­ers, and urged agreement on an actionplan to develop an integrated and via­ble commercial fishery.

If the June 1992 departure of expa­triate ChiefJustice Edward C. Kingcreated a void, the proposedUS$20,OOO special services contract forhis return created an uproar. SenatorLeo A. Falcam ofPohnpei State ques­tioned the manner in which the con­tract was made, calling it an "under­handed deal," and urging the congressto investigate the actions of the judicialbranch.

One of issues that ignited flamesbetween the national legislative andjudicial branches was the arrest ofMartin Jano of the municipality ofKitti, Pohnpei, in connection with amoney-laundering scam in the UnitedStates. The arrest warrant was signedby then Chief Justice King. The arrestwas followed by a US sponsoredmotion to extradite Jano to facecharges on the US mainland under theterms of a subsidiary agreement nego­tiated under the Compact of Free Asso­ciation. The process was put to the testwhen the Honorable Iso Nahnken Sal­vador Iriarte of Nett Municipality,Pohnpei State, championed Jano'scause. Jano is a member ofIriarte's latenahnmwarki father's Sounkawad clan.Iriarte publicly attacked FSM andPohnpei State leaders, and the generalpublic, for their apparently lukewarmattitude toward protecting Microne-

sian interests, and declared that Jano'sconstitutional right to due process wasbeing denied. In June 1993, the FSMSupreme Court determined that Janowould willingly face the charges in theUnited States.

The nomination of Associate Justiceand former Secretary of ExternalAffairs Andon Amaraich as FSM chiefjustice was still pending before con­gress at the end of the review period.The delay was allegedly connected toAmaraich's involvement in the ap­proval of Justice King's proposed spe­cial services contract, and in the Janoextradition case.

On 17 September 1992, the FSM cel­ebrated its first anniversary as a mem­ber of the United Nations, and on 25June 1993 became a member of theInternational Monetary Fund. In Feb­ruary 1993 France became the seventhEuropean nation to formally establishdiplomatic ties. Meanwhile, Japanawarded us$8.5 million to upgrade theelectrical utilities in the State ofPohnpei.

During the period under review,President Bailey Olter represented theSouth Pacific Forum on an official visitto Japan, and at the historic EarthSummit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Aspresident of the Federated States ofMicronesia he made his first state visitto the People's Republic of China,where he declared FSM's "one China"policy. The policy prohibits formal andofficial contacts with the governmentof Taiwan, but allows for free commer­cial contacts between the two coun­tries.

KETSON JOHNSON

== • emnpu@\Wd'MffiMfH em;

172

* = ===g==:nr

THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC. SPRING 1994

GUAM

Intense activity along the north Pacif­ic's tropical convergence zone broughtGuam six typhoons (including threedirect eye passages) between Augustand November 1992. While Guam resi­dents are among the best prepared inthe world for such occurrences, thecontinuous impact of the stormsstressed not only the population(including nearly a thousand citizens ofthe freely associated states of Microne­sia, who spent two and a half monthsin the "Camp Omar" tent city), but alsothe island's economic sector. In addi­tion to a significant decline in visitorarrivals during the latter half of 1992,other local business activity was ham­pered by continuous power outages, aswell as loss of property.

While the visible effects of the stormseason of 1992 remained, concertedefforts to bring the island back to nor­malcy were largely successful, andincluded one hundred megawatts ofnew power generation facilities. TheUS government appropriated approxi­mately us$30 million dollars for civil­ian losses (with an additional US$150million for the US military), and workcrews from the US Virgin Islands, theCommonwealth of the NorthernMariana Islands and the Republic ofPalau assisted the government of Guamand volunteer organizations in recov­eryefforts.

On the political front, brief periodsof calm were offset by an energy thatnearly matched the excitement andtribulation of the typhoon season. The"political season" began with atyphoon-delayed election, which sawnewcomer and Democrat Robert A.

Underwood win over Republicanincumbent and retired General VicenteG. Blaz in the race for Guam's congres­sional delegate seat. Underwood, anindigenous rights activist since the1970S who retired from his post as theacademic vice president of the Univer­sity of Guam in early 1992, ran a grass­roots campaign that brought himalmost 56 percent of the votes. In thelegislative elections, the Democratswon fourteen of the twenty-one seats,with another newcomer who ran agrass-roots campaign, Tom Ada, gar­nering the most votes in the island­wide election. Incumbent Speaker JoeT. San Agustin was selected by his col­leagues to continue in his post and toserve as the titular head of the island'sDemocratic Party. Mayoral elections(conducted every four years) were alsoheld with five of Guam's nineteenmunicipalities selecting new mayors.

Guam's relationship with the UnitedStates continued to be a focus of atten­tion and a source of frustration. Afterthree-and-a-half years of discussionswith Guam's multibranch, bipartisanCommission on Self-Determination,the Bush Administration Task Force onGuam (BATFOG) released its report onthe island's electorally endorsed Com­monwealth Act. The discussions them­selves had been too long and frustrat­ing for many Guamanians, with the USgovernment more often than notopposing such central tenants ofGuam's proposal as indigenous rights,mutual consent, and land return. BAT­

FOG'S final report retracted support formost of the few remaining areas ofagreement, such as immigration andthe Chamorro Land Trust.

Reaction in Guam to the report was

POLITICAL REVIEWS

harsh. In a late January letter to thenew president and key members of theUS House and Senate, members of theCommission on Self-Determinationnoted that they had engaged in goodfaith discussions with BATFOG, despitebeing "frustrated by the neocolonialviews that we often confronted." Theynoted further that the report "renegedon signed agreements ignored rel-evant judicial decisions misrepre-sented joint discussions and was gener­ally mean-spirited in its considerationof the legitimate aspirations of the peo­ple of Guam." The commission alsocalled on the president to appoint apersonal representative to head hisadministration's review of Guam'scommonwealth proposal, a recommen­dation that was supported by Guam'snew congressional delegate and theisland's legislature.

In early February, Guam leaders hadthe opportunity to let the new adminis­tration know firsthand its views on thedrive for political status. In meetings atthe White House with the recently-con­firmed secretary of interior (who ischarged with oversight of US islandterritories), and at the National Con­ference on United States-Insular AreasRelations, island leaders took astraightforward approach.

Governor and Chair of the Self­Determination Commission Joseph F.Ada introduced himself at the confer­ence as the "Governor of the Americancolony of Guam." In an hour-longspeech, which summarized the island'sninety-year political struggle and theoffense given by BATFOG, Ada com­pared the situation in Guam with Brit­ain's relations with its thirteen Ameri­can colonies. He noted, however, that

173

"no self-respecting people would makethe loss of their liberty the price of theirgratitude. We are not ungrateful," Adasaid of the people of Guam, "but weare unwilling to remain a colony."Other Guam participants joined Ada incalling for the US government to aban­don colonialism, and to move forwardwith a constructive policy of mutualrespect.

While some federal bureaucratstook offense, principals of the Clintonadministration gave Guam's leaders awarm reception. Secretary of InteriorBabbitt eagerly agreed to pursue theappointment of a representative of thepresident to deal with the political sta­tus issue. This support was subse­quently reiterated by the assistant sec­retary for the Office of Territorial andInternational Affairs (the post that washeld by the chair of BATFOG). The"Team Guam," bipartisan approach­which incorporated the Commissionon Self-Determination, the congres­sional delegate, and the Guam legisla­ture-certainly helped make the newadministration aware of the serious­ness of Guam's quest for status.

"Team Guam" was together again inMarch on a different issue, this timethe closure of the US Naval Air Stationat Agaiia. When Agaiia failed to showup on the US secretary of defense's listof bases to be closed, Guam's leadersappealed to the Defense Base Closureand Realignment Commission to putthe base on the list. Given the conster­nation of most US communities aboutthe economic impact of base closings,Guam's request seemed odd and caughtthe attention of the US press. The USmilitary maintained that it could relo­cate the air station to Anderson Air

j£@i!M@kW4A •

174 THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC. SPRING 1994

Force Base at a cost of more thanUS$300 million, but on 30 June thecommission recommended that it beclosed. Extensive work by "TeamGuam," as well as reviews by the Gen­eral Accounting Office, helped demon­strate the cost savings involved. Thecommission also noted the absence ofany justification for two military airbases in Guam, and local calls for thereturn of property held by the UnitedStates.

The US State Department's insis­tence that Guam playa subordinaterole in regional organizations whippedup political winds to a frenzy in theJune Plenipotentiary Meeting of theSouth Pacific Regional EnvironmentalProgram in Western Samoa. The meet­ing was called to confirm the indepen­dent status of the program, recentlyseparated from the South Pacific Com­mission, and focused primarily on therole that possessions of metropolitanpowers would play in the new organi­zations. State Department representa­tives held to their long establishedcourse in objecting to US territoriesbeing full members of the new body.After nine hours and thirteen votes, inwhich the United States was the soledissenter, agreement was finallyreached to establish the treaty organi­zation with territories as nonvotingmembers. This was only after Guam'sGovernor Ada stepped down from vot­ing. He subsequently withdrew Guamfrom the organization, citing US impe­rial attitudes and his government'sunwillingness to accept second-classstatus. In a letter of protest to PresidentClinton, Ada noted that the only basisfor US participation in the new organi­zation was its offshore possessions,

and pointed to the irony of the UnitedStates denying full participation tothose possessions.

The government of Guam increasedits participation in another interna­tional forum, the United NationsDecolonization Committee. In 1992,representatives of the governor madestatements before both the decoloniza­tion committee and the Fourth Com­mittee of the General Assembly. In1993, representatives appeared beforethe Subcommittee on Small Territoriesand participated in the committee'sRegional Decolonization Seminar inPapua New Guinea. The governmentof Guam wished to provide factualinformation on the situation in Guam,and to note conditions there vis-a-visinternational decolonization norms,especially since the United States hadceased to provide such information.

The spring of 1993 was a time ofaction for some former landownerswhose property had been taken by theUS government in the 1940S but notactively used. Led by Chamorro activ­ist Angel Santos, several families set upresidences on their ancestral propertiesand refused to move or answer courtsummons. In June, Congressional dele­gate Underwood, citing the possibilityof violence, wrote to US Attorney JanetReno suggesting that any attempts toremove the families be carefully consid­ered. Underwood also called on the USgovernment to conduct a "land sum­mit" to address myriad issues concern­ing property controlled by the UnitedStates.

Guam's economy began to slowdown in 1992-93 after a decade ofexponential growth. The island's visi­tor industry was slow to recover from

POLITICAL REVIEWS

the effects of the 1992 typhoon season,and the downturn in the Japaneseeconomy slowed visitor arrival growth.However, June 1993 visitor arrivalswere substantially up, and a "visawaiver" program for visitors from Tai­wan was imminent. This was goodnews for the visitor industry, which hasadded five hundred rooms in the pastyear. In order to adjust governmentexpenditures to the lower projectedrevenues, the government implementedan 8 percent across-the-board budgetcut in June.

As the island readies for the 1993typhoon season, meteorologists aresuggesting that this year's phenomenamay be as intense as last year's. Withgubernatorial elections scheduled forlate 1994, the political storms areassured to be even stronger.

LELAND BETTIS

KIRIBATI

The period under review marked thesecond anniversary of Beretitenti Tean­naki's ascendancy to political leader­ship. Notwithstanding the prevalenceof unusually wet and cool weather, thepolitical and economic environmentcaused considerable turbulence for thegovernment. It lost its majority in Par­liament with the defection of fourbackbenchers to form a new politicalparty, Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabo­moa 'Good Health, Peace, and Pros­perity'. Their departure was compen­sated by the addition of the twin seatsof Banaba and Rabi to the governmentside. After years of benign neglect bythe Kiribati government, the Banabanswere hopeful that there would be a

175

more sympathetic approach to theirproblems if they joined the rulingparty. By the end of the review period,the government and opposition wereevenly poised at twenty members each.The resignation of a former govern­ment minister, the Member for Arorae,necessitated a by-election in the south­ernmost constituency, resulting in arather surprising victory for TanieruAwerika ahead of the popular femalecandidate, Teima Onorio. Both thegovernment and the opposition triedhard to win his party allegiance toensure their single majority for theAugust 1993 meeting of Parliament.The drastic drop in the copra price, themainstay of low-income earners in theouter islands, and the ever-increasingcost of living did not help alleviatePresident Teannaki's political predica­ment.

The 1993 Budget session was nota­ble for the A$r million contribution tothe country's National Reserve Fund,made possible by the windfall paymentof fishing license fees from the UnitedStates; the imposition of extra customtariffs on selected luxury items, includ­ing an increase of one cent per liter ongasoline products; and the proposedassessment of custom tariffs on the elF

value of goods instead of the currentFOB valuation. The last issue was the"hot potato," and it almost catapultedthe government out of power.

The May 1993 session saw a politi­cal deadlock as each side had twentymembers. The government's SeventhNational Development Plan was with­drawn since it could not receive legisla­tive blessing and endorsement. It was asevere blow for the government as itimplied a clear loss of confidence by

r MbM

THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING 1994

the majority of members of Parliament.The important Income Tax Amend­ment Bill, moved by the government torectify loopholes in the existing incometax legislation and strengthen its handin a series of legal tax cases, wasdefeated.

In a secret ballot, Roniti Teiwakiwas appointed leader of Te Maneabaparty, the biggest opposition party.

A conference of unimane 'elders',council presidents, and clerks, wasconvened by the government on theisland of Abaiang in early June. It wasan opportunity for government andouter-island participants to confer anddiscuss matters of national and localimportance. The conference wasfunded jointly by the Kiribati and Brit­ish governments on the rationale that itprovided local government trainingand education. There was resentmentregarding the Abaiang venue, becauseit is the home island of the incumbentTeannaki and it was seen as an attemptto shower benefits on his constituency.The participants had to pay half oftheir per diem (A$27.50)to the AbaiangCouncil for services provided. Previ­ously, the biennial conference was heldon South Tarawa, and participantswere able to save their subsistenceallowances by staying with friends andrelatives in the capital. The nextMororo will be held on the island ofNikunau in southern Kiribati in 1995.

The drop in world market priceforced the Copra Society to reduce itscopra price from 35 cents per kilo to 29cents, a most unwelcome decision tothe rural population. The copra pricehas always been subsidized by theCopra Society using its reserve fund

and government contributions fromthe European Community's StabexFund. Government's policy has been toguarantee a copra price of at least 22cents per kilo, regardless of world mar­ket price. The general opinion was thatgovernment should support the CopraSociety to maintain a reasonable copraprice of 35 cents per kilo. With themajority of the population dependenton copra income, it is no wonder peo­ple were crying about their abysmallylow incomes and the escalating cost ofliving.

The Revenue Equalization ReserveFund is estimated to contain overA$200 million. The government'sannual drawdown since 1979 has beena conservative A$7.5 million, despiteinflation and the increase in popula­tion. The fund's estimated annualincome is slightly over A$20 million,of which A$12.5 million is reinvested.Although it has been splendidly han­dled by reputable United Kingdomstockbroker James Capel Limited,there was growing concern regardingthe Reserve Fund's role in the economicdevelopment of the country, andimprovements in the general standardof living. The was a general feeling thatthese funds should be used to helpincrease the dwindling per capitaincome of I-Kiribati, which has plum­meted from A$6oo per year to less thanA$400 since independence.

The 1992-93 period has been pleas­antly cool with plenty of tuna andcopra, but poor prices and the risingcosts of living turned out to be the hotissues for a rather lukewarm govern­ment.

RONITl TEIWAKI