Political Reviews

Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 john r haglelgam, david w kupferman, kelly g marsh, samuel f mcphetres, donald r shuster, tyrone j taitano

Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 lorenz gonschor, hapakuke pierre leleivai, margaret mutu, forrest wade young

© 2012 by University of Hawai‘i Press

135 156 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012) in the month of May alone, putting .huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/06/ Marshallese society on track to reach marshall-islands-climate-_n_792799.html over fifty suicides for the year—twice Heine, Carl. 1974. Micronesia at the the total for its worst year on record, Crossroads: A Reappraisal of the Microne- 2003, in which there were twenty-six sian Political Dilemma. Honolulu: Univer- (MIJ, 3 June 2011). While the Ministry sity Press of Hawaii. of Health and various nongovernmen- Huffington Post. 2011. 50 Million tal organizations have been mobilized Environmental Refugees by 2020, to stem the surge in suicides, it is not Experts Predict. 22 February. http://www clear yet what the underlying causes .huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/22/ are; regardless, the rash of deaths environmental-refugees-50_n_826488.html in both Majuro and Ebeye over the Johnson, Giff. 2010. Marshalls Seek Funds period under review has raised public for Majuro Seawall. , calls of alarm. 1 November. http://archives.pireport.org/ In many respects the period under archive/2010/november/11-01-04.htm review has been one of the Marshall MIJ, Marshall Islands Journal. Majuro. Islands’ most trying, testing its abil- Weekly. ity to survive and persist as a nation physically, politically, and socially. NYT, New York Times. Daily. It points to even more difficult times ahead should these issues not be met with the urgency they require. The Commonwealth of the country has been relatively quiet in the Northern run-up to the November 2011 election compared with the heated political The fiscal condition of the government rhetoric of past contests, but this elec- of the Commonwealth of the North- tion may prove to be the most impor- ern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has been tant in the country’s history, consider- rapidly declining since the garment ing what is at stake for its immediate factories on began shutting and long-term future. We will see down in 2005 and the last one closed what changes, if any, this exercise in its doors in 2009. In the exhilarating democracy will bring to the people of days of the late 1990s, with thirty-five the Marshall Islands. garment factories and 700,000 tourists david w kupferman a year, annual government revenues reached $250 million. It is anticipated that revenue this fiscal year (Oct References 2011–Sept 2012) will be down to somewhere between $92 million and Anderson, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Com- $102 million. munities: Reflections on the Origin and As could be expected, adjusting to Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso. such a reduced revenue stream is a Hanley, Charles J. 2010. Marshall Islands’ very difficult thing to do after hav- Climate Change Dilemma: If It Vanishes ing lived so comfortably. As a result, Beneath Rising Sea Levels, Is It Still a a great deal of time and rhetoric has Nation? 6 December. http://www been devoted to the issue of whether political reviews • micronesia 157 casinos should be allowed on Saipan. discontinued. The casino hotel in When the government was unable owes $30 million in back taxes to settle debates over the fiscal year to the commonwealth government 2011 budget (Oct 2010–Sept 2011) and, unless there are some immediate by the 30 September 2010 deadline, it changes in airline services, the was completely shut down in compli- resort casino will probably not last ance with a constitutional amendment another six months. recently approved by the voters that Largely because of the increased “states that the government may not costs of doing business, several airlines draw funds from the general fund, have canceled flights from Japan and with the exception of certain essential have reduced flights to and from other services, if no appropriations act is in destinations. On the other hand, there effect” by the beginning of the fiscal are two new ventures that have yet year (, 1 Oct 2010). to prove themselves viable. Fly Guam Since the legislature did not pass the has been operating charter flights to budget before 1 October, all gov- and from Hong Kong via Saipan three ernment offices except for essential times a week. They plan to inaugurate services were closed while the House flights to Australia and are exploring and the Senate worked out their dif- possible routes from central Russia. ferences. During that period, some At the present time they are only fly- members of the House of Representa- ing one 240-seat Boeing 737 but are tives threatened that if the Senate did expecting to acquire a second plane in not join them in approving casinos the near future. During April and May on Saipan as a revenue measure, 2011, Fly Guam was offering dis- the House would not consider any count rates of $450 for return flights bill emanating from the Senate. In between Saipan and Hong Kong, with response, the Senate refused to pass an additional 25 percent discount bills sent to them by the House of available for senior citizens. Representatives; in addition, because Every service on Rota and on Tin- the governor was siding with members ian is in crisis, creating an economic of the House, the Senate refused to disaster for the two islands. Existing hold advice and consent hearings for hotels are struggling to survive, with gubernatorial appointees. Public pres- many people leaving the islands per- sure was the only thing that got mem- manently. At the same time, a brand- bers of the legislature to pass a budget new luxury resort is being constructed two weeks into fiscal year 2011, which by Triple J in on the allowed the government to get back beach in southwest Saipan, using pre- into full operation. The Senate stood stressed reinforced concrete slabs to its ground on being anti-casino, which create the walls. should come as no surprise since both Several other companies, includ- Tinian and Rota have casinos (strug- ing Korean investors, have expressed gling just to stay alive) that would be interest in reviving La Fiesta Mall in threatened by additional casinos on San Roque; according to government Saipan. Most direct flights from Japan estimates, it would cost upward of $5 to Saipan, Tinian, and Rota have been million just to rehabilitate the struc- 158 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012) ture. Other investors, including two north of Saipan. This plan includes casino developers, are trying to revive homesteading, infrastructure devel- their construction permits to build on opment, transportation, and other Tinian. exigencies. Plans are also underway Federal laws taking over immigra- to explore the possibilities of cashing tion and raising the minimum wage in on the pozzolan deposits on , have had major impact on the growth which may still have some commer- of just about everything in the com- cial value. (Pozzolan is a byproduct monwealth. The Department of of volcanic eruptions. It occurs fairly Homeland Security’s Customs and rarely; the only other known deposit is Border Protection agency has taken at Mount Vesuvius in Italy. Its primary over airport security and in all too use is as an additive to asphalt for many cases has wound up alienating greater strength. Thousands of tons many tourists and returning residents. of pozzolan are estimated to be sitting Congressional delegate Gregorio Kilili on Saipan but gradually depreciat- Sablan has filed a complaint regarding ing in value because of the erosion this matter with the secretary of the from rainfall. There has been no sign Department of Homeland Security in of commercial interest in the deposit Washington dc. over the past several years.) Ecotour- A program by the Department ism is also being explored. Further, of Public Works to install poles for it appears that the US military may power lines along the roadside, all the be interested in utilizing Pagan for way from the Last Command Post to military exercises. If this is the case, just before Banzai Cliff, is intended and the people agree to such use, the to supply power to the Veterans military will have to compensate the Cemetery and a new public cemetery people for the loss of other develop- that is under construction. A citizens ment opportunities. group calling themselves the Friends of Innovation in agriculture is now Marpi has succeeded in blocking the becoming fairly common. Entrepre- completion of the power pole project, neur Tony Pellegrino has opened a citing the degradation of the Marpi very successful shrimp farm on his area. The group is concerned about property in Saipan and is already the visual impact of the poles on the exporting shrimp to Japan, Guam, and tourist experience, the violation of other destinations. This effort is part historic preservation regulations, and of an overall plan to develop agri- the lack of a public hearing before the cultural exports as well as to replace installation began. The Department imported food items. Pellegrino of Public Works has been ordered to intends to expand the market by cease and desist installation until a opening a new airline called Cargo Air trial can be held in early 2012. Bridge. This airline would be a public The mayor of the Northern Islands corporation (with shares available to has scheduled a Northern Islands the citizens of the commonwealth) Development Summit in September that could fly agricultural goods from 2011 designed to create a master plan Saipan, Tinian, and Rota to Guam on for the resettlement of the islands a regular basis. Because the agricul- political reviews • micronesia 159 tural producers on these islands would the government’s current fiscal situ- have to guarantee quality and quan- ation is going to improve in the near tity, steps are being taken to set up a future. farmers’ cooperative. The Salvation Army on Saipan has After a wait of a year and a half, opened a soup kitchen, rummage sale the Western Association of Schools area, and “drop-in center” to assist and Colleges has moved the Northern the growing number of homeless and Marianas College up one step from unemployed people on the island. “show cause” to “probation” sta- Initially, the soup kitchen will be open tus (Marianas Variety, 1 July 2011). only on Saturdays; its operations are This means that while the college dependent on voluntary donations will have to work to improve certain from the public. Laundry and shower areas, it does not have to worry about facilities, however, are available in the imminent loss of accreditation. the drop-in center (Saipan Tribune, Lorraine Cabrera, the adult basic 4 May 2011). The homeless represent education director, has been interim a cross section of the community and, president of the college for a year and for one reason or another, many are a half. A new president, Dr Sharon not eligible for government services or Hart from North Dakota, has finally assistance from established charities been selected and was slated to arrive such as Karidat. in Saipan in early July 2011 (Marianas A recently released report from the Variety, 27 May 2011). This will con- Government Accountability Office tribute greatly to the college’s efforts indicates that the recent increases in to maintain and improve accredita- the minimum wage (from $4.50 to tion standards since the firing of Dr $5.05 per hour) in the commonwealth Carmen Fernandez and the college’s have resulted in higher unemployment subsequent year and a half without as smaller businesses are unable to pay a full-time head. Former President the higher salaries during the current Fernandez’s lawsuit against the college economic crisis (gao 2011). The and the Board of Regents in relation price of gasoline is $4.77 per gallon to her dismissal is still pending but on Saipan and more than five dollars may come up for court hearing in per gallon on Rota and Tinian. Utili- September. ties costs are increasing substantially, Austerity measures earlier applied and some people are finding it more to all CNMI government employees comfortable to move to the continen- will affect the college beginning in tal United States, where the cost of the fall semester, which commences in living is actually lower. August 2011. This means a 10 per- Another result of the economic cent pay cut for all faculty and staff crisis appears to be a very serious and adjustments in the class schedule increase in domestic violence and and student-teacher ratio. Technically, property crimes at all levels of society. these changes are only supposed to Contributing factors are addiction to apply until the end of the current drugs and to poker gambling, both fiscal year on 31 September 2011; on the upswing. The attorney gen- however, there is no indication that eral’s office recently reported that 50 160 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012) percent of the cases it handles involve office ends. This offer, however, was domestic abuse (ann 2011). contingent on the lieutenant governor The privatization of the Com- following the governor’s example monwealth Health Center, which is and giving up the Covenant Party supposed to take place on 1 October in favor of rejoining the Republican 2011, is being organized by a special Party. His reasoning for this is that the committee appointed by the gover- Republicans control the US House of nor. The healthcare corporation will Representatives and he wants to be receive start-up funds in the amount of on the winning side. He also made it $5 million. It is expected that health clear that he wants all of his Covenant services will improve greatly with this Party mates to follow his lead and effort, although there is no guarantee. join the Republican organization. The The much-touted Guam military leaders of the Republican Party claim buildup, involving the transfer of that they have over 1,000 names of 8,000 US Marines, dependents, and people ready to transfer their alle- staff personnel from Okinawa to giance to the Republicans. Guam, may be severely delayed. A US House of Representatives group of three US senators visited delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Tinian and Okinawa and reported that Sablan is already preparing to run for the transfer program is totally ad hoc his third term in 2012. He ran a very and that it is impossible to tell exactly successful campaign last November how much money is going where and against three rivals and has become what the development plan is. In addi- the ranking minority member of the tion, the series of disasters in Japan House Subcommittee on Fisheries, in March 2011—the earthquake, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs. tsunami, and nuclear meltdown—has He continues to run as an indepen- made it much more difficult for Japan dent, aligning himself with the Demo- to undertake and share the cost of the cratic side of the House of Representa- relocation. Some contracts, in prepara- tives. tion for the transfer of troops, have The biggest surprise in this legisla- already been made on Guam, but tive session came with the announce- the anticipation of billions of dol- ment by long-term politician, legisla- lars worth of lucrative construction tor, and one-time lieutenant governor contracts may have to be completely Diego Benavente that he was intend- rethought. ing to resign his position of minority Governor has leader in the CNMI House of Repre- decided that it would be better for sentatives at the end of July. There is him to rejoin the national Republi- much speculation as to why he chose can Party rather than continue as the this particular time since his term does titular head of the Covenant Party. not expire until November 2012. His When he announced this switch to the only public statement related to this legislature and the public, he offered decision was that he wanted to be able to endorse Lieutenant Governor Eloy to spend more time with his family. Inos as his preferred replacement Several bills have been introduced after his current and final term in to allow casinos on the island of political reviews • micronesia 161

Saipan. Some of these bills have been ings have been made available so far. classified as commonwealth bills, The results from the NMC poll from requiring the approval of both houses, Rota indicated approval of reunifica- but most of them have been Saipan tion with Guam. Unfortunately, Tinian local delegation bills that require only could not be polled because of logisti- the approval of the Saipan delegation, cal complications. both senators and representatives. The Manta Ray Band of Saipan Another bill, introduced by Rep- Southern High School has done it resentative Stanley Torres, is pending again! After successful concerts at the final action. It would create a new Kennedy Center in Washington DC and Marianas Political Status Commission the Sydney Opera House in Australia, to explore the current relationship this highly talented group has been between the Marianas and the federal invited to play at the Summer Olym- government. This would include the pics in London in 2012. possibility of terminating the com- The long-awaited Saipan municipal monwealth relationship and opting dog control program is now under- instead for independence or free asso- way. It started with owners licensing ciation. A public hearing was held, their dogs with members of the Saipan and most of the comments in favor of Mayor’s staff. When the licensing the bill were complaints about federal process is completed, workers will interference in local affairs, real or begin collecting stray dogs from the imagined. streets and abandoned properties. A Yet another bill, introduced by dog pound is being prepared at Lower Representative Joseph Palacios, would Base. It has been estimated that there allow the people of the Marianas to could be as many as 2,000 feral dogs decide if they wanted to join with on Saipan; this has been a problem Guam under a new, undefined political since German times, when Governor status. A Northern Marianas College Georg Fritz issued a bounty for every Current Issues class was tasked with wild dog killed. Since feral dogs tend running an informal and unofficial to run in packs and have attacked public opinion poll during the month bicycle riders, joggers, and children, of May. The results showed that the municipal dog program will be Saipan as a whole was against unifica- a boon not only to the residents but tion but that the 18- to 25-year-old also to tourists and visitors, especially group was in favor of the idea because those who participate in popular races of the perceived higher standard of such as the Tagaman, the triathlon, living in Guam. The older people and others. rejected the idea because of the many Indigenous culture centers are being years Guam has dismissed the North- established on all three main islands ern Marianas’ appeals for reunifica- of the Marianas. With financial help tion and because of the fear that the from the Administration for Native Northern Marianas might become a Americans, these centers are designed small principality of the larger Guam. to preserve and promote indigenous A similar study is being undertaken by cultures, including traditional medi- the University of Guam, but no find- cine, and their practitioners. 162 the contemporary pacific • 24:1 (2012)

Work is currently underway to am, Faloma Luhk (age ten) and her establish a management team for the younger sister Maleina (age nine) van- Marianas Trench Marine National ished without a trace from a school Monument. A team consisting of bus stop near the Santa Lourdes local supporters of the monument, the shrine. The grandparents with whom National Oceanic and Atmospheric they were living while their mother Administration, the military, and other worked in Guam and their father lived interested government agencies will in Pohnpei were not aware that there meet for the first time in July 2011 to was anything wrong until the girls did set up a plan for the management of not return home on the regular bus the monument. in the afternoon. School policy is that The Commonwealth Council for absences of less than two days are not the Humanities, in cooperation with reported to the parents or guardians. the Historic Preservation Office, The grandparents phoned the has recently completed a World War authorities as soon as they realized the II Marine Heritage Trail, which girls were missing, initiating a major allows tourists and residents alike to search that would go on for more swim in the lagoon and visit various than a month. In addition to local World War II relics, including ships, law enforcement agencies, the fbi airplanes, landing craft, and other sent dozens of agents from Hawai‘i detritus left behind after the invasion to assist. Over the following weeks, of Saipan in 1944. The sites are all hundreds of local residents joined in marked with underwater explanatory searching the tunnels and caves all signage and directions to the next over the island. No witnesses were stop. A waterproof map is available. found and no significant clues were This particular site was featured in the unearthed. A search dog was brought July 2011 issue of Archaeology Maga- in from Hawai‘i, but after several days zine, which contained stories about without results, the dog was deemed the archaeology of World War II. unable to fully function because of The Historic Preservation office the humidity and was returned to and the Commonwealth Council for Hawai‘i. the Humanities are now planning As of this writing (5 July 2011), a similar heritage trail on dry land there have been no clues of any kind, through the village of , which and no suspects have been identified. would highlight historic buildings and The fbi has withdrawn all but its sites ranging from the prehistoric to local agents, and police are now only the Japanese era. acting on tips and leads. There have Northern Marianas has joined been a number of prank calls to the Palau in banning the fishing, sale, grandparents and to the police, but and possession of shark fins. This is nothing worth following up. Depart- a growing movement to preserve one ment of Public Safety Commissioner of the ecological and environmental Ramon “Ray” Mafnas admitted that keystones of our oceans. one officer, believed to have some kind The year under review closed in a of relationship with the family of the very dismal state. On 25 May at 6:30 missing girls, has refused to take a lie political reviews • micronesia 163 detector test related to the investiga- an additional estimated $36 million tion. This event has affected the whole in US federal programs and services, of the Marianas because it appears but without a cap on the total amount that the girls were abducted by some- of federal dollars available. Initially body they knew; there is no indication there was hope that the US Congress of any kind of struggle, and other would pass the agreement before the students approaching the bus stop end of 2010, but Mr Toribiong was found it empty when they got there. not able to testify before Congress samuel f mcphetres until June 2011. While his testimony was respectful and comprehensive, he made a case for special consideration References by mentioning Palauans serving and making the ultimate sacrifice in the ann, Australian Network News website. United States’ conflicts in Iraq and 2011. Domestic Violence Makes up Bulk Afghanistan, Palau’s nearly unanimous of CNMI Court Cases. 20 April. support for the United States in United http://australianetworknews.com/stories/ 201104/3196145.htm?desktop [accessed Nations voting, and overtures made 1 September 2011] to Palau by the People’s Republic of China. He said, “We all want greater gao, US Government Accountability economic interaction with China, but Office. 2011. American Samoa and Com- it should be without compromising the monwealth of the : Employment, Earnings, and Status close alliance between Palau and the of Key Industries since Minimum Wage United States.” In his testimony before Increases Began. July. Washington, dc: the US Senate, he strongly urged sup- gao. port from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and from Con- Marianas Variety. Daily. Saipan. gress as a whole. At the time of this Saipan Tribune. Daily. review, Congress had not acted on the amended compact agreement. President Toribiong hosted two important regional meetings in 2010: Republic of Palau one with the Micronesian presidents President Johnson Toribiong’s third in July and one with the Microne- year in office was very busy. One of sian chief executives in December. A the most important issues was the communiqué was issued for the first finalization of negotiations of the meeting and a 225-page proceedings Amended Compact of Free Associa- document for the second. Three key tion with the United States. This was issues addressed at both meetings were done in early September when Toribi- the high rates of non-communicable ong and Deputy Assistant Secretary diseases, the depletion of Micronesia’s of State, Bureau of East Asian and fisheries resources, and adaptation to Pacific Affairs Frankie Reed signed climate change in the islands. a six-page, ten-part agreement with It is generally acknowledged that funding support totaling $229 million the pillars of good governance include for fiscal years 2011–2024. It included a public auditor, a special prosecutor,