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Democratic party candidates for the 1998, joined forces with opposition governorship: Geri Gutierrez, wife of leaders to run on a platform of anti- the current governor, Congressman co r ruption, transparen c y , and account- Robert Underwood, and Madeleine ab i l i t y . Bordallo. Guam’s election 2000 may In nearly every way this election be a harbinger of future political broke new ground. Unlike elections of alliances and opposition. the past, votes were tallied in public donald r shuster and at record speed, and the na t i o n ’ s radio station broadcast res u l t s Special thanks to Cathy Gault, Leland throughout the night. Individuals Bettis, and Robert Rogers for com- used the Internet to spread the news ments on an earlier draft of this instantly across the ocean, on a near review. hourly basis. Winning a majority of seats, even those of four of six long- Re f e re n c e s term cabinet ministers, the United Democratic Party gained control of Gutierrez, C T C, A R Unpingco, and the Nitijela (parliament). Robert A Underwood. 2000. Letter to Most surprising were the defeats Peter Donigi, Chairman, UN Special Com- of Ministers Tony deBrum (Finance), mittee on Decolonization. 2 February. and Phillip Muller (Foreign Affairs Murkowski, Frank H. Draft proposal. and Trade), both four-term officials Committee on Energy and Natural who in previous elections garnered Resources, United States Senate. June top numbers of votes. As the 2000. dominant leaders of the nation, par- P D N, Pacific Daily News. Hagatna. ticularly since Amata Kabua’s death in 1996, their defeat points to the Underwood, Robert A. 2000. Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to HR 755. extreme dissatisfaction of Majuro vot- US House of Representatives. Washington, ers, who elected opposition leaders in d c . record numbers, most notably Wilfred Kendall and Witten Philippo. In other seats, even first-time politicians were elected over incumbents, including M a rshall Islands some of traditional iroij (chief) status. The Republic of the ’ John Silk beat Iroij Mamoru Kabua most dramatic political upheaval (Ebon Atoll), Abacca Anjain-Maddi- occurred in November 1999 with the son won against Minister Johnsay first national election of the post– Riklon (Rongelap), and Mike Kone- Amata Kabua era. The governing lios defeated Lomes McKay (Maloe- party, in power since constitutional lap). Senator Anjain-Maddison is the government began in 1979, was only woman to currently serve in the rejected by Marshall Islanders and Nitijela. replaced by the former opposition In January, the Nitijela unani- party. The United Democratic Party, mously elected as its president Kessai a coalition of former ministers ousted Note, a third-term senator and former by in the aftermath of Speaker from Bikini. The nation’s first the defeat of gambling legislation in commoner to serve as president, Note 212 the contemporary pacific • spr ing 2001 distinguishes himself by shunning the and the direct attack on particular title His Excellency and driving his government leaders. The absence own car. Yet, he maintains the respect of serious repercussions for those of his past opponents. During the involved strengthened the resolve of presidential nomination process, a general public often reluctant to Imata Kabua, in a conciliatory ges- directly express criticism, particularly ture, closed the process after Note’s of powerful government leaders. The nomination (M I J, 7 Jan 2000, 21). strike is an extended example of what Note’s prior position as Speaker was began during the gambling legislation filled by Iroij and Senator Litokwa debates of 1998 as an organized pub- Tomeing; his ten-member cabinet con- lic outcry against the will of a few sists of eight new ministers, including dominant individuals (Walsh 1999). three who are first time senators. The shift in political power and the Two significant events prior to the focus on accountability has strength- elections provided fuel for United ened the trend of greater public Democratic Party fire. First, the gov- acknowledgment of silent but well- ernment party had once again boy- known examples of prior political cotted the August 1999 session of influence. In short, the nation began the Nitijela. United Democratic Party airing its dirty laundry, even as the members appeared daily, despite the first US Government Accounting government party’s absence. The Office audit of the use of compact politicians’ absences angered con- funds revealed the fiscal results of stituents, particularly public sector that influence. The previous govern- employees. When the session ended ment had maintained the position that without the quorum required to pass US funding is not aid, and thus US a national budget for fiscal year 2000, oversight of funding provided in a antagonisms only grew. Second, hos- bilateral agreement is an insult to the pital workers organized in protest of nation’s sovereignty (M I J, 5 Nov political interference in the hiring and 1999, 26). firing of hospital administrators and The new government has attempted employees (M I J, 3 Sept 1999, 1). In to pursue transgressors; for example, the nation’s first strike, the govern- the statute of limitations on crimes ment’s initial reactions were to fire was extended from three to six years hospital leaders and threaten other in the January session of the Nitijela workers’ jobs. In response, health-care (M I J, 2 Feb 2000, 9). Further, leaders workers gathered outside the nation’s are keeping their campaign promises. capital to hold signs and banners call- Nearly every government agency con- ing for the resignation of the health tains a newly formed or reformed minister and reform of the Public board of directors and administrator, Service Commission. particularly those agencies with severe No news of the strike was broad- fiscal problems, including the Mar- cast on national radio, but word of it shall Islands Social Security Adminis- spread rapidly. Ultimately the strikers tration, Air Marshall Islands, the sought a compromise with the health Marshalls Electric Company, and the mi n i s t e r . The strike was unprec e d e n t e d Marshall Islands Marine Resources for the public expression of discontent Authority ( m i m r a ) . In many cases political reviews • micron e s i a 213 people holding government positions vessel available for collection. Copra are prohibited from board member- production decreased 38 percent from ship. 1997 to 1999 (M I J, 16 July 1999, 1; The new government has also insti- 2 Feb 2000, 2). tuted and enforced a government- Fisheries developments have greatly vehicle policy, unheard of in past affected the nation in 1999–2000. years, that requires government vehi- Eighty percent of the 322 jobs created cles to be compounded at night and at the new Majuro pm&o fish loining prohibits family members of officials facility that opened in November 19 9 9 from driving them (M I J, 14 Feb 2000, went to women (M I J, 18 Feb 1999, 1). It is strengthening the relationship 24; 3 March 2000, 22). The increase with the Asian Development Bank by in purse seiners (65 percent from Tai- continuing with the final re d u c t i o n - wan) using Majuro as a transshipment i n -force recommendation that has center contributed $5 million to reduced the size of government by 30 mimra through fees in addition to percent since the mid-nineties. Trans- adding to the local economy via fuel portation, fisheries, outer-island devel- and provisions purchased on Majuro. opment, an independent judiciary, Between October 1998 and Septem- education, and accountability are, to ber 1999, 266 purse seiners had date, the key areas of interest of this stopped in Majuro lagoon. Residents new government. felt their impact economically and Options for transportation to environmentally, with traces of oil Hawai‘i increased on 2 September beginning to appear on the small when Aloha Airlines began service to islands of the atoll (M I J, 28 Jan 2000, Johnston Atoll, Majuro, and Kwaja- 28; 17 Sept 1999, 1). lein. Continental later followed suit, Arno Atoll has produced world- resuming a third weekly flight through class pearls for locally owned Robert Majuro. Additionally, pm&o Shipping Reimers Enterprises. With twenty- Line added an extra trip to the islands, eight potential atoll sites the Marshall increasing service between Hawai‘i Islands has excellent potential to and Majuro to every two weeks (M I J, expand this great revenue earner, 13 Aug 1999, 1). following the example of the Cook Increased attention to inter-atoll Islands, where three atolls produce tr a n s p o r tation by the new governm e n t $30–40 million in pearls annually convinced Air Marshall Islands board (M I J, 17 March 2000, 15). members to back out of a $30 million The Marshall Islands Judiciary has deal for two Dornier planes, made by been especially busy, and was com- the previous government, in favor of mended by P re s i d e nt Note for its land- smaller, more efficient aircraft. mark decision in July–August of 19 9 9 , The governments of Japan and ruling that the previous government’s Taiwan have committed funds for boycott in the Nitijela of the fall 1998 boat purchases so fish and copra vote of no confidence was unconstitu- from outer islands can be delivered tional and illegal. The landmark rul- to Majuro more efficiently. In 1999 ing resulted in a shift in political copra production was discouraged by power, though a bit too late for Chief the limitation of a single functioning Justice Dan Cadra, whose contract 214 the contemporary pacific • spr ing 2001 was terminated by the previous board is implementing a collection administration after the court ruling. plan for those who have not com- The Marshall Islands Bar Association pleted their studies; of eight hundred responded by noting that “three times college students funded, two hundred in four years a Chief Justice has been have not completed their degrees (M I J, removed from office” (M I J, 25 June 17 March 2000, 1). As for other 1999, 19). agencies and businesses in the islands, Above all recent court battles the task of collection remains formi- looms the upcoming tobacco trial, dable. Even as agencies have difficulty the nation’s first civil jury trial, set collecting, banks are having record for April 2001. The Marshall Islands years. The Bank of the Marshall Government is suing US tobacco com- Islands earned a $1.2 million profit panies for more than $14 billion. US and the Bank of Hawaii was close tobacco firms have employed nearly behind with $1.1 million (M I J, 14 all Majuro’s lawyers against the April 2000). national government’s claims. The A national census found a surpris- major interest of the Marshall Islands ing decrease in the population growth is in bringing the tobacco case to trial, rate, from 4.2 percent in the previous implicitly acknowledging the nation’s census to approximately 1.2 percent. sovereignty. The total population is 50,840, not Educators met on Majuro in June the anticipated 55,000 to 60,000. 2000 to discuss the state of education Approximately 43 percent of the pop- in the country. New Minister of Edu- ulation is below the age of fifteen, a cation Wilfred Kendall brings much significant drop from the 50 percent experience and many ideas to the task of the last census. The proportion of of improving the Marshall Islands the population residing in the urban education system. Standards for centers of Majuro and Ebeye has teacher training, professional develop- increased to 68 percent, one of the ment, and increased parental involve- most urbanized in the Pacific (M I J, ment are being initiated to strengthen 17 Dec 1999, 3; 3 March 2000, 1). student learning environments. Cur- These statistics reflect the migra- rently only 28 percent of first graders tion of many Marshall Islanders to complete high school (M I J, 16 June the United States and the living condi- 2000, 15). The College of the Mar- tions of those who remain at home. shall Islands noted that 80 percent of The number of Marshallese children incoming students test between sec- adopted by American families grew so ond- and fourth-grade levels in Eng- rapidly in the previous two years that lish and lower than seventh-grade the Nitijela imposed a moratorium in levels in math (M I J, 17 Dec 1999, 1). the last days of the August 1999 ses- The college is a shining example of sion (M I J, 3 Sept 1999). Bill 159, institutional improvement. February’s sponsored by Minister of Foreign review by the Western Association of Affairs Phillip Muller, attempted to Schools and Colleges resulted in a halt the adoptions until appropriate three-year accreditation status (M I J, legislation could be designed. How- 11 Feb 2000, 1). ever, adoptions have likely increased. The Marshall Islands scholarship The number of mothers traveling to political reviews • micron e s i a 215

Hawai‘i has accelerated, and children mer president and major Kwajalein ar e now born or adopted in Honolulu. landowner Imata Kabua. There is no current count of the total Kwajalein is a key site for the number of children adopted from development of missile defense tech- Hawai‘i. Adoption legislation will be nology, and two tests during the year among the first items on the Nitijela’s under review revealed inconsistent agenda for August 2000. results. The increased US interest in Preliminary compact discussions missile defense bodes well for the that began in October 1999 on Kaua‘i Marshalls, and for Marshallese work- were nullified by the election of a new ers at the base, who now have an government nearly a month later. US ombudsman to investigate their Chief Negotiator Allen Stayman said complaints. talks are on hold until the Marshall Declassified documents have shed Islands completes an accounting of light on the full extent of the US past funds and a long-term strategic nuclear testing program in the Mar- plan. Furthermore, the outcome of the shalls, and Bikini, Enewetak, Utirik, November 2000 US elections could and Rongelap are no longer the only alter the course of the negotiations atolls recognized as affected. Accord- (M I J, 17 March 2000, 8). ing to some studies, thyroid-dose As compact talks continued, Kwa- exposure estimates associated with jalein’s major landowners enlisted the the Bravo test may be ten to twenty well-known law firm of tobacco liti- times higher than was previously gant Richard “Dickie” Scruggs to thought (RMI Online, 18 March seek increased payment for the Land 2000). It has also been revealed that Use Agreement with the United States. thirty-four Rongelapese absent from Payment for the lease of Kwajalein is Rongelap during the Bravo test were less than the recent agreement of “injected with 10 microcuries of chro- $4,000 per acre for the use of Aur mium 51 and drank water with trace Atoll. Addressing US Secretary of radioactivity” as part of experiments State Madeleine Albright, lawyers conducted by Brookhaven National sought direct meetings between US Laboratory doctors from 1961 to negotiators and Kwajalein landown- 1963. These individuals acted as a ers. Denial of the request pointed to control group in tests to determine the government-to-government status the radiation levels of those down- of the current agreement. Antagonistic wind of the Bravo tests (M I J, 12 May relations between Kwajalein landown- 2000, 4d). ers and the RMI government compli- The Nuclear Claims Tribunal cate discussions with the United awarded two landmark claims in the States. Not all major Kwajalein la n d - period under review. First, the family owners concur about challenging the of a Bikini boy who died of cancer at ag r eement, which is not due to expire age eleven was the first to be awarded until 20 1 6 . F u rt h e r, Minister of For- a full claim for his illness (MI J , 20 Au g eign Affairs and Trade Alvin Jacklick 1999, 1). Second, despite its inability is also a minor landowner on Kwa- to fund the award, the tribunal jalein and a leader of the United awarded the people of Enewetak Democratic Party , which ousted for- $341 million, claimed for restoration, 216 the contemporary pacific • spr ing 2001 hardship, and loss of land use (M I J, While Imata Kabua and Tom 21 April 1999, 1). The current com- Kijiner (6th term senator) are the sole pensation package under the compact survivors of the past cast of major is consistently shown to be inadequate players, their allies still represent a to address both health and land loss threat to the new government. Presi- claims. dent Note has prohibited his cabinet In other foreign affairs, the repub- from traveling during the Nitijela ses- lic’s Korean consul, “Mr Big” Mo sion, perhaps because of the precari- Haeng Yong, was arrested for swin- ous majority his party maintains; the dling $88 million from followers of potential for a backlash vote of no his doomsday cult (M I J, 4 Feb 2000, confidence is carefully measured (M I J, 1). Yong had planned a $6 million 11 Feb 2000, 24). The fact that this resort on Mili that was never con- possibility even exists, and that both structed. parties are in the position of strug- Marshall Islands relations with Tai- gling to earn or maintain a majority, wan were enhanced by the acceptance marks the development of a true par- of Taiwanese funds that had been put liamentary system. on six-month hold after the elections julianne m wa l s h while the new government investigated rum o r ed Taiwanese campaign involve- ments. A supplementary budget of Re f e re n c e s

$27.9 million (two-thirds from Tai- M I J, Marshall Islands Journal. Weekly. wan) was passed in the first special Majuro. session of the Nitijela in June 2000 RMI Online. 18 March 2000. (M I J, 23 June 2000). (h t tp://www.rmiem b a s s y us.org) In sum, the year has witnessed a turn of the tides in the politics of the Walsh, Julianne M. 1999. Political Review Marshall Islands. A new government of the Marshall Islands. The Contempo- that promotes accountability, trans- rary Pacific 12:204–211. parency, and fiscal responsibility has taken charge. Young, educated stu- N o rthern Mariana Islands dents are returning to work in the government and a youthful hopeful- The garment industry continued to ness and optimism is in the air, as receive heavy criticism and negative long-term opposition leaders and new actions in the course of the year under public servants step into office. Fish- review. As noted in last year’s report, eries, tuna transshipment, pearls, and class-action lawsuits targeting retail a top-performing maritime registry outlets inside the United States were are generating revenues. Previously filed against the garment industry in marginalized outer-island communi- Saipan, Washington d c , and San ties are receiving attention and Francisco. The Saipan lawsuit was resources. Citizens are being filed on behalf of some 22 an o n y m o u s approached for their ideas, asked garment workers. In July an attempt about their needs, and having them was made in state and federal court to addressed. throw out the case because the work-