Political Reviews

Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 michael bevacqua, monica c labriola, kelly g marsh, clement yow mulalap, tyrone j taitano

Polynesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 mary tuti baker, lorenz gonschor, margaret mutu, christina newport, forrest wade young

171 210 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

managed to get through its election- Scoop, 28 September. http://pacific.scoop year controversies despite two by-elec- .co.nz/2014/09/minister-calls-for-electoral tions still possibly in the cards. With -changes-after-cook-islands-turmoil/ the fifty-year sovereignty celebrations [accessed 9 June 2015] now underway, it is likely that further political disruptions will be pushed to the backburner until all celebrations French Polynesia have been completed. christina newport Politics in French Polynesia during the year under review was dominated by a profound leadership struggle between References veteran politician Gaston Flosse, who lost his position as president of the cin, Cook Islands News. Rarotonga. Daily. country, and his successor and former son-in-law Edouard Fritch, who suc- Cook Islands Government. 2011. National Sustainable Development Plan, 2011– cessfully freed himself from his former 2015: The Cook Islands, Te Kaveinga Nui. mentor’s overbearing influence. Yet it Rarotonga: Office of the Prime Minister. came at the price of breaking up the solid majority arising from the 2013 Cook Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs election and throwing the country into and Immigration. 2015. The Cook Islands and Free Association: Understanding the a new period of political instability. Nature and Practice of the Special Rela- It all started in July 2014, when the tionship with New Zealand. http://www French justice system finally started .mfai.gov.ck/attachments/article/233/ catching up with Flosse’s various cases Summary%20Sheet%20NZ%20and% of corruption after decades of ineffec- 20CKI.pdf [accessed 10 Aug 2015] tive handling. On 23 July, the Paris Igarashi, Masahiro. 2001. Associated Court of Cassation, a court that exam- Statehood in International Law. Boston: ines prior cases for procedural errors, Kluwer Law International. confirmed a previous criminal conviction that Flosse had first appealed, to Small, Vernon, and Simon Day. 2015. Cook Islands Push for Independence from no avail, and then re-appealed. While NZ. Stuff, 31 May. http://www.stuff.co the court suspended Flosse’s jail sen- .nz/world/south-pacific/68986939/cook tence, it confirmed a fine of 125,000 -islands-push-for-independence-from-nz euros (us$138,000) as well as a depri- [accessed 5 June 2015] vation of his civil rights. The president Stone, Gregory. 2012. Opinion: Pacific was thus legally barred from voting or Nations Lead Sea-Change in Ocean Con- serving in an elected office for a period servation. cnn, 3 September. http://www of three years (ti, 23 July 2014). .cnn.com/2012/09/03/opinion/eco The substance of the charges was -solutions-pacific-ocean-opinion the so-called fictional employment [accessed 6 Nov 2015] affair, going back to the late 1990s Underbjerg, Lasse. 2014. Minister Calls and early 2000s, when various politi- for Electoral Changes after Cook Islands cians and trade union leaders had Turmoil. Interview with Cook Islands been given paid jobs at the presidential Finance Minister Mark Brown. Pacific office without ever working there, a political reviews • polynesia 211 scheme of corruption popular among Beffre’s behavior undermined the rule French politicians. of law, stating that with this prec- Under normal circumstances, Flosse edent, all convicted criminals could would immediately have been noti- now refuse to accept their sentences by fied of the final sentence and removed asking Hollande for a presidential par- from office. However, his lawyers don (ti, 29 July 2014). Similarly, Teva tried to use any and every means to Rohfritsch of the small pro-French evade the sentence, first by asking opposition party A Tia Porinetia (atp) yet another court to reexamine the expressed being “shocked” at what sentence; second by filing a complaint he perceived as a plot by the French with the European Human Rights government to protect Flosse (rnzi, Court (if either court would rule in 6 Aug 2014). Flosse’s favor, it would lead to a sus- While still acting as though the pension of his sentence); and finally by confirmed conviction did not exist, petitioning French President François Flosse undertook at least one positive Hollande for a presidential pardon (ti, step when he dismissed the controver- 23 July 2014). sial former French overseas minister, As a matter of procedure, French Brigitte Girardin, from her position as High Commissioner Lionel Beffre was the country’s “special representative notified of the sentence and tasked in Paris,” admitting that the post was with enforcing it by formally declar- superfluous (ti, 6 Aug 2014)—a fact ing Flosse ineligible and therefore that had been pointed out numerous removed from office. However, Beffre times before by the opposition and by first refused to do so, arguing, on independent observers. shaky legal grounds, that the demand Later in August, President Hol- for a presidential pardon had to be lande commented on the pardon heard first. This was interpreted as petition, stating ambiguously that an indication that Flosse’s protective “the decisions of the Judiciary should network was still operational. It was be applied” (ti, 23 Aug 2014). Beffre indeed unheard of that a convicted interpreted this as a refusal of Flosse’s criminal, whose conviction has been demand and at last initiated Flosse’s confirmed for a third time, could removal from office. On 6 Septem- evade his sentence simply by asking ber, the president was thus declared for a presidential pardon. The more removed by decree of the high com- usual procedure would be that a par- missioner and prohibited from holding don would be pronounced afterward any political office for the next three and might, for instance, lead to an years (dt, 6 Sept 2014). early release from jail or, in Flosse’s With Flosse’s party Tahoeraa case, might reinstate his civil rights Huiraatira holding a two-thirds earlier than originally intended. majority in the Assembly of French The high commissioner’s stalling Polynesia, there were initially no tactics scandalized the local opposi- surprises in managing Flosse’s succes- tion. Opposition Union Pour La sion. Following Flosse’s directions, his Démocratie (upld) leader and former former son-in-law, Assembly Speaker President Oscar Temaru argued that Edouard Fritch, was elected to the 212 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) country’s presidency on 12 September tember—which is done indirectly by (tpm, Oct 2014). Unlike Flosse the an electoral college of 714, consisting year before, Fritch was able to gather of the territory’s three French national an ultra-majority of 46 votes (out of assembly members, the 57 members a total of 57 assembly members) since of the assembly of French Polynesia, the atp caucus supported the new and delegates from all 48 municipal president. This seemingly confirmed councils—was won as anticipated by rumors already spread during the the Tahoeraa ticket consisting of Iriti 2013 elections that, despite its opposi- Teura and Vincent Dubois, the latter tion rhetoric, atp was nothing but a being another son-in-law of Flosse. “fifth column” of Tahoeraa. Fritch’s Since several Tahoeraa electors had new cabinet remained for the most worn their party colors during the part identical to that of his predeces- vote, which is prohibited under French sor, with Nuihau Laurey continuing as law, upld filed a complaint demand- vice president. Former cabinet minister ing an annulment of the election and Flosse confidant Marcel Tuihani results (tpm, Oct 2014). succeeded Fritch as assembly Speaker Senator Richard Tuheiava of upld, (ti, 15 Sept, 16 Sept 2014). who had been elected as Flosse’s ticket Having thus barely been removed mate when Tahoeraa and upld were from local politics, Flosse reentered allied in 2008, missed being reelected. it a few weeks later through the back The pro-independence opposition thus door when on 26 September the lost an important voice in Paris, as Tahoeraa assembly caucus hired him Tuheiava had been a very active advo- as “special consultant” and placed a cate of the territory’s decolonization, luxury office in the assembly building both nationally and internationally, at his disposal using a legal loophole, and it was mainly thanks to his efforts since his conviction forbade the hold- that the country won reinscription as ing of an elected office but not a job as a non–self-governing territory by con- an employee of a political institution sensual decision of the United Nations (ti, 26 Sept 2014). As Flosse appar- General Assembly in 2013. In various ently continued to exercise significant follow-up meetings of the decoloniza- influence over the government, many tion committee and other UN agen- people asked the question, reiter- cies, Tuheiava had always been present ated on the October cover of Tahiti- to represent the pro-independence sec- Pacifique Magazine next to a picture tion of the country’s population, often of Flosse and Fritch, “Who is the real in tandem with ex-President Temaru. president?” (tpm, Oct 2014). In early July, Tuheiava had first As a consequence of the confirmed attended the UN Decolonization Com- conviction, Flosse also lost his seat in mittee meeting in New York, where the French senate, which he had held he testified, together with Temaru, since 1998. This was rather a formal- in favor of more UN scrutiny over ity, however, since the term expired at France’s administration of the territory the end of September and Flosse had (otr, 1 July, 2 July 2014); he then not planned to run for another term. represented the territory at a meeting The senatorial election of 28 Sep- of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear political reviews • polynesia 213

Non-Proliferation and Disarmament 22 Oct 2014). Partly influenced by in Switzerland, where he delivered a their testimony, the General Assembly speech calling for the nuclear powers passed another resolution on French to take up their responsibilities for the Polynesia on 5 December, in which it people victimized by their thousands once more denounced France’s lack of of atomic weapons tests, including cooperation with UN decolonization France in French Polynesia between agencies —including Paris’s continu- 1966 and 1996 (otr, 20 July 2014). ing refusal to submit information on Shortly thereafter, on 25 July, the the territory as is obligatory under UN secretary-general released the article 73e of the UN Charter—and long-awaited report on the effects of reaffirmed its call for the French and nuclear testing in French Polynesia territorial governments to collaborate that had been announced in a previ- with UN agencies in educating the ous General Assembly resolution people of the country about their right of December 2013. The report was to self-determination (United Nations rather a disappointment, as it did not 2014a). contain any new research but instead Meanwhile, at home, the ongo- only summarized old reports on the ing UN debate on decolonization topic, including one by the Interna- and nuclear testing effects was hav- tional Atomic Energy Agency from ing unforeseen and profound impacts 1998 that is heavily biased toward the on local politics. Once locked out of then official French position that the the presidency, Gaston Flosse, who tests were “entirely harmless” and a as recently as June 2014 had insulted more recent one by the Office of the significant sections of the population United Nations High Commissioner by ordering the removal of the monu- for Human Rights that is gener- ment commemorating the nuclear-test ally critical of nuclear weapons and victims from a prominent position admits heavy health impacts deriving in a Papeete seafront park, suddenly from test explosions (United Nations rediscovered his anticolonialism. Fol- 2014b). References to the detailed lowing Hollande’s refusal to grant him reports produced by French Polynesia a pardon, Flosse first publicly pro- government agencies during Temaru’s claimed that he felt entitled to such a five presidencies were not included. pardon because he had served French Despite this disappointment, the fact national interests by supporting the alone that negative health impacts of nuclear-testing program. Then, to nuclear testing are now part of the protest against the way he was treated, official UN record pertaining to the he returned his Legion of Honor territory should be seen as a step in medal (the highest order of merit of the right direction. the French Republic) in an open letter Losing his senate seat did not dis- to Hollande, whom he blamed person- courage Tuheiava from continuing his ally for his removal from office (tpm, UN decolonization work, as he and Oct 2014). From then on, Flosse’s Temaru once more went to New York discourse turned increasingly hostile to address the General Assembly’s toward the French government, to the Fourth Committee in October (otr, point of rhetorically outdoing upld. 214 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

The release of the UN report, as the environmental damage caused by weak as it was in substance, helped the tests, in addition to the yearly lease to put the plight of former test work- plus interest for the land on which ers suffering from radiation-caused the testing facilities were built, which illnesses back in the headlines. The France had never paid. In total, the so-called Morin Act of 2010 that resolution asked for 90.4 billion cfp provides compensation for health francs (us$900 million). Unrealistic damages caused by nuclear testing as the demands were in substance, has been largely ineffective, since Flosse’s political goal was to intro- only fourteen individuals have as yet duce a resolution in line with upld’s received compensation under its terms. anticolonial rhetoric that would be A new version of the law that suppos- too tempting for Temaru and his sup- edly facilitates compensation claims porters not to vote for, while his own was passed in 2013 but was only Tahoeraa members would be forced enacted by decree of French Prime to vote for it out of loyalty. The plan Minister Manuel Valls on 15 Septem- worked; on 27 November the reso- ber 2014, and nuclear-testing victims’ lution was adopted with a majority association Moruroa e Tatou spokes- composed of 25 Tahoeraa members as person Roland Oldham stated that he well as the entire upld caucus, while was doubtful whether the new version 11 Tahoeraa members (those loyal would be any more effective than its to Fritch) and members of atp voted predecessor (ti, 17 Sept 2014). against. To increase pressure on Paris, Meanwhile, Flosse, through his Senator Iriti Teura, another Flosse protégé Tuihani, had discovered the loyalist within Tahoeraa, introduced nuclear issue as a new warhorse. In a written question to the French mid-October, President Fritch trav- government that was identical to the eled to Paris on his own and met with assembly resolution. High Commis- French government officials to obtain sioner Beffre called the resolution new funds for the permanently bank- an “unfriendly gesture” toward the rupt territorial government without French state (tpm, Dec 2014). coordinating these efforts with Flosse Flosse had thus reached his first beforehand (tpm, Nov 2014). Flosse goal of severely annoying Paris in a felt bypassed, and the display of good spirit of revenge for his dismissal. His relations with Paris by his successor second goal—to create a new major- added insult to injury. By November, ity out of his Tahoeraa loyalists and tensions among Flosse, Tuihani, and upld based on a common anticolo- the majority of Tahoeraa assembly nial rhetoric (as he had already done members on one hand and Fritch and in 2007–2008) in order to topple his cabinet on the other, had reached Fritch—was more difficult to reach, as such heights that Flosse was ready to Temaru was not ready to commit to topple his successor and break up the such an alliance. party. In late December, Flosse was On 21 November, Tuihani thus offered another opportunity to sideline introduced a resolution asking France Fritch when a pay raise for the presi- to pay the territory compensation for dent came up in the assembly’s finance political reviews • polynesia 215 committee. In 2013, Flosse had his more than enough even if the presiden- presidential salary cut in half due to a tial salary had been kept at the lower new French law limiting the salary a level. Lastly, the fact that upld, as a senator could receive for local political supposedly anticolonial party working offices held concurrently. This had the toward establishing a sovereign coun- effect of having the president paid only try not dependent on French subsidies, 380,100 cfp francs (about us$3,500) evidently supports extravagant elite per month, while his cabinet ministers salaries that the country could never were paid 680,580 cfp francs (about afford if it were independent sheds a us$6,300). Not being paid a senator’s bad light on the party’s credibility. salary concurrently, Fritch considered That Flosse was by no means more this situation unjust. While the Taho- principled and insisted on auster- eraa majority in the committee, likely ity in this case only in order to score on Flosse’s directives, voted against off Fritch became clear when the the pay raise, upld refused to vote ex-president and his partner Pascale with them, arguing that Fritch was Haiti were arrested and detained on justified in being paid the same as his 12 December on charges of theft of ministers (ti, 18 Dec, 19 Dec 2014). public goods after being accused of The fact that upld supported the having taken custom-made china and president against Flosse was the first silverware from the presidential palace indication that Flosse’s plan to forge to their private home (rnzi, 12 Dec an alliance with upld was indeed not 2014). Apparently, since Flosse was working. Barely two months later, unable to ally with Temaru to over- the assembly’s permanent commit- throw Fritch, he could at least humili- tee voted unanimously to adjust the ate him by blocking his pay raise and president’s salary as originally planned leaving him without the luxury presi- (ti, 5 Feb 2014). dential dishes and silverware, while While at first glance the salary symbolically maintaining a “presiden- adjustment appears a just cause, it was tial” lifestyle for himself. in fact symptomatic of the country’s For a few months, the situation political elite living in a luxury world remained calm, but on 29 January, completely disconnected from the Tuihani introduced a proposal to common people. Instead of “adjust- amend the organic law of French ing” Fritch’s salary to that of his Polynesia, including an increase in ministers, it would have been far more the country government’s preroga- useful to “adjust” their salaries to the tives as well as a passage allowing 2013 level of the president’s salary, a nonmember of the assembly to be which is clearly no small amount. Fur- elected president. This was clearly thermore, the argument that, unlike meant to enable Flosse to regain the Flosse before, Fritch had to survive on presidency while his rights to vote or the “meager” presidential salary alone run for office remained suspended, was also flawed, since Fritch, while and it led to severe criticism not only not a senator, still concurrently holds by the opposition parties but also by a second salaried office as mayor of pro-Fritch members of Tahoeraa (ti, Pirae and would thus have earned 29 Jan, 30 Jan 2015). 216 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Tensions between Flosse and a strict application of Tahoeraa’s by- Fritch further increased when, on laws, an extraordinary meeting of the 6 February, the French Constitutional steering committee expelled Laurey Council ruled in favor of the opposi- and Tetuanui from the party because tion’s complaints from September they refused to comply with orders and declared the senatorial election to withdraw from the senatorial race invalid. As a consequence, Senators and were thus considered running Teura and Dubois were removed from on an opposing ticket. This was later office and a by-election was called for formally confirmed by the party lead- May (dt, 6 Feb 2015). Flosse immedi- ership (tpm, May 2015). ately assembled the Tahoeraa steering In early May, the split between committee to have Teura and Dubois the two factions of Tahoeraa became reconfirmed as senatorial candidates, finalized. At the senatorial by-election while Fritch, seeing the upcoming of 3 May, the Laurey-Tetuanui ticket election as a chance to increase his won a clear majority in the first round, own power, suggested Vice President as not only electors of the Fritch wing Laurey and assembly member Lana of Tahoeraa but also many atp and Tetuanui as candidates. A meeting even some upld electors voted for on 20 February between Flosse and them (ti, 3 May 2015). Fritch, who had not personally com- Strengthened by this clear verdict, municated since September, was held Fritch and his supporters formed a only to put a good face on the matter new assembly caucus named Tapura and did nothing to ease their steadily Huiraatira (“People’s List”) on deteriorating relationship (ti, 20 Feb 5 May. Fifteen assembly members 2015; tpm, March 2015). joined the new group, while twenty- The assembly session of 2 April three remained loyal to Tahoeraa. In became another test for the chang- coordination with the two opposition ing political majorities. The assembly caucuses, the members of the vari- voted to accept a convention signed ous assembly committees were newly between Fritch and the French govern- constituted and filled proportionally ment at the end of the previous year, (ti, 7 May 2015). Of Flosse’s loyalists, under which the French state would only Assembly Speaker Tuihani was financially contribute to the social able to hold on to his position, since solidarity scheme provided by the the Organic Law of French Polynesia country government. upld voted with provides for the election of a new atp and 16 Fritch supporters for the Speaker in between terms only in the resolution, giving it a strong majority case of the incumbent’s resignation. of 35 votes (ti, 2 April 2015). Once Of the five parliamentarians represent- again Flosse’s strategy to use upld to ing the country in Paris, only National form an antigovernment majority with Assembly member Jonas Tahuaitu his Tahoeraa loyalists had failed. remained loyal to Flosse, while, During the next few weeks, Flosse besides the two new senators, the two attempted to strengthen his influence other National Assembly members, by using a heavy-handed approach Maina Sage and Jean-Paul Tuaiva, toward party discipline. Insisting on were also supporters of Fritch. political reviews • polynesia 217

A few days later, the Tahoeraa increasingly unlikely, upld has thus steering committee expelled all found- become a courted party that tips the ing members of the new caucus. Presi- scale, forming ad hoc alliances with dent Fritch, on the other hand, was a either the Tapura-atp government more complicated case because he was or the opposition Tahoeraa remnant last elected deputy leader of the party depending on the circumstances. by a convention in 2014, an election According to a local journalist, upld that according to Tahoeraa’s by-laws is thus enabled to play a “subtle game can only be nullified by another party of liar’s poker” (ti, 3 July 2015). convention (ti, 12 May 2015). While While another switch in majori- Flosse repeatedly called on Fritch to ties cannot be ruled out for the near resign, he refused to do so. future, Flosse’s plan to woo upld After a short period of stability of with anticolonial rhetoric into a approximately two years, the country permanent coalition and overthrow thus descended back into a political Fritch in a no-confidence motion has chaos without clear majorities. Instead not worked out so far. Considering of the two-thirds majority stemming the political culture of the country and from the May 2013 assembly elec- its dynamics, it appears a far more tions, the president now only held a likely scenario that further Tahoeraa minority of fifteen members. Refer- members will cross the floor if offered ring to the constant changes made ministerial portfolios or other offices in the electoral system in order to by Fritch. This already happened in create stable majorities, to no avail, early June, when another Tahoeraa an observer commented sarcastically member crossed over to join Tapura, that “no matter what the French do to increasing its strength to sixteen (ti, create stability, our politicians manage 9 June 2015). to turn it into instability” (anony- Fritch—who like the other histori- mous, pers comm, 25 June 2015). cal Flosse-dissident presidents, Alexan- With Fritch thus being a president dre Léontieff and Gaston Tong Sang, without a majority, it came as little is not as charismatic a leader as either surprise that on 27 May he formed a Flosse or Temaru—clearly entered the coalition government with atp, whose presidency only by particular circum- pro-French, anti-Flosse platform is stances, and whether he will be able to almost identical with his own, and atp maintain himself in the face of pos- leader Teva Rohfritsch joined the cabi- sible intrigues by others is far from net as minister for economic affairs sure. Whether Flosse, now 83 years (ti, 27 May 2015). old, will ever regain the presidency The coalition with atp gave Fritch remains to be seen, but his longevity, eight additional assembly members, both physically and politically, should but with twenty-three members total it not be underestimated, as so far he has is still a minority coalition and would returned in full force each and every need the support of either upld or time the end of his political career Flosse’s “rump-Tahoeraa” to pass seemed imminent. laws and resolutions. As a reconcilia- With the most able political leader tion between Fritch and Flosse seems a notoriously corrupt figure like Flosse 218 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016) and with few emerging politicians with overall population of 270,000 for the leadership qualities yet in sight, French entire country) and 14 deaths (pir, Polynesia finds itself in a deep-seated 9 Jan 2015). leadership crisis. This can be observed The deaths included famed singer not only in politics but in other fields Barthélémy Arakino, who passed as well, such as sports, where one of away on 16 February at the age of the saddest failures of leadership has 59 from Chikungunya-derived com- occurred. Féderation Internationale plications (tpm, March 2015). Also du Football Association (fifa) official among those who joined the ancestors Reynald Temarii, former professional during the review period were veteran football player and then minister pro-independence leader Tetua Mai for sports and youth under Flosse in of Huahine, who died at the age of the early 2000s, became one of the 76 (tpm, June 2015), as well as Papa few Tahitians ascending to a high- Mape of Moorea (age 82) and Coco profile international role when he was Elacott of Bora Bora (age 64), two appointed fifa vice president a decade prominent experts of Polynesian tradi- ago. However, being a true prod- tion and ancestral knowledge, which, uct of the political system of French unfortunately, is less frequently passed Polynesia, as an international sports down to younger generations as time official Temarii has done nothing goes on (tpm, Dec 2014, Jan 2015). but be involved in corruption affairs. What exactly the future will hold In the latest fifa scandal about the for the country seems less clear than bribes that attended the awarding of ever, but the French colonial “moth- the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, Temarii erland” is so crisis affected itself that was once more summoned and inter- it appears increasingly unable to rogated as a major suspect and ended contribute to the territory’s economic up being suspended from any associa- development. If anything promising tion football activities for eight years can be seen on the horizon in that by the fifa ethics commission (ti, 13 sense, it will most likely be intensify- May, 30 May 2015; tpm, June 2015). ing economic relations with China. In Leadership failures also became early June, President Fritch, after hav- evident in the virtual inaction of gov- ing consolidated his power base for ernment institutions in the face of the the time being, visited various parts Chikungunya epidemic that ravaged of China to negotiate investments the country during the review period. in tourism and other industries (ti, Imported from Africa via other French 4 June, 6 June 2015). overseas territories, the mosquito- Meanwhile, two big projects borne disease was already affecting financed with Chinese capital are over 11,000 people in November (ti, already underway in the country. The 21 Nov 2014). Efforts to curb the first is the “Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods” epidemic by eradicating the invasive complex on Hao Atoll in the Tuamotu mosquito species responsible for its Archipelago, a gigantic aquaculture spread were done only perfunctorily. farm to be funded through an invest- By the end of the year, there were ment contract of 150 billion cfp more than 130,000 cases (out of an francs (us$1.5 billion) over fifteen political reviews • polynesia 219 years by Chinese company Tian dent in French Polynesia as well. With Rui International Investments, with its weakened economy, France itself construction officially inaugurated on is unlikely to remain an important 6 May (tpm, June 2015). player in the region. While a few years Second, Flosse’s last big pet project, ago there were unconfirmed rumors a large-scale tourism development about the United States building a also to be funded from China named military installation on Mangareva “Mahana Beach” in Punaauia, is in in the east of the country (ti, 12 July its planning stages. The envisioned 2013), a recent move of the Teva I Uta mega-complex of hotels and resorts municipality on Tahiti’s south coast is meant to imitate that of Waikīkī in to twin itself with the Russian town Hawai‘i, and the construction design of Kronstadt appears quite interesting was awarded to the Honolulu-based from a geopolitical perspective (ti, architectural firm Group 70 Inter- 24 June). national. As it would surpass every- lorenz gonschor thing ever built on Tahiti before and include for the first time high-rises and a casino (both currently illegal References under local laws), tpm editor Alex Du Prel called it a “pharaonic project” dt, La Depêche de Tahiti. Daily. Tahiti. http://www.ladepeche.pf (tpm, Aug 2014). upld denounced the project as being too costly as well otr, Overseas Territories Review. as discriminatory to the local popula- http://overseasreview.blogspot.com tion, as it is planned to suspend the pir, Pacific Islands Report. Daily Internet local minimum wage on the construc- news. Honolulu. http://pidp.eastwestcenter tion site and bar local residents from .org/pireport visiting the casino (ti, 12 Sept 2014). Also, the profitability of the project rnzi, Radio New Zealand International. Daily radio and Internet news. Wellington. is still doubtful, since the tourism http://www.rnzi.com industry in the country has been gen- erally failing due to cheaper and more ti, Tahiti Infos. Daily Internet news. efficient competition on the part of Tahiti. http://www.tahiti-infos.com other Pacific destinations such as Fiji, tpm, Tahiti-Pacifique Magazine. Monthly. the Cook Islands, and Sāmoa, and as Tahiti. http://www.tahiti-pacifique.com a consequence, dozens of hotels have United Nations. 2014a. Question of closed in French Polynesia during the French Polynesia. Resolution adopted past few years. by the General Assembly on 5 December. In any case, the geopolitical reori- UN General Assembly, 69th session. entation of the Pacific Islands from the a/res/69/103. http://www.un.org/ga/ colonial and neocolonial West to East search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES Asia and other emerging or reemerg- %2F69%2F103&Submit=Search&Lang=E ing non-Western powers such as India [accessed 9 Aug 2015] and Russia, as is most visibly articu- ______. 2014b. Report of the Secretary- lated by Fiji and its neighbors in the General: The Environmental, Ecological, southwestern Pacific, is becoming evi- Health and Other Impacts of the 30-year 220 the contemporary pacific • 28:1 (2016)

Period of Nuclear Testing in French Poly- each other. In neglecting our kuleana nesia. UN General Assembly, 69th session, to mālama this ‘āina [our responsibil- 25 July. a/69/189. http://www.un.org/ga/ ity to care for this land], we ultimately search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2F69 neglect our kuleana to the future %2F189&Submit=Search&Lang=E generations of our lāhui [our nation]” [accessed 9 Aug 2015] (Peralto 2014, 241). Ku‘uipo and No‘eau are but two of the next generation of Native Hawaiian Issues Hawaiians raised in aloha ‘āina and well schooled in contemporary poli- This year has been a milestone for tics and traditional values. They arise Native Hawaiians. New voices are out of a legacy of Native Hawaiian emerging in the community, and the activism that was the Hawaiian cul- debate is no longer whether there will tural and political renaissance of the be a Hawaiian nation; the struggle latter half of the twentieth century. now is over what form it will take. These children and grandchildren Key events included protests against of the first aloha ‘āina warriors are the construction of new telescopes on showing up at rallies for Hawaiian Mauna Kea and Haleakalā, sev- independence, making impassioned eral important new publications by pleas to the trustees of the Office of Kanaka Maoli authors, and contro Hawaiian Affairs (oha) to stand with versial efforts toward nation building them in the struggle to regain control and federal recognition. of Hawaiian lands, and, under the On day 68 of the ongoing vigil to watchful eye of their kūpuna (elders), protect Mauna Kea, Ku‘uipo Freitas, these young people are leading the a student in the master’s program movement to prevent construction of at Ka Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikōlani (the a thirty-meter telescope on Mauna College of Hawaiian Language) at the Kea as well as the Daniel K Inouye University of Hawai‘i–Hilo and one of Solar Telescope on Haleakalā. This the young leaders of the vigil, wrote: review focuses on the resistance on “There’s a difference between protest- Mauna Kea, but it must be noted that ing (western perspective) and aloha similar arguments are being made ‘āina (Hawaiian perspective). We love on both mountains concerning state our ‘āina [land], our language, our stewardship of resources. (For more culture, our keiki [children] and we on the Haleakalā telescope project, will do whatever it takes to protect see Associated Press 2015; Cocke our future” (Freitas 2015). 2013). No‘eau Peralto is a scholar engaged Much of the work of Native in kuleana-based research and activ- Hawaiian activism over the past ism in Hāmākua on the island of sixty-five years is documented in Hawai‘i, his kulāiwi (homeland). “We A Nation Rising: Hawaiian Move- are the Mauna,” he proclaimed, “and ments for Life, Land, and Sovereignty our treatment of it reflects a deeply (Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua, Hussey, and ingrained notion of the ways in which Wright 2014). This book is one of we now view and treat ourselves and a number of groundbreaking works