Political Reviews

0LFURQHVLDLQ5HYLHZ,VVXHVDQG(YHQWV-XO\ WR-XQH david w kupferman, kelly g marsh, samuel f mcphetres, tyrone j taitano

3RO\QHVLDLQ5HYLHZ,VVXHVDQG(YHQWV-XO\WR-XQH lorenz gonschor, hapakuke pierre leleivai, margaret mutu, forrest wade young

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169 184 the contemporary pacific ‡ 26:1 (2014) was promoted by various women’s -february-2013-rmi-minister-tony-de groups and was gaining traction -brum-speech-at-the-un-security-council among the general public by the end [accessed 24 Oct 2013] of the period under review was the Johnson, Terrell. 2013. Are Simultaneous reservation of five seats in the Nitijela Floods, Drought an Omen in the Pacific? to be held by women (MIJ, 10 May The Weather Channel, 1 July. http://www 2013). .weather.com/news/science/environment/ While there is some hope that posi- marshall-islands-climate-change-happening tive change may come from a potential -now-20130630 [accessed 1 July 2013] Con-Con, there is also concern that MIJ, Marshall Islands Journal. Majuro. the results from a popular referendum Weekly. may yield little more than pro-forma pir, Pacific Islands Report. 20 June 2013. amendments, as happened during the RMI Government Denies Social Unrest previous two Con-Cons. As the Mar- During Drought. http://pidp.eastwestcenter shall Islands, and Majuro in particular, .org/pireport/2013/June/06-20-06.htm narrows its focus on the politics and [accessed 20 June 2013] logistics of hosting the Pacific Islands Slate V. 2013. Don’t Talk to Us About Forum in September 2013, there has Your Sinking Island: How the U.N. yet to emerge any sort of direction Security Council Takes a Pass on Global as to where the country is heading as Warming. 2.43-minute video on The it moves into the second half of the World Decrypted. http://www.slate.com/ current (and possibly final) round of articles/video/slate_v/2013/02/u_n_global compact funding. Climate change is _warming_why_the_united_nations_won indeed a threat to the islands, but its _t_make_bold_proposals_on_climate.html effects might not be felt as dramati- [accessed 22 Feb 2013] cally or as immediately as the socio- US State Department. 2013. Country economic impacts that may result if Narratives: J–M. In Trafficking in Persons certain decisions regarding a post- Report, 210–273. June. , dc: 2023 Marshall Islands are continually US State Department. http://www.state put off until tomorrow. .gov/documents/organization/210740.pdf [accessed 1 July 2013] david w kupferman

References Commonwealth of the Constitution of the Republic of the Northern Marshall Islands, 1979. Available for download from the RMI Embassy in the Throughout 2012, signs became quite website: http://www clear that something was very wrong .rmiembassyus.org/Constitution.htm in the Northern Marianas. Investors [accessed 24 Oct 2013] were coming in quickly and leaving De Brum, Tony. 2013. Arria-Format Secu- just as fast. Crime was up and tourism rity Council Meeting—February 15, 2013. was way down. During the course of Available for download from Independent the year, more and more people were Diplomat website: http://www becoming fed up with the way things .independentdiplomat.org/news/15 were going. The governor was issuing political reviews ‡ micronesia 185 special edicts to take over almost every monwealth Utilities Corporation, and function of the government, from the just about every other major govern- utilities to the hospital. Involuntary ment function. Summary terminations workforce reductions were becom- were made with the excuse that “I ing quite common. No one knew in have a right to have people who are advance the depth and breadth of the on my side working for me.” Attorney changes at work in the Marianas. General Edward Buckingham loyally One of the early signs of the com- followed the governor and continued ing storm was the Republican victory to implement his policies and provide in the US House of Representatives legal backing for his decisions. The in 2010. The substantial Republican result was the beginning of an upsurge victory over President ’s of opposition, which led to the rev- previous majority meant that Gov- elation that all was not well in the ernor Benigno R Fitial, who enjoyed administration. being a member of the National The dissatisfaction reached a Republican Committee, abandoned his breaking point when it was revealed own Covenant Party. The Covenant that the governor and the attorney Party, which he had formed when general had jointly signed a $190 he lost the Republican nomination million power purchase agreement for governor years before, became a with a little-known company, launching point for his new campaign Development llc (a private company to form a new CNMI Republican organized in Delaware) to construct a Party and thus cash in on the victories power plant at Lower Base on Saipan. in Washington DC. However, he did Eventually it was revealed that the not count on losing the balance of his government would not be paying for Covenant Party stalwarts who refused the purchase of the power plant itself to follow him to the Republican Party. but would have to pay for operations Essentially, he found himself excluded and fuel. These costs are calculated to from most of the decision making, be millions of dollars more than what except for his own. In retaliation, he was being expended at the time. It was began to dismiss members of the Cov- revealed that the contract had been enant Party who did not join his move signed by the attorney general and the to the national Republican Party and governor without the involvement of ended up creating a new opposition the Office of Procurement, the Depart- called the New Republican Party. This ment of Finance, or the management party was made up of previous CNMI of the Commonwealth Utilities Cor- Republicans who became part of the poration, and that it included, among opposition that would later bring him other things, a shipyard facility for down in the most unexpected manner. which no approvals had been given by Governor Fitial began taking the federal government and no Envi- over various public offices by issu- ronmental Protection Agency study ing emergency orders and dismissing had been made. executives who were disloyal and no The combination of reduced longer representative of his policies. government employment, apparently This included the hospital, the Com- illegal activities by the administration, 186 the contemporary pacific ‡ 26:1 (2014) and very heavy-handed treatment of not there could be sufficient evidence anyone who did not agree with the to go to the Senate with an impeach- governor’s policies led to the first ment resolution. Since half of the visible sign of opposition: a local lady members of the committee were for stood at an intersection of the road to and half against the governor, progress the governor’s offices with a handwrit- was very slow, and an impeachment ten sign that said “Impeach Fitial.” resolution did not pass the House of That simple move gave impetus to a Representatives; it was defeated in a groundswell unknown in the history vote that followed party lines. of the Marianas. The move to impeach Unlike a previous impeachment the governor was launched. attempt in 1992 (when it had been The public came out in very large alleged that police officers loyal numbers to what became known as to then Governor Lorenzo I Guer- the “Wave In” with signs and banners rero used small arms to shoot at the urging people to support the impeach- homes and businesses of supporters of ment movement. On one occasion impeachment), the only violence that there were opposing movements (pro- took place other than harassing and and anti-Fitial) on the same street, threatening phone calls was when one separated by about one hundred of the leaders of the public anti-Fitial yards. The governor and his people movement had his tires slashed outside were seen driving by on several occa- the public hearing at the House of sions, presumably noting who were Representatives. One of the more the “pros” and who were the “antis.” remarkable moments of that public People who showed up at their hearing was when the Fitial support- government jobs with an “Impeach ers—all wearing red t-shirts and Fitial” bumper sticker visible on their dominating the chamber—spent two car found themselves instantly out of hours praising the governor before work. It was recorded by some people the opposition was allowed to speak. that public demonstrations held by Alternately, one of the more memora- the pro-Fitial faction were monitored ble comments came from a local lady by the governor’s people and that any who chimed in to say, “We have two employee who did not show up suf- gods in the Commonwealth: one of fered the consequence. In these days them is God in heaven, and the other of austerity, any government employ- is .” ees with dependents and other needs Things changed after the election became very worried about losing in November 2012 when almost all their employment and, understand- of the pro-Fitial delegation in the ably, found themselves providing sup- House of Representatives were voted port for the governor. out and replaced by pro-impeachment In the legislature, the minority lead- members. They were joined by the ership under Representative Joseph new Republicans and a few renegade Deleon Guerrero formed an impeach- Democrats, hard-core Covenant Party ment committee made up of equal members, and Independents, who members of supporters and opponents pulled together and worked to get the of the governor to study whether or resolution passed. Since only four of political reviews ‡ micronesia 187 the twenty members of the House of wedge” guard for Buckingham and Representatives remained pro-Fitial his wife at the airport to avoid the after the election, this allowed the servicing of the summons. Members impeachment committee to pass the of the top levels of the Department resolution with seventeen articles of of Public Safety, port security, and impeachment. The resolution then was the governor’s bodyguard personally passed on to the Senate. escorted Buckingham through the As soon as the impeachment resolu- airport and treated the press represen- tion was turned over to the Senate tatives somewhat rudely in order to leadership, which quickly moved to get Buckingham into a secure area of organize a hearing, the governor ten- the airport. As it turned out, though, dered his resignation, effective imme- the representative of the auditor’s diately. This meant that he completely office was able to secure the assistance avoided another confrontation with of two fbi agents who outranked the his opponents. Lieutenant Governor local police to follow the couple into was immediately sworn the departure lounge and serve the in as governor, and Senate President summons there. Although the sum- was sworn in as mons required that he show up the lieutenant governor. The governor left following Monday in court, Bucking- the Northern Marianas and traveled ham went ahead with his travel plans to the Philippines. An extradition and became a fugitive. He wound up warrant was considered, but, because in Colorado, and, after a request for of the governor’s well-known health extradition was sent to the governor problems (for which he is believed of Colorado, he was arrested and to be seeking treatment in the Philip- released on $25,000 bail pending a pines), it was never served. A penal hearing on the extradition request. summons was served instead, ordering Subsequently, Buckingham appeared him to be present in court on the first on Saipan unannounced and caused a Monday of his return to Saipan. As of “mini typhoon” on the island since he this writing, he has not returned to the was purportedly able to pass through commonwealth. customs and immigration at the Shortly after the governor’s res- Saipan airport without being arrested. ignation, Attorney General Edward An investigation is underway as to Buckingham also tendered his resigna- how this could have happened, since tion effective immediately and orga- an arrest warrant had been widely nized a trip to the airport with his wife distributed. Despite eluding arrest at to leave the commonwealth. However, the airport, he was taken into cus- the Office of Public Auditor, which tody; the former attorney general in was acting as a prosecutor for the handcuffs, guarded by corrections impeachment movement, had a penal personnel in the courtroom for a summons prepared to force Bucking- hearing with the judge, was quite a ham to testify in court on several sight. After posting $50,000 bail, the issues the following week. Neverthe- judge allowed Buckingham to travel less, in his last official move, Governor back to Colorado for medical care but Fitial was able to orchestrate a “flying required that he surrender all inter- 188 the contemporary pacific ‡ 26:1 (2014) national travel documents. His trial is to serve as associate judge in the scheduled for January 2014. Superior Court while Inos was off One of the first things Governor island. Inos later backed Quichocho’s Inos did was remove most of the nomination, claiming that he and former administration’s appointees. Hofschneider had discussed putting The Fitial appointments of former his name forward. Normally, submit- Governor as executive ting the name of a prospective judicial director of the Commonwealth Health appointee to the CNMI Bar Associa- Corporation was overturned by the tion is just a formality, but in Quicho- board of directors once there was a cho’s case instant opposition arose new governor. The search is on for a from many of his colleagues. Ques- new executive director for the Com- tions were raised about malfeasance monwealth Utility Corporation. And, in office, sexual harassment of a cli- most welcome of all, I believe, was the ent, and a variety of other unspecified appointment of a new Department of charges. Despite some support for the Public Safety commissioner. Career appointment by members of the legis- policeman James C Deleon Guer- lature, after about a month of con- rero replaced the Ogumoro brothers troversy Inos withdrew Quichocho’s (Ambrosio T Ogumoro and Aniceto nomination, saying that they cannot Ogumoro), who had been alternating have a judge with a cloud hanging in the role of acting commissioner for over him, as it raised questions of the a couple of years. The two brothers integrity of the bench. have been indicted for their role in The second major issue in the protecting Buckingham at the airport. year under review was the fate of Immediately on taking office, the CNMI government retirement Commissioner Guerrero formed a fund (nmirf). Though it is much special operations unit to protect tour- too complex to go into any detail, ists in the Garapan area. This meant suffice it to say that over many years the reestablishment of the bicycle the retirement fund has been the cash squad working 24/7 throughout the cow for politicians with personal area and brought to a screeching agendas, and the balance in the fund halt many of the purse snatchings has been severely depleted. It has that were so common there and so been estimated that the government damaging to the Marianas reputation. owes the fund hundreds of millions of Another special squad was formed to dollars in unpaid employer contribu- go through cold cases in an attempt tions. Actuaries now estimate that to revive them and resolve them. Since the corpus of the fund will be used the new operations were put into up in March 2014 and that retire- place, attitudes toward the police have ment checks and, probably more become increasingly positive. important, health insurance will no Governor Inos ran into his longer be available to thousands of own problems with appointments people who are dependent on them. when Lieutenant Governor Jude U The government has made no seri- Hofschneider nominated attorney ous effort to stem the flow of dollars Ramon “Ray” King Quichocho and passed a bill allowing employed political reviews ‡ micronesia 189 government personnel to terminate for several years but have not gotten their mem bership in the fund and very far in the legislature. withdraw contributions they made With renewed US military interests while continuing to work. In addition in the Asia-Pacific region, there are to potentially being able to withdraw prospects that the Marianas could their contributions to the fund, in late become a site for expanded military 2012, government workers were tran- training operations by all three ser- sitioned into the US Social Security vices. The US Navy and Marines are system, from which they were previ- currently looking at major expansion ously exempt. on Tinian, where they already have a The mass withdrawals from the one-hundred-year lease for two-thirds retirement fund created major prob- of the island. Now they are talking lems for the fund because they further about conducting live-fire exercises on depleted the amount available to the the island. Additionally, they want to people receiving promised benefits; take over the island of Pagan, located a lawsuit, commonly called the Betty in the Northern Islands Municipal- Johnson case, was thus brought on ity, for these exercises. However, the behalf of retirees. As of this writing, Constitution protects these islands to the fate of the fund is in the hands the north of Saipan as special reserves of US Judge Robert J Faris and a that cannot be alienated except by committee of beneficiaries and other eminent domain for national security personnel who are trying to negotiate reasons. As of June 2013, a major- a settlement to the Betty Johnson case ity of the population has expressed in addition to enacting measures that opposition to the military taking over will keep the fund operational. Pagan. One of the assets that would During the first half of 2013, prom- be lost to the people of the Mari- ising negotiations toward a global anas if the military were to take over settlement proceeded while refunds would be the alleged millions of tons to those members who elected to of pozzolan (natural volcanic residue terminate their membership in the used to strengthen cement) left over fund were halted pending settlement. from a 1981 volcanic eruption. There In late June, a tentative agreement is some doubt whether the pozzolan was reached that involved setting has any construction value because it aside $52 million to reimburse has been in the open for thirty years employees who withdrew from the and the rain has possibly leached out fund and making retirees eligible to many of the useful chemicals. To date, receive 75 percent of their benefits. no feasibility study has been made. Because of the potentially huge There are also plans for resettling obligations to the retirement fund, the residents to the island by initiating legislature has been considering the a homestead program, which could possibility of allowing more casino be possible due to the Japanese-built gambling, leasing of public land, and airstrip on the island. The island’s a variety of other means to raise the population had been as high as three money. Proposals to float bonds to hundred during the prewar Japanese cover the obligation have been made era and still retained well over one 190 the contemporary pacific ‡ 26:1 (2014) hundred prior to evacuation because moves are taking place to establish of the eruption. better transportation between Saipan, The military is doing all it can to Tinian, Rota, and Guam, both for assuage the civilian opposition by tourists and merchants. Increased promising benefits including allowing travel to the Northern Islands is being people to settle on the island and only contemplated for ecotourism, and moving them off temporarily each several specially designed vessels are time live-fire exercises are planned. being either constructed or seriously The military has already provided planned. Again, this could come up Guam-based helicopter medical against the military plans on several evacuation services for a patient on levels. The newly introduced visa-free Rota needing to get to the hospital on travel for Russian and Chinese visitors Saipan as an example of the purported has become quite popular. New air- benefits of their increased presence in lines coming in currently have charters the commonwealth. One does have primarily from China and Russia, to wonder how an increased military which have quickly become the most presence on the island of Tinian will lucrative markets. Of course, these mesh with the casino movement and visitors also bring with them the most increased civilian populations on the potential for security problems. island, with tourists wandering around The new administration under historic sites. The Tinian Dynasty Governor Eloy Inos has taken notice Hotel and Casino already is in serious of the tourist boom and drastically trouble on a variety of fronts (includ- increased budget projections for ing money laundering by several high- fiscal year 2014 by raising estimated level officials of the casino) and may revenues from $105 million to $220 be closed down by the courts, sold, or million. rehabilitated under new management. samuel f mcphetres A very bright note is the increase in tourism interest in the Marianas. Tourist arrivals began to increase References substantially over the past year. Hotels . Daily. Saipan. are running from 70 to 90 percent full, and new ones are being consid- . Daily. ered while old ones are looking at kmcv-tv. Cable News, Saipan. renovations and upgrades. Very quiet