UNIVERSIT):' Of JiAWAl.l .L_I~~ arianas %riet~~ Micronesia's Leading Newspaper Since 1972 '&1 ~ US pa11el hears US Senator calls on IG to probe· Stayman .for anti~ NMI campaign By Zaldy Dandan Secretary Bruce Babbitt was of­ Variety News Staff fended by his remarks on UNITED States Sen. Rod Grams Stayman during yesterday's US (R-Minnesota)wantsinsular Af­ Senate Energy and Natural Re­ fairs Director.Allen Stayman in­ sources Committee hearing: vestigated for "unacceptable" Grams, who is. a committee and "outrageous behavior," spe­ member, sai~ Babbittannoµnced cifically for conducting "a very that he will even publicly com­ Bruce Babbitt public, politically motivated mend Stayman. Pedro P. Tenorio media campaign to win Repub­ "This is troubling," the sena­ Babbitt: CNMI lican votes"forthe WhiteHouse­ tor said. Tenorio says experiment gone backed "federal takeover" legis­ "Not only are Interior offi­ lation. cials getting involved in politics hearing went 'horribly awry' In a media release, and lobbying, but they are re­ Minnesota's conservative and .warding their staff for doing so. OKforCNMI By LAURA MYERS junior senatornoted that Interior Alle.,:i Stayman Continued on page 19 WASHING TON (AP) - Inte­ By Zaldy Dandan F~...§!:...l:!a.:sf:l~.,... · ?-:-. w-,.·:,'.:1'.£:._JZ,,J;.· r,;,;:-_.. " .., .,., ·",.-·, .. ·~·--.······· .. -··._'ifu::<'-..:2· ·-·.·.···-~+--··.,, •. ·. .:......Lat.,~---· J rior Secretary Bruce Babbitt urged Variety News Staff lawmakers Tuesday to apply fed­ GOVERNOR Pedro P. Tenorio eral immigration and wage laws !1 Business sector leader believes NMI I yesterday said the US Senate com­ to the Northern Mariana Islands, mittee hearing on "federal take­ a U.S. territory where he said for­ ~ij has earned sympathy of US Senators: over" legislation went smoothly eign workers are abused in a self­ for the CNMI, and that the com­ ), By Aldwin R. Fajardo the Northern Marianas' tourism to cut costs, "not raise wages." rule experiment "gone horribly mittee members were "reason­ He mentioned that the gar- ft awry." ! Variety News Staff industry. The Saipan Chamberof able." -· CITING the ii I effects of a pos­ Commerce was also given the ment industry is expected to Shadowy recruiters lure people Tenorio, in a telephone inter­ sible adjustment of the local chance to present the business eventually vanish when the from China, the Philippines, view, said the four-hour hearing ' minimum wage to federal lev- community's position. Bangladesh and other nations to General Agreement on Tariffs 1:· reestablished a good line of com­ els, the CNMI delegation have Knight, quoting Sablan, said and Trade is fully imple~ented. ;'. the Pacific Ocean islands for a fee munications between the com­ j apparently earned the sympa­ the CNMI delegation "made "We hope that tounsm can ;, of up to $7,000 each, telling them monwealth and the federal gov­ strong points particularly with re­ sustain and increase its base to · they'll get lucrative work and a t thy of the US Senate during the ernment. t1 "federal takeover" hearing in gards to our economy now." support or offset the potential chance at U.S. citizenship. "We told them we are willing to "We are now bracing for what impact of a substantial loss of '.' Instead, Babbitt said, some are :'.l Washington yesterday. listen to them, and we asked them is expected to be the worst year in revenue to our islands," he said. forced into slave labor and prosti­ (~ 'The se?ators seemed very !) to work closely with us in ad­ sympathetic. The CNMI del­ our tourism history. Hotel occu­ Sablan said there will be no ft. tution, and others told investiga­ U 1 dressing (labor and immigration) egation has succeeded in a lot pancy has dropped as much as 30 further development from in- f) tors they were forced to have abor­ ~1 concerns," he said. Hof ways," said Lynn Knight, percent," Sablan told members of ternational resort chains "if you fjJ tions. "We tried our best, and 1 think t''; ; quoting Hotel Association the US Senate Committee on En­ take away our ability to staff h~j "The practices I described do we did a good job in presenting ( president Ron Sablan. ergy and Natural Resources. our business." /:1 exist in the world, but they must (the CNMI's case against federal Sablan testified on behalf of He stressed that this is the time Continued on page 19 Vi Continued on page 20 takeover)," Tenorio said. ' ~ T • -- • • ' • In a separate interview, the governor's top adviser Dr. Jose T. Villagomez said he was told that Sablan: 'No let-up' in members of the US Senate Eri­ ergy and Natural Resources Com­ mittee expressed willingness to iill plem en ting reform give the CNMI at least two years By Zaldy Dandan and Health Administration (OSHA). to correct its labor and immigra- Variety News Staff "I° hope they join and help us Continued on page 19 11-IE OlITCOMEofthe recent US enforce federal laws," he said. "I Senate committee hearing may be believe we would be more success­ !:(--·- X ~ ---·----- =--- .. = - 0 -ii considered favorqble to the CNMI, ful if they assist us." but acting Gov. Jesus R. Sablan In an earlier interview, Sablan has yesterday said there will be no let up said that whatever the outcome of j WEAT~ER /i in implementing labor and immi­ the US Senate committee hearing grntion reforms. on "federal takeover'' legislation, ~ Ou1look i; 'This administration 'sreforrnsare the Tenorio administration will con­ for good," Sablan said, "and we will tinue implementing labor and im­ continue with our aggressive en­ migration reforms. forcement of Jaws." He said the administration "val­ F.choingGov. PedroP. Tenorio's ues the good name of the CNMI," testimony during the committee and is committed to "making the hearing, Sablan urged a "greater Northern Marianas a better presence" in theCNMI on the part of place." US Labor Department, Immigra­ However, he added, federal tion and Naturalization Service assistance is still needed consid­ Parly cloudy skies with (INS), Drug Enforcement Agency ering the CNMI's limited re­ With schoolchildren gathered around him, Acting Gov. Jesus R. Sablan isolated ram showers reads a proclamation he was about to sign declaring April as Child (DEA) and the Occupational Safety sources and expertise. Abuse and Neglect Awareness Month. Photo by Zaldy Dandan 2-MARIANA_s \I AR~ETY NEW5_ A@_ VIEWS-THURSDA Y-AP-"R"'IL~2,c_cl_:_99"°8'------------- THURSDAY. APRIL 2, 1998 -Iv1AR1j\NAS 'I_ ARIETY NEWS AND VI~\VS-3 Hostage standoff in Gov't eyes new department By Mar-Vic C. Munar "for short, it would be called ment, according to the acting gov­ Youth Affairs, from the Turkey on 2nd day Variety News Staff the YES Department which goes Governor's Office. ernor, would be made up of agen­ ANKARA. Turkey (AP) - in i\nkaraonTuesdaytodemand tliat of moving in and would uy to con­ THE administration wants to cre­ with a slogan 'Yes, The Youth cies which would be taken out of The office of the Job Training More than 50 prison guards amJ IOcorrnades be se111 back to Ilic Buca vince the-prisoners to 1i.:lease their ate a new department that will Can Do It," Sablan said. theirexisting mother departments. and Partnership Act, an indepen­ handle youth affairs, acting Gov. officials \1·cre held hostage for :1 prison tiom otherjai Is. quickly spread hostages. "We 're creating tliis agency so TI1e Division of Youth and Ser­ dent agency partly funded by the second dav Wednesdav bv leftist 10 five other prisons in a conce11ed lli~ justice ministry has defended Jesus R. Sablan announced yes­ that we can pay enough attention vices would be pulled oul of the federal government, would also inmates ir; si.x prisons: wiiilc ac­ action. tl1e transfers. saying Buca prison terday. to our youth in terms of employ­ Department of Community and be incorporated into the proposed tivists sought a deal between the Police ,md military units remained served as a detention site for suspecL, Sablan said the proposed new ment and services. And we want Cultural Affairs: the Employment youth department. swtioned OUL,ide tlic prisons in An­ awaiting trial mid could not hold the governme;it and prisoners de­ department will comprise exist­ to address these areas on a Cabi­ Services, from the Department of "The main objective of this de­ karn, Bergama. Bursa. Sakarya. 10 rece~tly-convicted prisoners. ~1anding the cancellation of trans­ ing youth agencies attached to net level," he added. Labor and Immigration; and the ·partment is to bring our youths on Canakk,tle mid Istanbul's Umr~miye. 1lie inmates me members of the fers from another jail. other Cabinet departments. The proposed youth depart-. the right track," Sablan said, banned leftist group Revolutionruy Governor's Special Assistant for 1lic hostage st,mdoff. which bcgim Autl10Iitiessaid they had no intention "We will not have problems People 'sSalvationPmty-Front, which with money because we will only has taken responsibility for several consolidate all agencies and of­ killings and bombings in Turkey. l fices that are currently handling Chinese nurse considers filing Jesus R. Sablan Turkish inmates often stage hun­ youth matters, and the respective ger suikes, riot orwke guards hostage \ funds of these offices would be drafting a legislation to create the to push for ~tter conditions. pooled for the new department," Cabinet office which would be suit against DOLi inspectors P1ime Minister Mesut Yilmazsaid Sablan told the Variery. called the Department of Youth the uprising pmved that the govern­ By Aldwin R. Fajardo Goldberg is not entitled to take He said the administration is Employment and Services. number of attorneys, as well ment needed suicter security in pris­ Variety News Staff the deposition of the nurse, as many adversely affected in­ ons.