Some Micronesian unity
pp. 24-25 · Read in the full issue
Pacific Islands Monthly
Some Micronesian unity goes up in smoke
From a correspondent on Saipan.
It was, members of the legislature said, a “sad day for the people of Micronesia”. But sadder days may yet be on the way in the political affairs of this trust territory administered by the US—which, with New Guinea, is one of only two trust territories left in the world. The sad day was February 20, when unknown arsonists burned to the ground the Senate and House chambers of the Congress of Micronesia.
The fire occurred in the early morning when nobody was in the building. But Congress had been in session —having sat for 40 days of what was to have *een a 50-day meeting. With no home (eft, and with copies of bills and other legislation destroyed, the Congress decided the same day of the fire that there was no point in continuing, tmd adjourned sine die, leaving most of the legislative work still undone.
A special session may be called, but that uocision is being left to High Commissioner Edward Johnston, who is currently visiting Honolulu and who was absent when the buildings were destroyed.
The fire was discovered soon after
5 a.m. in the main building, but nothing could be saved there. In an adjoining building, which houses the legislature offices, including the office of the Senate president, the fire was put out before it could destroy the building. Desks and files had been torn open by the arsonists, and paper piled around the offices and set alight.
What was behind this arson?
Probably one or both of two politi cal measures which have in the last week caused excitement here on Sai pan—taxation, and a strongly worded resolution passed by the Marianas District Legislature demanding that the Marianas District be allowed to secede from the trust territory.
The tax bill was one of the few
measures that had been passed by both houses before the fire, but it still requires approval by the High Com missioner.
The bill seeks to put a 3 per cent, tax on all incomes in the TT from July 1, and a business revenue tax of SUS4O on the first $lO,OOO of gross revenue, and 1 per cent, on revenue above $lO,OOO. It is designed to bring in more than $2 million in its first year, about $1 million of this coming from the wages of US employees at Kwajalein missile range, in the Mar shalls.
The Marianas representatives in Congress violently opposed the new taxes, saying that public excitement was very high because the greatest
After the fire. T he legislative chamber in ruins.
Photo: "Micronesia Star".
burden would be on the Marianas people and the least burden on the other five districts. They strongly objected to the fact that it is a flat rate tax, with no concessions for dependants, so that those with larger families and smaller incomes would be worst hit. Majority of the Marianas people are Catholic, with large families The Mayor of Saipan, Mr. Vincent Sablan, told Saipan’s new weekly newspaper, The Micronesia Star, that there was “a huge uproar” and he “did not want to see the people act against the government”.
The bill was passed in the Senate on February 12.
On February 19, the Marianas District Legislature adopted a resolution advising the UN Security Council and Trusteeship Council that “the Marianas Islands District of the Pacific Islands will secede from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands by force of arms if necessary and with or without the approval of the United Nations.”
The resolution said that over the years the Marianas had made “every effort to live and work with the Congress of Micronesia, but it has now
become clear that aII hope for , he people of the Marianas, of working harmoniously with the people of the Eastern and Western Caroline Islands j s i os t.”
Thus has developed the first serious split in the plan for a self-governing, unified trust territory.
The Marianas have already played G dd man out in the Congress’ bid to fi nd a satisfactory future political status for the TT. Congress last year rejected a US offer to grant the TT Commonwealth status, insisting on cither complete independence or free association with the US.
There is at present a stalemate
between the Micronesian Congress and Washington on the matter, al though the Marianas people have made no secret of the fact that they would happily take Commonwealth status and tie themselves completely to Uncle Sam - „ „ .
Administration attitude following t h e fire is to play down the situation, in the hope of tempers cooling. For tbat reason it is relieved that Con gress bas ad J° urned * Meanwhile, there is another politi cal problem still to be resolved—the matter of honest elections in Palau.
The three Palau seats in the House Representatives were declared yac an* as f month because of serious irregularities in the general elections November, and new' elections held in March. The three men did not sit at any time in the current session.
Although a Senate committee re commended that the Senate seat won by Roman Tmetuchi should also be declared vacant (PIM, Feb., p. 32), the Senate finally decided to allow Tmetuchi to be seated, although it accepted the report of irregularities at the poll.