Bikini clean-up

accord at last

Once again the plight of Bikini islanders has taken anew turn.

Within a few weeks in March, their options for the future were narrowed and expanded, dramatically.

Most significantly, the islan ders and the Reagan adminis tration have come to agreement on a clean-up of radioactive Bikini in the Marshall Islands.

In essence, the administra tion has agreed in principle to authorise spending about US $42 million to scrape off much of the topsoil on Bikini and Eneu islands in the atoll and replace the soil with non-con taminated earth. In return, the islanders agree to support the U.S.-Marshalls free association compact, which includes a pro vision that none of the so-called

’’nuclear islanders” can bring suit related to the nuclear weapons testing program against the U.S. The Bikinians have pending a S4OO million suit that alleges the U.S. did not fulfill its trusteeship obligations in using Bikini as a proving ground.

The agreement does not necessarily mean the islanders may in the near future return again to Bikini. A number of significant hurdles remain. The biggest is getting the U.S. Con gress to agree to the understan ding. At a time when the administration is calling for sig nificant cuts in domestic spen ding, asking for S4O-some mil lion for 1200 far-away islan ders, as worthy of the funds as they may be, may not go over

well.

Floyd K. Takeuchi.

Notes from the North

Floyd K.

Takeuchi on Micronesia