Tropicalities

"Misleading" Micronesia

THE FEBRUARY 1989'issue of Pacific Islands Monthly includes an article on Micronesia titled

“Kwajalein: Furore in Perspective” by

Ed Rampell. In my opinion, Mr Ram pell’s article contains some misleading statements.

Granted, there was a strong feeling in the United States on the completion of World War II concerning secure borders. The Pearl Harbour attack, launched from Micronesian waters, was a shocking psychological blow to

US security. These feelings persist

among many of our leaders and so they seek to set our front line of naval defence as far away from the con tinental US as possible.

The statement that Mr Rampell quotes from Congressman Herbert in 1945 must be taken in the emotional context of the times. Many died fight ing for those islands.

I also grant that there is great

ignorance among American politicians

concerning Micronesia and tier prob

lems. Little attention is paid to the Pacific islands mainly because they are so . . . pacific. US statesmen, con cerned with crises in the Middle East, Central American and Eastern Europe are (sad to say) unlikely to spend much time worrying about a few thousand islanders.

What Americans need to learn is that a little effort taken now to satisfy the needs of the Micronesians will save a great effort later. It is too late to bund a dam after the flood.

Now that I have shown where I agree with Mr Rampell, let me state my disagreements. Mr Rampell discus ses in great detail the termination of the Trust Territory agreement and denounces the United Nations for not standing up to the US on the issue.

The Compact of Free Association, he says, is something the United States has blackmailea Micronesia into accepting and only the UN can stop it.

This view ignores the fact (carefully omitted from the article) that the Mic ronesians voted for the Compact in free and open elections. In fact, they

approved it by rather hefty margins.

Mr Rampell as much as admits that the Soviet Union would veto the ter mination of the Trusteeship. Should the UN allow the leaders of the USSR to have a greater say in the future of Micronesia than tne Micronesians themselves? Mr Rampell offers the fact that the Trusteeship Council is still in existence as proof that the UN considers the termination of the agreement illegal. I would suggest that

the Trusteeship Council still exists be cause of the unsettled contradictions between the Compact of Free Associa tion and Palau’s nuclear-free constitu tion. The Trusteeship Council cannot be disbanded until all of Micronesia has settled its political status.

I simply could not believe my eyes when I read the following sentence: “Naturally, the USSR is as pleased by military bases on Guam and a Star Wars facility in the Marshalls as Amer ica was at tne prospect of having nuc lear weapons stored in Cuba.” This is what most people would call a faulty analogy. Is Micronesia 90 miles away from Soviet territory? Does Micronesia sit astride any Soviet trade routes?

Could Moscow lie in ruins 10 minutes after a nuclear launch from Mic ronesia? Come on, Mr Rampell! Sug gesting that Micronesia could become an East-West flashpoint sets a world record for jumping to a conclusion.

Apocalyptic predictions do not serve the interests of Micronesia nor any of the Pacific islands.

Micronesians have legitimate com plaints against the United States. But all that have I read and seen suggests that virulent anti-Americanism is not the dogma of Micronesians. My per sonal belief is that Free Association is a temporary status. I wonder how Mr Rampell would react if Guam and Micronesia ultimately chose statehood over independence? If the United Na tions is concerned about the problem of national self-determination, their time would be better spent wondering what happened to those “free ana open” elections the Soviets promised to hold in Eastern Europe. Colonial ism takes many forms.

Michael Antonucci

Carmichael California, USA WHILE we gladly publish Mr Anto nucci’s letter, we must point out that his response contains several “mislead ing statements” of its own.

First, the fact that Micronesians voted for the Compact of Free Asso ciation with the United States was not “carefully omitted” [sic] from Ed Ram pell’s article. In fact, this has been co vered in considerable detail in past issues, and we do not seek to bore our readers with inutile repetition.

Ed RampelTs article referred pointedly to the fact that Palauans nave not voted for Free Association in numbers sufficient to meet the re quirements of that Republic’s Con stitution a snub that has met with responses that demean the United States’ self-professed role as the cham

pion of global democracy and

freedom.

Second, Mr Antonucci is guilty of, at best, ignorance if he believes US nuclear warheads are more distant from Soviet territory than Soviet mis siles may potentially have been from US territory had they been installed in Cuba. While Moscow may not be as close to Micronesia as Washington is to Havana, the major city of Vladivos tok could be vaporised within minutes of a missile launch from US Pacific bases.

Third, Mr Antonucci says that the story carried the assertion that the USSR should have a greater say in determining Micronesia’s future than Micronesians themselves. This is pre posterous and a distortion of the article’s wording. What Mr Rampell was attempting to convey was the be lief that neither the USSR nor the USA has a greater right to determine Micronesia’s future than the inhabi tants of those islands.

First-Hand Friends Sought

MAY be surprised to re ceive mail from Germany, but I read Pacific Islands Monthly regularly and am always interested to get news of the politics, economies and arts of the Pacific we hardly see any news here about your part of the world.

It’s my hobby to deal with the his tory and current problems of the Paci fic Islands, and I believe the best way of getting news is by having friends in the Pacific. I would be very grateful if you could publish my letter so people living in the Pacific could write to me.

Petra Schumann

Str. D. Beffeiung 82-E

Coswig

Ddr 8270

Tuvalu In Perspective

VHE TENTH Anniversary of In- B dependence in Funafuti was not I all flowers and happiness. A lot of tourists — including myself, the only yachtie in Funafuti — were ordered to leave Tuvalu before the start of the celebrations. A young Norwegian in the process of becoming married to a Tuvaluan also had to leave the country temporarily ... a Japanese tourist m Suva, Fiji, was pre vented from sailing to Tuvalu aboard the new ship Nivaga II, though he had already booked accommodation in a guest house at Funafuti.

At first I was confused, but after seeing the secretary to the Governor, I

got the message: he said, “How do I know if you are a terrorist or not?” I guess there had been a terrorist scare . . . and only invited guests were welcome at the celebrations.

Egon Carlsson

Hallabro Sweden

"Bananas" Revisited 1

I READ with interest, but mixed feelings, your article “On not going bananas in the Pacific”. You seem somewhat unfair when you compare the fate of the French ex-colonies, notably in Africa, with other nations’ former colonies such as New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Austra lia where the original population (or what is left of it) could have ex

pressed particular complaints we don’t

near in former French territories. You

also mention Hong Kong and Singa

pore, whose successes owe not a little to Chinese ingenuity.

You imply that France had left be hind only “hatred and humiliation” while referring to Africa. Let me dis agree cordially with you: if you com pare the present situation of fran cophone Africa with a number of other African countries (which I would not mention, so as not to offend them or their former colonis ers), I would dare say that the French record is not bad.

True, some of the francophone countries of Africa are experiencing great economic difficulties but look at what is happening in other African countries; unfortunately, their fate is worse in most cases.

The wars we waged in Indochina and Algeria were more than regrett able. However, our relations with Algeria, where the French presence has been less than futile, are trustful; a great degree of genuine mutual understanding exists between the two peoples and certainly resentment is not felt. As for Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, I do not know that they har bour feelings of “hatred and humilia tion” at least toward us. They cer tainly are deprived not only of mate rial prosperity, but also of essential

human rights; nevertheless, they are fully aware that France is not to be blamed for this situation.

Concerning New Caledonia, I would agree that for a long time France has been too much looking inward. But a real chance has taken place and we now wish very much that the [terri tory] will expand its relations with all other countries in the Pacific. The new political status will enable [it] to do so. Different circumstances explain the difficulties that exist and that sur faced so violently last year; the French Government is trying to remedy this situation by implementing an alebo rate plan of political, economic and

social development.

The ethnic balance in New Caledo nia being what it is, “giving independ ence” would be a meaningless proposi tion; only a free and democratic deci sion coming after two similar re ferenda in 1958 and 1987 will allow the population in 10 years’ time to de cide its own future.

Roger Duzer

Ambassador of France Canberra, Australia

"Bananas" Revisited 2

Y r OUR ARTICLE certainly brought back memories: I was stationed just below La Foa for several months during 1944, and an occasional jeep ride into Noumea was endured because of anticipation of a pleasant evening at the Hotel du Paci

fique, of pleasant memories.

I’ve been on the island a couple of times since and have to agree that during the journey to Noumea from Tontouta nothing had changed, de spite the wide open spaces. There were, perhaps, a few additional holes in the road, but otherwise nothing was different.

I made a mental observation while there that the French were lousy col onisers, and judging from the consis tent reports in Pacific Islands Monthly [and elsewhere] they still haven’t learned anything about human nature.

Urban D Kapler

Phoenix Arizona, USA