High chiefs take court action

By David North

THERE is a new ingredient in the

ongoing relationship struggle be

tween Washington and Palau a lawsuit filed againsnhe US Government by Palau’s traditional paramount chief, Ibedul Yutaka Gibbons.

The Ibedul was joined in the court action by other high chiefs in Palau, and by the Council of State Governors, but not by either the President or the national legislature (see story this page).

The suit was filed against US Secre tary of Interior, Manuel Lujan, and Assistant Secretary for Territorial and Island Affairs, Stella Guerra, in the US District Court for the District of Colum bia (the location of the Interior offices.) The suit seeks to undo decades of Mainland policies, and change a variety of island and Mainland governmental practices. Its objectives include: • termination of United Nations Trusteeship on terms accepted by Palau; • expenditure of unspecified amounts of Mainland money to restore Palau’s infrastructure to the level it was during the height of Japanese activity; • partial or total repeal of the recent order of the Secretary of Interior, which limited the extent of Palauan self government.

Co-signing the lawsuit were John Ngiraked, Acting Reklai and vice chair man of the Palau Council of Chiefs, John Gibbons, the Governor of the State of Koror (and chairman of the Palau

Governors Conference), Moses Uludong,

Governor of the Stale of Ngchesar (and secretary of the Governors Conference), the Palau Council of Chiefs and the Palau Conference of Governors.

While island-based suits against Wash ington are usually futile, this one raises two interesting sets of issues post-war destruction of roads and buildings by the US Army, and imposition by the US Government, or its toleration of, “the welfare state, massive government em

ployment and corruption.”

On the first the Ibedul’s press kit states: “During the Japanese occupation of Palau there were 95 miles of paved roads in Palau. After World War II these roads were destroyed by US forces. In 1991 there are only nine miles of paved roads in Palau.”

Similarly: “prior to 1947 there were more than 950 reinforced concrete build ings in the capital city, Koror. Under the administration of the United States these buildings were dynamited and bull dozed. Today most structures in Koror are constructed of corrugated tin.”

The Idebul’s colleagues say the US military wanted to destroy remnants of

Japan, and install good, US-built roads and buildings; but destruction took place and reconstruction did not.

The press kit continues: “Prior to 1947 Palau had a water system capable of meeting the needs of all its people and an electrical generating system capable of providing dependable power to the inhabitants of major villages. Today few villages including the capital city Koror, have dependable water and electrical services.”

The IbeduPs colleagues said that Palau’s new, controversial, and not-yet paid-for electrical generating system serves only about two-thirds of the population (those in and near Koror) and is not totally reliable.

The IbeduPs press statement also recalled that “prior to the Second World War Palau had a diverse economy with a thriving private sector .. . between 1924 and 1936 Palau was a net exporting country of agricultural and manufac tured goods . . . [but] today the mainstay of the Palauan economy is a bloated, inefficient and unproductive bureauc racy fueled by US tax dollars. It is a false economy based on government em

ployees.”

The lawsuit, and accompanying docu ments and statements, speak sharply of Mainland policies which are not con ducive to self-government. Last year’s secretarial order, limiting the power of

the Palauan government to pass legis lation and spend money, is regarded by the Ibedul as yet another effort “to put pressure on the people of Palau” to accept the Compact (with its contro versial provisions about storage of US nuclear weapons on the islands.) The Ibedul stressed his continuing support of the island state’s constitution which apparently would need to be amended were the Compact approved.

Without stating his (apparently nega tive) feelings on the Compact, the Ibedul said he wanted his people to make up their own mind and, later, that he wanted them to have sufficient education to discuss the alternatives.

At no point in the proceedings did anyone raise the issue of the supermajority three-quarters ap proval which has stalled US-Palau relations. There have been seven referenda, and the proposed Compact has always secured a heavy majority, but never three-quarters of the vote. No-one has moved to amend the island consti tution to eliminate the need for a three quarters vote, and the self-imposed stalemate continues.

Oral arguments before the not-yet chosen US District Court judge will not take place for months. There are the likely appeals, so a final decision may not be reached for years. After conferring with allies and potential allies in the

Congress, the Ibedul planned to spend

some time in New York, carrying his case to the United Nations Trusteeship Coun cil, before returning to Palau. G