The Ibedul’s anomolous role

“FORGIVE my ignorance of the intricacies of your government, but would not your suit be stronger if it were joined by the President of Palau?”

This question, asked by a puzzled Associate Press (AP) reporter at the Ibedul’s press conference, underlined some of the handicaps in the lawsuit filed by Palau’s traditional chief, Yuytaka Gibbons, and his visit to Washington.

The IbeduPs efforts on behalf of his countrymen were dogged with obstacles, some self-imposed.

The first problem, identified by the AP writer, was the clearly-visible split within the island’s Establishment. The tra ditional chiefs and the governors of the island states (there are 16 of them for a

population of 15,000 people) joined the

Ibedul, but neither the Federal legis lature (the OEK) nor President Ngiratkel Epison were signatories to the suit. (The Ibedul answer to the AP reporter was simply that “the traditional leaders are very powerful in our country”.) A second problem was the afore

mentioned intricate leadership structure.

A traditional leader who is not the elective leader but who does play a role in politics is a difficult proposition for American minds, (The Ibedul was once mayor of Korore, and is important in the politics of the island territory.) The third problem was a lack of clarity in the suit itself — it seeks a termination of the Trusteeship under terms accept able to Palau, but sets neither those terms nor a date. Similarly, it seeks funds from Washington but does not specify an amount.

Another problem was a lack of plan ning. Copies of the all-important court filing were not available at the time of the IbeduPs press conference. And, though the IbeduPs party had been hoping for a member of Congress to join the suit as a plaintiff, none had signed on by the time the suit was filed on April 29.

The final problem was the IbeduPs decision to conduct his contacts with the press through an interpreter, despite having spent six years studying in Guam, and as a soldier in the US army. □