Fair exchange

I have read the report submitted to the U.S. President by his Special Representative to the 902 talks. The report mentioned that the financial assistance provided under the Covenant “has twice been extended by the Federal government and now has totals more than $500 million. In addition, the Covenant provided access to federal grant programs which have provided about $500 million in aid (in addition to the Covenant grants) for a total of $1 billion over 20 years.” However, the report did not mention a few things that the President should know about the Covenant.

First, the report did not mention that, as US citizens, the people of the CNMI receive the least amount of Federal financial aid when compared to each of the 50 states and the four Territories.

Second, it did not tell the President that the Covenant is an agreement in which the United States agreed to extend such financial assistance in exchange for huge benefits it received from the 12,000 indigenous people of the CNMI who entered into the Covenant.

Specifically, the report did not tell the President that, under the Covenant, the people of the CNMI granted to the United States the following considerations and benefits:

1. The authority to drop live bombs on one of the 14 small islands owned by the indigenous people of the CNMI, as part of the US military target practices. The island being bombed (Medinilla) is a habitat to thousands of birds of different species and coconut crabs (a local delicacy and an endangered specie). Medinilla is surrounded by rich coral reefs nurturing one of the richest fishing grounds in the CNMI waters. The bombs are killing the birds, the coconut crabs and destroying their habitats and the habitats of the fish. The people of the CNMI have sacrificed the preservation of these rich land and water resources in order to support the US military air power. The report did not tell the President that this benefit which the US received under the Covenant is worth millions of dollars per year as long as the bombing continues.

2. A 100 year lease on 2/3 of the island of Tinian, the main dock and harbor on Saipan, and the island of Medinilla, for roughly twenty six cents ($00.26) per square meter or a total of $19 million. Fifteen years later, the equivalent lands were going for about $100.00 per square meter for a 55-year lease. Even at $5.00 per square meter, which is what the CNMI government paid some private owners in order to transfer the leasehold to the U.S., the U.S. would have paid $368 million. The indigenous people agreed to such cheap lease in order to contribute to the maintenance of U.S. global military power. The report did not tell the President that these leasehold interests are worth hundreds of millions more than what the U.S. has actually paid.

3. The power of eminent domain, which means the power to take more lands if the U.S. shows a need for it. The indigenous people granted this power to the United States in order to allow her to take more if the leasehold area is deemed inadequate for national defense and security. The report did not tell the President that this benefit for the U.S. under the Covenant is invaluable.

4. Complete authority with respect to foreign affairs and defense. The people of the CNMI transferred these awesome powers to the United States in exchange for considerations they received under the Covenant including the U.S.’s promise to “assist the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands in its efforts to achieve a progressively higher standard of living for its people as part of the American economic community and to develop the economic resources needed to meet the financial responsibilities of local government.” (See Covenant Section 701). The reports did not tell the President that taking away control of immigration and minimum wage from the CNMI would contradict this provision of the Covenant.

5. The people of the CNMI transferred to the United States their ultimate political power –– their political sovereignty! They did no tell the President that we can not even put a price on this ultimate political power which the U.S. received from the indigenous people of the CNMI. Under this power, the U.S. has complete control over a vast area of lands, sea and air from south of Guam Island to north of Farallon Island. Such control strengthens the U.S. strategic positioning in Asia and the Pacific.

Under the Covenant, the people of the CNMI retained their right of self-government and assured their protection from the loss of their lands. The Covenant protects them from being overwhelmed by aliens who might come to their shores and become US citizens. The Covenant also guarantees certain economic incentives for the CNMI, such as control of immigration, its own minimum wage, and waiver of U.S. tariffs. These are considerations in exchange for what the U.S received under the Covenant.

The report urges the President to take back these considerations from the CNMI, but it failed to suggest what considerations the U.S. should return to the CNMI in exchange. For instance, it could suggest that the annual financial assistance be increased from $11 million to $100 million and remove the matching requirement; or stop the bombing of Medinilla, return all leased lands, and rescind the U.S. power of eminent domain. These are just some possibilities for a fair exchange.

Ramon G. Villagomez