Malite descendants respond to Tina Sablan letter

At first you claim that the Malite estate case was reek with corruption, $3.45 million ludicrous, the family is wasting public funds, and that we owe the people of the CNMI an apology.

Now, you’re saying, ”you respect the Malites’ conviction” and you do not object to the Malites’ pursuing compensation. A sudden change of heart? Well, that’s what happens when one rushes into judgment without setting the facts straight.

Key fact you need to keep in mind is that our case was thrown into the court system while we were on the negotiating table. We went ahead and accepted the judicial process to clarify and justify our case once and for all. So the alarm you claim was sounded by the AG’s office was important to us as well. The injustice was legally heard and the case was taken much more serious than way back in the 1960s. All of a sudden, the same party responsible for taking us to court dropped the case like it was never necessary to go to court.

Now you’re also suggesting a new round of negotiations, which is not a bad idea; however, you are a century too late. You still haven’t gotten your facts straighten out. Negotiations started long before some of the descendents of Malite were born. As way back as in the late 1950s, ‘60s, 70s, 80s, and then the ‘90s. Several more before the case was taken to court, and currently the case is still under negotiation.

We’ve had enough history of negotiations already and in due time justice will be served, but not because of your letters to the editor. We really don’t need individuals to interfere at this point of negotiations, we prefer to head on as private as indigenous citizens would. But then we had to respond to you just to clarify our side of the story. If you have a problem with how the politics and attorneys handle the case, then re-direct your statements accordingly but do not dare Malite descendants to apologize.

Esther F. Sound
Elias Malite Rangamar
Jimmy G. Sablan
Frances Malite Fejeran
Susupe, Saipan