People Briefs
People Briefs
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Samoa's Head of State, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II, celebrated his 88th birthday in American Samoa on January 4, the day following the swearing in ceremony for Governor Tauese Sunia and Lt. Governor Togiola Tulafono for their second term in office. The birthday tribute was hosted by the Governor and his wife, Fagaoali'i. Malietoa is revered as the "traditional father" of the two Samoas. At the ceremony, Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi presented Malietoa with the "Grand Order of Samoa" medal to recognize his service to Samoa. Governor Tauese also presented Malietoa with a monetary gift of $3,000. Malietoa originally shared the Head of State title with Tupua Tamasese Meaole, who passed away a few years after Samoa (then Western Samoa) gained independence in 1962. He is possibly the longest serving head of state currently holding public office in the world today.
Sem Yaru, a West Papuan human rights activist in the Indonesian-ruled province's capital, Jayapura, in January strongly criticized the Papua New Guinea and Australian governments for taking the view that West Papua is an "internal problem" for Indonesia. He said it’s a totally misleading position. "The level of brutality inflicted by Indonesian military and police forces on indigenous people of West Papua over more than 30 years of Indonesian reign is surely not an internal problem," he said.
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Marshall Islands President Kessai Note survived a no confidence vote against his year old government in mid-January. The opposition party, led by former President Imata Kabua and Senator Justin deBrum, needed 17 votes to unseat the government, but could muster only 14 in the 33 seat parliament. |
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Israeli Ambassador to Australia Gabby Levy presented his diplomatic credentials to Marshalls President Kessai Note in late December. Levy’s ambassadorial territorial covers about half the Pacific, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea.
Paul Coffa, the Nauru National Olympic Committee's first sports director, recently stepped down to become executive director of the 2001 World Weightlifting Championships, to be held in Nauru in October. Coffa established a world class weightlifting program in Nauru which led to Nauru's dominance in regional competitions. Under Coffa’s coaching, standout lifter Marcus Stephens gained global fame with record-setting performances. Coffa's replacement as Sports Director is Trent Dabwido.
In Memoriam
Ann Luior, an advocate for gender equality and a pioneer for women’s issues in the Federated States of Micronesia, has died in Yap at the age of 49 of breast cancer. She established the Girl Scout organization in the FSM, promoted the Convention on Children’s Rights and chaired a steering committee to establish the Red Cross Society in the country. She also was the FSM’s first national women’s interest officer.
Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Ionatana Ionatana collapsed and died while delivering a speech during a hotel reception in early December. The late prime minister, a policeman and government civil servant before entering politics, is credited with having put his nation on a firmer financial footing. A major success was his selling the nation's Internet suffix, dot-tv, earning Tuvalu millions of dollars a year.
Former Kosrae senator and Director of Education Luey K. Luey died November 25 after fighting illness for almost a year. He was 50. Flags were lowered to half-staff for one week in his honor.
—Contributors: Fili Sagapolutele, Grant Ishmael and PINA Nius Online
