People briefs
People briefs
Community activists Fiu Mataese Elisara-Laulu, of Samoa, and Suila Toloa from Tuvalu completed a two-week "Climate Justice Tour" of Australia in May, meeting what they called "people who don't share the attitude of the Australian government" on the issue of climate change, including opposition parliamentarians in the Labor, Democrats and Greens parties. "They support our call, but don't have the numbers to challenge the government's position and can only contribute through interventions," says Elisara-Laulu. Toloa's main message was to ask the Australian government to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. This remains unlikely under the current Howard government, despite the recent announcement by Russia's President Vladimir Putin that his country will speed up ratification of the protocol. Russia's ratification would bring the Protocol into force. - ADVERTISEMENT -
-SM Samoan author Albert Wendt is the winner of the Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture. The Nikkei Prizes are awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements that have improved the quality of life in Asia and contributed to regional security. Wendt began writing in the 1960s and has published poems, novels, essays and critiques. The Nikkei prize organizers say "his approach to…people's resistance and frustration to aboriginal cultures and western civilization, anguish of locals in colonized lands, and clash between traditional culture and western civilization, has won him not only regional but also a worldwide reputation." -SM The Cook Islands Parliament has passed a motion recommending a free and full pardon of the country's first premier, the late Albert Royale Henry, of all convictions entered against him. Henry, known as the father of the modern Cook Islands, was convicted and stripped of his knighthood in August 1979 for what was then known as the "fly-in voters'" scandal. In March 1978 he pleaded guilty to siphoning money from a government statutory body to pay Ansett Airlines $290,000 to fly in voters from Auckland for the general election. The motion was tabled by Prime Minister Dr. Robert Woonton and unanimously supported by members of the Cook Islands Party (CIP) who now occupy the Opposition benches. Henry founded the CIP 40 years ago and the party is still being led by a relation, former prime minister and Leader of the Opposition Sir Geoffrey Henry. The motion will come into full effect once it is endorsed by the Queen's Representative, Frederick Goodwin. -UK Pohnpei's Acting Governor Jack E. Yakana has nominated Macyleen D. Anson and Benjamin Rodriguez to fill the two associate justice seats in the Pohnpei State Supreme Court left vacant by the death of Justice Henry Biza and the resignation of Justice Ioanis Kanichy. The nominations were submitted for the Pohnpei Legislature's advice and consent in a May 31 letter from Yakana to Speaker. Anson is currently a legislative aide of the Pohnpei Legislature while Rodriguez is Ombudsman of the FSM Supreme Court. -GJ Former assistant parole officer Gary Pua finds himself in hot water after pleading guilty to extorting money from defendants under his supervision who were serving sentences of probation in the Northern Marianas. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office, Pua demanded and received money from defendants in return for promises of favorable official action on the defendants' probation terms. Sentencing is scheduled for August 10. -FR The charismatic face of the Fiji Military Forces at the height of the May 2000 coup, Lieutenant-Colonel Filipo Tarakinikini, will be summoned by his former employers to face coup-related allegations. The Cairo-based United Nations senior operations official lost an application May 16 for leave from the Supreme Court to appeal an earlier decision that he return home to face the on-going enquiry into his alleged involvement. He was questioned before he left New York on secondment to the UN. Tarakinikini resigned after army chief Voreqe Bainimarama refused an application for an extension of his UN posting. -MR Two hundred fifteen swimmers entered the 14th Annual Cocos Crossing in Guam May 30. The first athlete to complete the swim was Daniel O'Keeffe with a time of 47 minutes and 49 seconds. Following him was Ayano Yamaguchi of Japan, the first-place woman finisher in 47:53. The second woman finisher was 14-year-old Nina Mosley of Saipan in 51:41. The 3.5 kilometer (2.2 mile) race course begins at the Cocos Island Resort and ends at the Merizo public pier at Guam's southernmost point. -FW An elaborate weeklong celebration in Suva that culminated in a march through its main streets on floats depicting the arrival of indentured laborers 125 years ago prompted a public apology from Great Council of Chiefs chairman Ratu Epeli Ganilau for inaction by the Council that may have led to "more inconvenience, hardship and strife." Ganilau said of the Indo-Fijian community, which now comprises about 40 percent of the 800,000 people in Fiji: "Indians are here to stay and increase trade and industry, and this has been done in the best interest of Fijians and Fiji." President Ratu Josefa Iloilo issued a call for a collective attempt at consolidating race relations. -MR Lynn A. Knight, vice president for corporate affairs of Tan Holdings Corporation (THC), has taken over management responsibilities of Century Hotel on Saipan, according to an announcement by Jerry Tan, executive vice president of THC. She has 25 years of experience in communications and business management, having served as a consultant to the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands for 12 years, along with five years each for Hyatt Regency Saipan and Hotel Nikko Saipan. -FR Yutaka Maruyama is the new general manager of the LeoPalace Resort in Guam. He held the same position with the Westin Resort Guam. The LeoPalace has extensive first-class sports facilities and is located on 5.2 million square meters in the central part of the island. The Westin is in Tumon, Guam's main tourist district. Both the LeoPalace Resort and the Westin Resort are owned by the same Japan-based corporation-LeoPalace 21. Ian Reid, most recently the general manager of the Sheraton Sapporo Hotel in Japan, replaces Maruyama at the Westin. -FW Former diplomat, author and teacher Sir Paulias Matane has been elected Papua New Guinea's eighth governor-general after an exhaustive ballot by Parliament. He was chosen ahead of four other candidates-Sir Joseph Nombri, Sir Pato Kakaraya, Sir Albert Kipalan and PNG's first female candidate, Nahau Rooney. Sir Paulias was voted in as PNG's head of state after a prolonged election process in Parliament dogged by legal challenges and bribery allegations, which left the office vacant since November last year. PNG opposition MP Peter O'Neill while congratulating Sir Paulias, said the election brought to an end an embarrassing saga. -AR Lauren Moriarty, President George W. Bush's nominee for the post of Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation with rank of Ambassador, was recently approved by the U.S. Senate. A native Hawaiian, Moriarty has served in the APEC post since August 2003. She represents the United States to the international organization whose 21 members account for almost 60 percent of global production and half of world trade. She also serves as coordinator for economic issues in the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. -GJ Vicky I. Benavente has been named managing director of the Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA), according to David M. Sablan, board chairman. Benavente replaced Jonas Ogren in mid-June. Ogren has returned to his home in Sweden, having served the agency for two years. Benavente, who is the wife of Lieutenant Governor Diego T. Benavente, was most recently the MVA's deputy managing director. She was chosen from several applicants, following interviews conducted by the board. -FR Ongelibel Remengesau celebrated her 100th birthday on May 4 at her home in Ngerbeched, Koror. Remengesau is the matriarch of a large and distinguished family including 10 children-two of them adopted, 20 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren. Her husband of 57 years, Remengesau Delkuu, passed away 24 years ago. One of her sons, Thomas O. Remengesau, Sr., was President of Palau in the 1980's and her oldest grandson, Tommy Remengesau, Jr., is the current President. -NC Bill Sakovich, who came to Saipan in 1972 as manager of the Bank of Hawaii, then quit to devote himself full-time to coaching swimming and organizing sporting events, left Saipan at the end of May to live in Hilo, Hawaii. Sakovich's departure leaves a big gap in sports administration on Saipan, particularly swimming, the most successful team sport in the Northern Marianas. Sakovich and his wife Jean coached hundreds of young children who competed in regional and international swim competitions and brought back hundreds of medals to the Northern Marianas. Sakovich's son, Jonathan, dominated the South Pacific Games swimming competition with four gold medals and three silvers in the 1980s. Genevieve Pangelinan, another of Sakovich's premier swimmers, brought home 22 gold medals from the Micronesian Games in Palau in 1998 and from Pohnpei in 2002.
-FR Contributors: Frank Rosario, Samantha Magick, Ulamila Kurai-Marrie, Giff Johnson, Alex Rheeney, Matelita Ragogo, Frank Whitman, Fili Sagapolutele and Nancy Chism. |
