Pacific Magazine > Magazine > December 1, 2004

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25 Years Ago In Pacific Magazine


The November/December 1981 issue of Pacific Magazine covered themes that still resonate 25 years later. Dr George Kent, then a professor with the University of Hawaii Department of Political Science, wrote a commentary on development problems in the Pacific Islands. There was also an interview with Vice President of the Counseil de Governement, French Polynesia's executive branch, Francis Sanford, who discussed political and economic independence in Tahiti, and an update on the Micronesian status negotiations between the leaders of FSM, Belau (Palau) and Marshall Islands, and U.S. Undersecretary of State, James L. Buckley.

Development Problems: "The islands need and deserve grants. The remedy is not to end the programs, but to recognize that their forms can be varied so they help, rather than hinder, the achievement of self-reliance. Assistance programs can either strengthen or weaken people. Our task is to learn how to distinguish between the two."

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Francis Sanford: "I don't see why we won't have more power in local affairs. Definitely, yes. But for independence, that's something else. That's not for me to decide, that's for the people to decide. The people have to realize one thing. Right now we have about 10,000 families living off salaries earned by government bureaucrats. They are very well paid. If they were paid strictly from money coming from our own budget and resources, you'd have to cut the pay by two-thirds."

Micronesian Talks Resume: As talks reconvened on Maui, Hawaii… the Regan administration announced that it had accepted the Compact of Free Association as it had been initialed under the Carter presidency-including the Compact's stated funding levels-but declared its intention to bolster U.S. military interests through the "subsidiary" agreements which remain to be initialed."

 

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