Pacific Notes

Guam Eviction Disrupts Attorney General Operations Another chapter in Attorney General Douglas Moylan's controversy-filled term in office reached a critical point at the end of February when his office was evicted from the Guam Judicial Center. The Judicial Center houses the courtrooms and offices of the Superior Court of Guam and the Guam Supreme Court and is under the control of the Guam Judicial Council. Rent for the attorney general's office space has not been paid since July 1996. The Judicial Council began pressing Moylan for rent, claiming it needs the money to satisfy bond conditions. The Council offered to forgive US$3.6 million in rent incurred before Moylan took office in Jan. 2003. Workers move boxes of files from the Guam Attorney General’s office Feb. 28, following the AG’s eviction from the Guam Judicial Center. Photo: Frank Whitman Moylan responded that his office was under-funded and rent had not been included in his allotment from the Guam Legislature. He also questioned whether the Courts had the right to charge rent from another public agency. He has suggested that the move is related to his political struggles with the courts, the Legislature and the governor. The Judicial Council initiated court proceedings in July 2004, and the eviction proceedings were okayed Dec. 30. Moylan appealed the court's decision but last-minute efforts at a legislative solution were unsuccessful. On Feb. 25, Gov. Felix Camacho allotted $250,000 in emergency funds to pay for the move and allowed Moylan to temporarily use office space in the governor's office complex. "We had over 100 cases that were on calendar for today that the lawyers had to set aside in the midst of this move," Moylan said on Feb. 28. "We've got an arraignment calendar coming up on Tuesday and Thursday which is going to be hundreds more cases. We had seven people that were arrested on Sunday, and today and we're trying to decide whether or not all of those are going to be magistrated. The standard that we're using is a continuing threat to the public. We've already made decisions not to charge certain cases at this time." -Frank Whitman

American Samoa

FBI Raid Raises Ire

About 30 armed federal agents raided three territorial government offices on March 3rd to execute search warrants in an ongoing probe into public corruption in American Samoa. No arrests were made.

FBI agents were joined by inspectors from the offices of Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education and Department of Interior.

However, FBI assistant special agent in charge Robert J. Casey has declined to release specific details of the search warrants or if any government officials were targeted.

"Each of the government offices that were searched was left with a receipt of the items that were taken," Casey told reporters. "If the (local) government wants to divulge that information, that's fine. I can say that we did remove items of evidentiary value to us at the conclusion of our search.

"The search warrants were executed in the furtherance of a public corruption investigation, which continues, and I cannot talk specifics about it," said Casey.

Sources say federal warrants and a large team of agents were necessary because the local government continuously failed to turn over certain evidence and documents the federal government had requested.

Casey also declined to say whether Lt. Governor Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia was among those officials being investigated.

Last September, a territorial government committee recommended that Sunia be placed on leave and his name removed from the November general ballot. The Senate committee was investigating allegations of corruption, violation of purchasing laws and misappropriation of public funds in transactions related to a company owned by Sunia and his wife.

Sunia, who was acting governor at the time of the FBI raid, said on state-run television that he arrived at his office that morning to find "federal agents conducting a search of my office, my computers, my personal belongings and my file cabinets.

"I am very disturbed with what occurred at the government building," Sunia said. "As acting chief executive officer of this territory, I feel that I deserved much better treatment and courtesy than what was extended to me by these federal agents.

"I have given full and unconditional cooperation to the agents. I have given the officers the keys to every single file drawer and cabinet in my office and complied with their directives," Sunia said.

"There's no question that this ongoing federal investigation has been the subject of rumors and gossip for some time now," Sunia said in a separate statement. "All the offices that were visited by the federal agents will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation."

While in the territory, Casey also revealed an FBI office will be established in Pago Pago by year's end. The current FBI satellite post in the territory was set up some four years ago, but has no staff.

As Pacific Magazine goes to press, the territorial government was working on plans to challenge, among other things, the search warrants.

-Fili Sagapolutele

Guam

Web Site Highlights Controversy At Guam Hospital

An on-going dispute between a number of Guam doctors and the administrators of the government-owned Guam Memorial Hospital has escalated with the establishment of a new website, www.guamhealthcare.com.

The Web site was set up by a group of physicians in response to what they feel is inadequate media coverage and "the lack of open forums to discuss the multitude of medical issues," says Dr. Vince Akimoto, president of the Guam Medical Society and a vocal advocate for health care improvement. "There are so many things that are not being discussed. Do they need to be discussed? Yeah, because they are the reasons that we are not succeeding."

Issues include travel vouchers for patients needing off-island care, the local program to provide care for those who cannot afford it, ways to increase U.S. federal funding for indigent care, a chronic nursing shortage, a critical shortage of anesthesiologists and pharmacists, drug and supply shortages at the hospital, government procurement regulations and civil service procedures as they affect the hospital, and requirements that private physicians care for indigent patients at the hospital.

"Somebody said there's no way we can resolve the problems because there are too many and they're too big," says Akimoto, who is a member of the Web site's nine-member editorial content board and a frequent contributor. "Well, maybe, if you want to think like that. But if we can talk about them enough and think about them and make the hard decisions, then I think we will solve these problems."

-Frank Whitman

Region

UNAIDS Boss Warns Of AIDS "True Explosion"

Pacific Island states' inadequate response to the threat of HIV/AIDS could result in a "true explosion" of the disease on smaller island countries, Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) head Dr Peter Piot has warned.

Speaking to Pacific Magazine during his first visit to the region's worse-affected country Papua New Guinea, the UNAIDS executive director expressed shock at the rate of infection there, which currently stands at more than 10,000 reported cases.

"It's clear that Papua New Guinea is confronted with a very serious AIDS problem, that the problem is getting worse and worse, its affecting both men and women but increasingly women. We will see more orphans and it's going to be one of the biggest problems for the development of the country and for the stability of the country," Piot says.

He laments that the incurable disease could spread to smaller island states. "I think the situation in PNG shows that AIDS is starting in the Pacific and I am very concerned that once it would get into the smaller islands that it could be a true explosion. Not enough is being done," said the Belgium doctor who co-discovered the Ebola virus in Zaire in 1976.

However, all is not lost for PNG and its Pacific neighbors in terms of securing help from global institutions like the UNAIDS to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, with Piot indicating they were presently discussing how to mobilize communities, governments and parliaments to pool resources in the battle against the epidemic.

PNG has the highest HIV prevalence in the Pacific with 0.6 percent of the adult population infected but recent national estimates suggest the rate could be as high as 1.7 percent among 15-49 year olds. The World Bank says more than 50,000 of PNG's five million people are already infected with HIV since the disease was first reported in 1987.

-Alex Rheeney

Region

Pacific Rugby Gets Seat But Fight Continues

Samoan lawyer Tauili'ili Harry Schuster admits the "fight was not over" for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga to gain individual voting rights on the International Rugby Board (IRB) despite becoming the first Council member of Pacific Island descent last November.

Signalling its intentions to do away with archaic governance systems, the IRB Council upgraded the status of the Oceania, Asia and Africa regional bodies from observers to full members at its meeting in Dublin. As the current Federation of Oceania Rugby Union (FORU) president, Schuster was immediately instated as the representative on the IRB Council.

"Obviously I am very humbled to have this opportunity, particularly in light of the many years of struggle we went through in getting recognition, but there are still issues which require attention," Schuster says.

"I hope to focus on further enhancing Fiji, Samoa and Tonga as second tier nations to close the gap with Australia and New Zealand.

"We can't moan about the negatives and do nothing, we need to be proactive and raise the standards in the region through developing regional competitions."

As a former international player and current Samoa Rugby Union secretary, Schuster is aware there might be accusations of him being biased. However, he says his role is to serve the region and the interests of FORU.

"I am obliged to represent the whole region, not just Samoa," he remarks.

"The long-term goal is to get individual voting rights for Fiji, Samoa and Tonga."

Schuster is optimistic following November's meeting despite reports that the IRB had once again turned a blind eye to Pacific rugby. A vote to change the player eligibility laws, which would have allowed former All Blacks of Pacific ancestry to play for Fiji, Samoa or Tonga, was narrowly defeated.

"We were short by only a few votes, but the support from New Zealand and other countries gave us hope," says Schuster.

Schuster will attend an IRB meeting in Dublin in April. He is also on the IRB's high performance sub-committee.

-Peter Rees