Pacific Magazine > Magazine > March 1, 2007

People Briefs

People Briefs

After helping Fiji’s military junta secretly record footage of what they say is evidence the May 2006 general election was rigged (including a dramatic half-naked arrest in a river in October), international fraudster  Peter Foster made a mysterious escape from Fiji and ended up in Vanuatu in mid-January. Foster, 44, was due for trial in Suva on two charges of forgery when he failed to turn up in court. A Pacific-wide alert was issued for his arrest. Foster was caught in a raid on the home of his former Australian associate in Port Vila and charged with illegally entering that country, allegedly on a former Australian Navy minesweeper that had been in Fiji. A Vanuatu court handed him a short sentence, and he flew to Brisbane only to be arrested by Australian Federal Police on February 5. Foster is also wanted in the Federated States of Micronesia for questioning over allegations he defrauded the government of $580,000.

Samoa’s head of state, His Highness  Malietoa Tanumafili II, celebrated his 95th birthday on January 4, which was declared a public holiday. The milestone makes Malietoa the oldest serving head of state in the region if not the world. Malietoa has been head of state since Samoa gained independence in 1962. The anniversary celebrations were attended by Tonga’s new monarch,  George Tupou IV  and Princess Pilolevu. The visit was the new monarch’s first overseas visit since taking over the Tongan throne.

 The former special coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), James Batley, is now the new Australian High Commissioner to Fiji. Batley will also be accredited to Tuvalu and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. He replaces  Jennifer Rawson   who had been High Commissioner since August 2003.

Marshall Islands government Chief Secretary  Robert Muller resigned from the post effective November 31 after just under two years in the job. He is working as a private consultant. Viola Chong Gum, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, was named as acting Chief Secretary.

 Former Parliamentarian Alfred Sasako  is the interim manager of the newly established secretariat of the  Media Association of Solomon Islands  (MASI). Sasako is establishing an office and coordinating arrangements for the Pacific Islands News Association   convention in Honiara in May. The  Republic of China Embassy in Honiara has assisted MASI with SBD $500,000, a donation for which Sasako heartily thanked the Taiwan Embassy. Less than a year ago, in mid-2006, he was embroiled in a spat with the Taiwan Embassy over accusations of misuse of funding, and led a media group to China. Sasako says with the assistance, preparations for the PINA meeting are going well.

Fiji’s naval commander  Francis Kean, brother-in-law of armed forces chief and interim Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama, is facing trial for the murder of a man at the wedding reception for Bainimarama’s daughter. Kean was denied bail by Magistrate John Semisi in January. The magistrate also refused a request that Kean be placed in military custody. Prosecutors allege Kean stomped on John Whippy, 33, the uncle of the bridegroom, during a fight, which resulted in his death.

The University of Guam   Board of Regents recently gained two new members and a new chairman. Kathy Calvo Sgro, executive vice president of  Pay-Less Supermarkets, will complete a term that had been vacated by  Grace Low. Sgro took her position on November 1 and will continue to June this year. On December 20, Dr. W. Chris Perez, a prominent local physician, took over the seat vacated by Ron Leach, the former Bank of Hawaii executive vice president, will hold that seat until March 2008. Regent   Richard Tennessen, a longtime Guam educator, was named to the chairman’s position, which had also been vacated by Leach.

Michael S. Sablan

Commonwealth of the Northern
Marianas Public Auditor Michael S. Sablan was reappointed and unanimously confirmed in late December
to serve for another six years in his position. The Public Auditor’s position is the only one that requires confirmation from both houses of the Legislature.  Sablan was reappointed December 12 by Acting Governor Tim P. Villagomez. His first appointment was in 2000 by former Governor Pedro P. Tenorio. Sablan is credited with training local accountants to replace 29 non-resident accountants at his office.
   
The Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association hired Mary Torre as its new president effective January 17. She was most recently a senior vice president with  TakeCare Health Plan and had been with that company for 10 years. She replaces  David Tydingco, who resigned after holding the GHRA position for more than 12 years. The organization also elected Richard Rennie, general manager of the  Royal Orchid Hotel, as its new chairman. Former multi-term chairman Bart Jackson, general manager of the Pacific Islands Club, was elected vice chairman.

Sealiimalietoa Melepone Isara was appointed the new chief executive officer of Samoa’s Institute of Directors last December. He replaces  Tu’u’u Amaramo Sialaoa, who is now the manager, Finance and Treasury, at the  Westpac Samoa Bank. The Institute’s Chairman Papalii John Ryan says that the board is pleased with the appointment as it is crucial to maintain momentum since the Institute was established at the beginning of 2006. Sealiimalietoa has over 10 years management experience as the previous manager for planning and development with the Samoa Tourism Authority, and with the Economic Planning and Policy Division of the Ministry of Finance.

New Zealand Judge Justice David Cameron is a recent addition to the Solomon Islands High Court bench. He joins three other expatriate judges from Fiji, Australia and the UK whose appointments were made possible through the RAMSI law and justice strengthening program.

 The Marshalls Energy Company board named Wesley Lemari as new manager for Ebeye’s struggling power company, the   Kwajalein Atoll Joint Utility Resource (KAJUR, which translates as “power” in Marshallese), in January. Lemari worked at KAJUR a few years ago, and until he was named KAJUR manager was working at the U.S. Army base at Kwajalein.

 Lino S. Tenorio is the new Secretary of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Department of Corrections, having been confirmed by the Senate in mid-January.  Tenorio, 44, a career police officer who retired as a captain, replaced former acting secretary Ray Mafnas, who returned to his position as senior policy advisor for the governor. 

San Diego-based Chicken of the Sea International  has hired Alfredo Pagan to serve as financial controller for its parent company in Pago Pago, COS Samoa Packing. The company has also recruited  John Debeer to lead Samoa Packing’s operations as a consultant.
Ruth Coleman is the new director of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Military Veterans Affairs Office, replacing Martin Sablan who transferred to the Department of Public Works.

Jared Heine

Marshall Islands swimmer Jared Heine hopes to be the first from his country to qualify on his own merit for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Heine, winner of nine medals at the 2002 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei, is a second and a half off the Olympic qualifying time for the 100-meter backstroke, his favored event. “I’m confident that I can qualify,” he says. The Marshall Islands is the newest International Olympic Committee member, and Beijing will be its first Olympics. Heine is currently receiving a stipend from the Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee to help him focus on training for Beijing. He trains with the University of Florida swim team, which he swam with until his recent graduation.

The U.S. Interior Department and The Junior Statesmen Foundation announced in January three students from American Samoa won full scholarships to the 2007 Junior Statesmen Summer School at Stanford University in California. Winners of the scholarships, funded by DOI, are  Charity Porotesano, a Tafuna High School student, and Emily Sataua and Penehuro Williams both of Samoana High School. In addition, Vincent Tofilau, of Iakina Adventist Academy, is the winner of a full-tuition Junior Statesmen Foundation Summer School Scholarship at Princeton University in New Jersey.

In Memoriam
Former Papua New Guinea diplomat and top bureaucrat  Andrew Yauieb has died. Yauieb, who had a distinguished career as a diplomat and served as PNG ambassador at a number of PNG missions in Europe as well as in the United States of America, died from a heart attack January 1. He was the  University of Papua New Guinea chancellor and a general manager with  Highlands Pacific, a mining company, at the time of his death.

Two long-time Nitijela (Parliament) senators died within a few weeks of each other at the end of 2006. Enewetak Senator Ismael John, one of only four “original” members of the Marshall Islands Parliament who were elected continuously from the first Parliament in 1979 (the other three are President  Kessai Note, Speaker Litokwa Tomeing and Vice Speaker  Ruben Zackhras), was an outspoken advocate of additional nuclear test compensation and health care for his and other nuclear test-affected islands. Justin deBrum, one of three senators from Kwajalein Atoll, died
unexpectedly at the age of 52. A former Cabinet minister, deBrum was recognized as an astute and skilled member of the opposition. A special election was scheduled for February 20 to elect replacements for them.
 

Contributors: Ricardo Morris, Afamasaga Toleafoa, Alex Rheeney,
Alison Ofotolau, Frank Whitman, Frank S. Rosario, Giff Johnson, and Peter Rees.