Journal 4/19/1983
P1 Iroijlaplap Joba Kabua laid to rest Iroijlaplap Joba Kabua was buried Thursday 14 April at the family cemetery in Laura. His coffin was placed in the same cement crypt, as was his wish, with his wife Jauni who died New Year’s Day.
P2 Among other things by Akio Heine Since lots of people are not totally happy with the Compact of Free Association or an independent Marshall Islands, why not establish two separate political entities in the Marshall Islands — one with a commonwealth status and the other independent Marshall Islands. Thus we will have an American Marshall Islands and an Independent Marshall Islands. Just like the two Samoas. Same people but different governments.
Journal 4/21/1995
P1 Will they pass? Only question number one — to change the official language to Marshallese — has a clear two-thirds majority with more than 80 percent of the ballots counted. All other proposed amendments had majorities, but were still short of the 67 percent required to pass.
P3 Mieco Queen refloated The rusty remains of the Mieco Queen, the first privately owned copra boat in the Marshall Islands, are being cut up this week and used for landfill. For two decades this 350 ton diesel powered freighter was not only the copra boat, it provided a lifeline, logistical support services to people in the outer islands, according to Jerry Kramer, at one time a co-owner of the boat.
P3 Japan: No N-waste support The Japanese government is not lending its support to the Marshall Islands government’s nuclear storage proposal because Japan has its own waste disposal plans, Japan’s ambassador to the Marshalls said in Majuro.
P10 Kanibia can stop the typhoon Like a typhoon smashing into the Marshall Islands, the Vitamin A crisis is damaging the islands resources as it sweeps the nation, Minister of Health Tom Kijiner said at the opening of National Health Month Monday. But unlike the damage caused by an unpredictable typhoon, the problems of Vitamin A deficiency are completely preventable. The theme of National Health Month is “Kanibia,” a concept that roughly translates as “local food is the foundation of Marshallese culture.”
Journal 4/21/2006
P1 RMI gives people choice on con-con Will there be a constitutional convention? That hotly debated political question — which the government’s United Democratic Party supports and the opposition Ailon Kein Ad opposes — will likely be held later this year. The Nitijela last month approved a law that calls for holding a referendum to ask voters whether or not they want a con-con to consider a list of constitutional amendments.
P3 US Congress confirms nuclear testing cover up The US Congress last week recognized Marshall Islanders for their “contributions and sacrifices” during the US nuclear test program in a resolution adopted unanimously. But the resolution also states that the US government withheld nuclear test information from Marshallese and American negotiators and the US Congress — information “that would have prevented the (177 compensation) agreement had the full extent of the damage of nuclear weapons testing has been known.” The resolution, introduced by American Samoa Delegate Eni Faleomavaega and Arizona Representative Jeff Flake, confirms accusations of Marshall Islands negotiators about critical information being withheld by the US government during negotiations in the early 1980s.
P6 Bikinians file a suit against US Sixty years after they were moved by the US Navy for the start of nuclear testing, Bikini Islanders have filed a lawsuit against the US government seeking more than $560 million. The suit was filed by Jonathan Weisgall, attorney for the exiled Bikinians, on Wednesday last week in the US Court of Federal Claims. The Bikinians are asking the court to order the US government to pay a nuclear test compensation award approved by unpaid by the Nuclear Claims Tribunal, an agency created by the US through the Compact of Free Association to handle compensation claims arising from the 67 American nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands.
Subscribe to the Marshall Islands Journal by clicking on the subscribe button at the right to read more about this and other news from the Marshall Islands.