Journal 9/10/1973
P1 Hiatus achieved at Roi Namur Negotiations between the US Army and the people of Roi Namur are at a hiatus — the apparent result of an unannounced departure by one of the Army’s chief negotiators, Ron Markon, Land Acquisition lawyer for the Department of the Navy. At the meetings last month, the landowners outlined three requirements which they feel are necessary before any serious negotiations can be entered into: 1) They asked to be provided with a complete copy of the land appraisal prepared by the Honolulu firm of Ray Hambleton for the islands of Roi Namur, 2) they requested the Department of Defense to finance two more appraisals by appraisers selected by the landowners, and 3) they asked if the Army had any reason or basis to believe that the present occupation of Roi Namur by the Army was anything other than simple trespass.
P1 Resume the PACE testing? One of the bidding contractors for the support service contract at Eniwetok inadvertently commented to a Micronitor news source on Kwajalein that the atoll is presently being used to test various strengths of TNT on the reef. Needless to say, you don’t go out into the middle of the Pacific Ocean to pop cracker boxes, so it would be safe to assume that the TNT explosions will be sizable — and that damage to Eniwetok’s reef will be proportionate. Hence, not only are the people of Eniwetok being deprived of their atoll, but their home is apparently being destroyed in their absence. —From Micronitor, 12/28/1971. Subsequently to this first “tipped” story, it was disclosed that in fact the story was true and that the magnitude of the intended dynamite tests was considerable. Through the efforts of the people of Eniwetok who now reside on Ujelang Atoll and their legal representatives in the Micronesian Legal Services Corporation, the phase two series of PACE tests were cancelled and potential disruption of the already seriously damaged atoll was prevented. Huge stores of TNT are laying unused on Eniwetok. The Air Force is understandably concerned about the huge stockpile of explosives and through very unofficial sources we understand that the Trust Territory government could have as much dynamite as it wanted merely for the asking: the alternative being considered for the useless PACE dynamite is to drop it into the ocean. This paper would like to make the following suggestion: Why not conduct tests on various atolls in the Marshalls where government and the people have requested new channels and reef blasting? An excellent case in point would be the proposed channel which the local administration has been working towards at the far end of the old runway in Majuro.
Journal 9/11/1992
P1 Ann’s on top Work on the building known locally as Miss Ann’s building is continuing, and despite some delays in meeting the original target opening, contractor Mr. Ji of Mako, Inc. says the building should be occupied in a couple of months. Ann’s building is one of the three structures on the one piece of land including Majuro Central Building.
P21 Enewetak wants fish base Enewetak Senator Ishmael John in Nitijela last week introduced a resolution requesting Cabinet to do all things possible to establish a transshipment and fish base on Enewetak. The resolution noted that Enewetak has important infrastructure in place: an 8,500 foot runway, a fuel tank farm, and a dock.
Journal 9/5/2003
P3 Embassies fail math test Five of six RMI embassies were unable to completely reconcile their petty cash funds during fiscal year 2002, a Deloitte and Touche audit shows. Only the RMI Embassy in Taiwan, headed by Ambassador Alex Bing, was able to properly reconcile its petty cash fund in 2002. Audits from 1993 to 2001 showed that RMI embassies did not even perform regular reconciliations of their bank accounts.