Betrayal Day: August 24, 2008

August 24th, 2008 was not a particularly good day for the people of the CNMI. On this day, we discovered that we were betrayed by the Pew Environmental Group (Pew Charitable Trusts). An AP story reported that the proposed Marianas Trench National Marine Monument was short-listed as a potential national monument site that could be designated prior to President Bush leaving office on Jan. 20, 2009. The federal government is going to spend a whole two months in assessing whether to proceed with the designation process.

On March 20, 2008, when the proposed national monument issue was beginning to heat up, the Pew CNMI Coordinator stated in a letter to the editor: “… there will be a lot of discussion about this project. I suspect there will be presentations and public hearings. There will also be rumors and lies.” As of Aug. 24, 2008, Pew has fulfilled their prophecy.

Do you remember when the Pew CNMI Coordinator assured the people of the CNMI that, should the monument become controversial, or not be supported by the CNMI government, the President will not follow through with the monument designation? A refresher follows:

[I]“The White House has been in dialogue with the various private groups, such as Pew Environmental Group, and is going to make a decision within the next week or two as to whether or not they should start looking at potential monuments that are not too controversial. The joint resolution puts the CNMI proposed project in the “too controversial to be considered” column.” (LTE, dated April 30, 2008, in both local CNMI newspapers).

“The White House will not consider any proposed project that hints of controversy.” (LTE, dated April 30, 2008, in both local CNMI newspapers)

“We’ve also been very clear that there are other areas under consideration and that the President is likely to choose those areas that are non-controversial and supported by a majority of the people.” (The Saipan Blog; May 28, 2008; titled “Where we stand”)

“NPR did a story today on an “Unprecedented Conservation Program”. One of the areas under consideration for this proposed conservation program is the Mariana Trench National Monument. The story corroborates what we’ve been saying since day one, that the President is looking for Monuments that are non-controversial:..” (The Saipan Blog; May 24, 2008; titled “Mariana Trench Marine National Monument”)[/I]

For us living in the Marianas, it is painfully obvious that the Pew campaign has become fraught with controversy. Their rhetoric has degraded to personal attacks and name calling in the local blog scene and in our local newspapers. Even local reporters have labeled the Pew campaign as “controversial” (July 19, 2008; “Pew ramps up marine monument campaign” Saipan Tribune) and “highly controversial” (Aug. 25, 2008; “Praise, calls for talks after Bush marine monument proposal,” Saipan Tribune). The Kaselehlie Press (FSM newspaper) has echoed the same sentiment: “The Pew Charitable Trust has presented a proposal for consideration. It is a proposal that has met considerable resistance.” (July 23, 2008; “National Marine Monument proposal in CNMI faces opposition”).

Resistance to the Pew monument proposal has come from all levels of the CNMI, including the majority of our government leaders. This is the one of the few times in recent history when the various political groups have actually supported each other and arrived at the same conclusion—the national monument proposal by Pew is not wanted. Evidence of CNMI government opposition includes:
1. Letter from CNMI Gov. Benigno Fitial to Jay Nelson (Pew Charitable Trusts), dated March 19, 2008;
2. Letter from Gov. Benigno Fitial to President George W. Bush, dated April 29, 2008;
3. Joint CNMI Senate/House Resolution No. 16-04, dated April 2008 (included in Gov. Benigno Fitial’s letter to President George W. Bush);
4. Letter from Tinian Mayor Jose P. San Nicolas to President George W. Bush, dated June12, 2008;
5. Letter from Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela to President George W. Bush, dated June 9, 2008;
6. Letter from Rota Mayor Joseph S. Inos to President George W. Bush, dated July 15, 2008;
7. Letter from Northern Islands Mayor Valentin I. Taisakan to President George W. Bush, dated June 6, 2008; and
8. Letter from CNMI House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios and Senate President Pete P. Reyes to President George W. Bush, dated Aug. 6, 2008;
With the extent of controversy the Pew monument campaign has caused in the CNMI, how could it be possible to have the Mariana Islands monument site included on the presidential short list? Didn’t Pew promise the CNMI that the President would not consider controversial monument sites? What happened? Based on previous claims, we can assume that Pew was being less than truthful to the people of the CNMI. This should not come as a surprise to those who have followed the Pew campaign from the beginning.
We should not forget the lessons learned on Betrayal Day—Aug. 24, 2008—the day when the Pew Environmental Group took advantage of lies in order to advance the creation of a “blue legacy” for President Bush and to further their own anti-fishing agenda. The Pew monument proposal is not about science-based conservation, but U.S. mainland politics directed at a member of the U.S. family who has no political clout. Pew’s objective was to disguise this political “bitter pill” as a conservation project—a Trojan horse—so it would be easier to deceive the people of the CNMI. If the Pew national monument is designated, the year 2008 will certainly be remembered as the Year of Federal Takeovers.

[B]John Gourley [/B] [I]Navy Hill, Saipan[/I]