Facing the ‘facts’

On Nov. 30 in a letter to the editor, Ms. Tina Sablan stated that the MPLA had shown much concern for protecting Azmar’s competitive advantage. If this were true, a great and possibly illegal disservice to the people of the CNMI would lie at the doorstep of MPLA, a government board bound to protect and administer public lands for ALL of the people. Therefore, I submitted a short letter to the editor that made one simple request of Ms. Sablan: Provide the public with a list of all the competitors that she alleged were being placed at a disadvantage by MPLA.

Ms. Sablan apparently had a sudden attack of speechlessness or demurred to Mr. Ray Mafnas who submitted a letter published on Dec. 3. But Mr. Mafnas submitted no ordinary response nor did he answer the question. For days I pondered whether such a letter even deserved my response. But first let’s briefly examine Mr. Mafnas’ letter.

Instead of addressing the subject, Mr. Mafnas set out to reiterate that rhetorical song-and-dance so often proffered to the public by PaganWatch. It was as if someone had put a quarter in the slot of a jukebox only to find out there is only one record in there playing over and over, like some long forgotten country and western you-done-me-wrong song. I did not indicate a preference one way or the other for Azmar, MPLA or any other entity but I was attacked, apparently for asking a question they could not answer. And so the pattern plays on: Ask them a question or, worse yet, make some statement that does not adhere to their program and you will get that song one more time.

But this time, there was an added malevolent element. Mr. Mafnas decided to make a personal attack, attempting to impugn my integrity, scientific ability and character under the guise that I have little or no connection to OUR lands and sea. “Your paycheck is your best connection.” He goes on to state that I was molded by some social institution that had somehow placed splinters in my eyes. He accused me of offering opinions that lacked foundation and were soiled and biased.

Now these statements, although quite inflammatory, were totally illogical. Why would Mr. Mafnas mount such an illogical and acerbic attack with no basis in fact or knowledge of my social formation and in light of the fact that I offered no opinions whatsoever in my initial letter? It is, therefore, quite apparent that this attack had nothing to do with my request to Ms. Sablan, but rather was seized upon as an avenue for the axe to grind that he so heavily carries around (a non-scientific opinion!).

I do not need to address such idiocy as all the people who have known me and my work in the Marianas for 30 years will attest as well as that of my wife of 30 years—a 100 percent indigenous Chamorro born, raised and wed right here on Tinian. My paycheck is actually a federal government retirement annuity earned after 27 years of federal service distinguished by international postings in seven countries, over 30 awards for outstanding service and one personal citation from the President of a South American country for my significant contributions in the economic development of their country. My social molding was influenced from the distant corners of the world, having lived with at least a dozen distinct cultures. Assuming you have one, where was your’s molded, Mr. Mafnas?

And so, what about some facts? I count at least 10 of your so-called facts in your letter of Dec. 3 that have or shortly will be shown as false or twisted and manipulated to misrepresent the truth and mislead the public.

For instance, you asserted that Azmar would give only 7 percent to the CNMI and keep 93 percent for itself. How ridiculous! Would you have the public believe that somehow the pozzolan of Pagan will magically fly all by itself to some foreign buyer at the command of some medieval wizard? The fact is that Azmar will end up tendering a total of about 15 percent of earnings to the CNMI from Day 1 and Azmar itself does not expect to see any profit for three years, and then, hopefully and optimistically, expects about that same return for itself after costs. Additionally, infrastructure such as a harbor, airport, roads, power, water and a new village will be included. And the land will be turned into a productive area where there is now only ash. What other company has offered anything even close to this?

In short, the answer to the request posed to Ms. Sablan that you avoided answering is simple: there are NONE. Three previous companies that have received permits from MPLA all tried and all failed. None of them had faced the requirements now being forced upon this one (some of them with good reason). None of them had the now required financial capability. None of them were required to address the environment. None of them were required to give back in the form of profit sharing, infrastructure, facilities—nothing. They were permitted to dig huge gapping holes in the landscape without restriction and put nothing back, yet not one of you opened your mouth even once to this day. And none of them were professional mining companies. Requiring a company to be a professional mining company in order to remove a deposit and sell it is akin to requiring the manager of every Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet to be an expert at raising chickens! That is why the people who put together corporations such as this HIRE the necessary experts to carry out each phase of the job successfully.

In this case, there are mining experts, there are infrastructure experts, there are environmental experts, there are shipping experts and many others already on hand at Azmar to do the required job and make the best return possible to the people of the Marianas. And just because I wasn’t born here has no bearing whatsoever on my ability, connection or desire or that of any other non-indigenous individual to act in the best interest of the place where we live! Incidentally, you might want to try answering the very pertinent and astute question posed by Ms. Connie Blas Cabrera Togawa on Dec. 6. Or would that too elicit a similar non-response?

You also substituted your words for mine and then proffered them as my own: I did not say or intimate that Pagan was a barren and inhospitable land. I said a PORTION of the island had been devastated and left practically barren and uninhabitable. Uninhabitable and inhospitable have different meanings. Or perhaps you would enjoy trying to live on top of a big pile of volcanic ash. Most people would find this uninhabitable, but it would not be inhospitable, except perhaps to those few unfortunate souls who may have an allergic reaction to the ash.

These are facts, Mr. Mafnas—scientific, empirical, provable, irrefutable facts. And here is one last fact for you: I wish I could still be around for the future when my great-great grandchildren will finally get to read in their newly published history books a chapter on the pozzolanic wars of 2004 and THIS history will hopefully be written by true historians and based on facts, untainted by false representations, political innuendo or the need to protect familial territory.

Dr. Thomas D. Arkle Jr.,
San Jose, Tinian