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Public hearing on safe-haven regulations today
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Posted on Dec 28 2005
The Attorney General’s Office will hold a public hearing tonight on the much-discussed proposal to establish a safe house in the CNMI for Vietnamese girls rescued from human trafficking and forced prostitution in Cambodia.
The AGO will be taking written or oral comments on the proposed safe haven regulations at the public hearing. The event will be held at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe from 6pm to 8:30pm, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2005.
ÅgThe purpose is to allow the citizens/residents of the CNMI to voice their views on said proposed regulations. The public is invited to submit either written or oral comments at said time and place,Åh deputy attorney general Clyde Lemons has said.
The proposed safe haven regulations have been the topic of much discussion since Sen. Pete P. Reyes brought it out in the public earlier this month.
Reyes, the project’s most outspoken critic, has started a signature campaign against the proposal. He has already submitted 100 signatures along with his written comment on the draft regulations to the AGO.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pamela S. Brown, who initiated the project along with the non-profit organization United States International Mission, said Reyes’ move to raise discussion on the issue had generated a huge amount of community support for the project.
Letters have also poured in from Vietnamese people living in different countries. Some ask CNMI government officials to support the proposal while others raise questions about the claims made by the project’s proponents.
Speaker and Gov.-elect Benigno R. Fitial has yet to announce his position on the proposal.
In response to one of the letters sent by the Vietnamese people to his office, Fitial said: “My colleagues and I will carefully review your statement of support for the proposal, along with the statements of our constituents and island residents, and formulate our position based on sound reasoning and objective consideration of the arguments presented by all parties.”
The AGO is expected to review and consider the public’s comments in deciding whether to adopt, modify or withdraw the proposed regulations.
