Seeking Fame should be done solely at one’s own expense and not at the expense of an Entire Nation. When the news broke last week of RMI filing a lawsuit against nine nuclear powerhouses at the International Court of Justice it came as a surprise to all of us here in the RMI. From what I have gathered thus far, the office of the Attorney General was not aware of such litigation nor did President Christopher Loeak and his Cabinet ever sanction it. It has become apparent that one single individual did this lawsuit. No one should ever doubt our resolve as a nation in seeking justice for those who have suffered a great deal under the United States nuclear testing program perpetrated on the Marshall Islands during the 1940s and 50s. Marshallese are not victims – we are survivors. But this lawsuit has nothing to do with our nuclear testing legacy – it is about nuclear disarmament – two totally different things altogether. The idea of filing a lawsuit on behalf of the RMI was first conceived over a cup of coffee two years ago. This lawsuit should have gone thru the review and commentary process to weigh the pros and cons. Deliberately not having gone thru any vetting process given the magnitude of this matter is just foolish arrogance. The option to sue any nations whom have ratified the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) for non-compliance has always been there, and always will be. But what is our priority as a nation? While most strongly believe that we should spare no efforts in doing nation building at home, a few individuals are busy using the good name of our country for personal aggrandizement. Seeking fame should be done solely at one’s own expense and not at the expense of an entire nation. The lawsuit is very clear that the RMI is not suing for any form of compensation, and has nothing to do with payment of Tribunal awards. So how does this lawsuit advance our interests? When did the RMI become the world’s moral police? Can we as a nation afford to fill such a role when we are faced with daunting challenges domestically? Can we really afford to alienate our development partners most of whom are being sued? Do we poke our development partners in the eye with our hands out for assistance? These are important questions and must be answered. The other matter that is also a grave concern to us is the issue of RMI Government accepting compulsory jurisdiction under the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It has also been documented that the RMI had accepted compulsory jurisdiction under the ICJ a year ago. The information that I have gathered clearly showed that for the RMI to accept compulsory jurisdiction under the ICJ should have been done thru an act of Nitijela via Resolution – this was not done. IF this is truly the case, then it is really an act of deliberate violation of the Constitution and laws of the Marshall Islands and a betrayal of the Marshallese people. Accepting Compulsory Jurisdiction is literally giving up our judicial sovereignty – under the principle that RMI can sue and expected to be sued. All in all, accepting compulsory jurisdiction under the ICJ so we can sue and be sued is too steep of a price for the RMI to bear when we are only suing for a moral cause and nothing else. This lawsuit is by far the worst return on investment RMI could have ever bargained for. We now have given up our Judicial Sovereignty; alienate our development partners in the process and for what – nothing in return. I don’t understand the logic.
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 19:52:05 +0000
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