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Legendary Master Navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug sails on |
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Written by Bill Jaynes and Tom Raffipiy
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
By Bill Jaynes
The Kaselehie Press
and Tom T. Raffipiy
 Mau, master navigator and progenitor of a new breed of Pacific navigators has died. Pius “Mau” Piailug was 78 years old when he died on July 13, 2010. He had suffered from diabetes for many years.
He was not the first of the traditional navigators in the Pacific and because of his life and what he chose to do with it he won’t be the last.
Mau’s accomplishments as a traditional navigator who used only the stars, the sun, the ocean currents, birds and keen observation of what was going around him is the stuff of legends. He was the navigator on the 1976 round trip journey from Hawai’i to Tahiti. He violated his own traditions to teach his skills to potential mariners not from his own family or heritage who had demonstrated to him that they were ready to accept the knowledge.
Mau was chosen by his grandfather to be a navigator for his island of Satawal, a tiny island in Yap one mile wide and a mile and half long. It is said that when Mau was young his grandfather took the young child to several tidal pools on the island and laid him there so that he could begin to experience the movement of the water, to look up at the sky and to observe and to learn by simply being.
When he was six years old Mau’s official training began in earnest and he learned from his grandfather the ways of the ancient mariners and navigators.
Nainoa Thompson who studied under Mau wrote an article about the experience and the man fourteen years ago.
Thompson said of Mau in that article, “His grandfather took him out to sail with him at age four. Mau told me that he would get seasick and when he was seven years old, his grandfather would tie his hands and drag him behind the canoe to get rid of that. This was not abuse. This was to get him ready for the task of serving his community as a navigator...
“Mau can unlock the signs of the ocean world and can feel his way through the ocean. Mau is so powerful. The first time Mau was in Hawai’i, I was in awe of him-I would just watch him and didn’t dare to ask him questions. One night, when we were in Snug Harbor, someone asked him where the Southern Cross was. Mau, without turning around or moving his head, pointed in the direction of a brightly lit street lamp. I was curious and checked it. I ran around the street light and there, just where Mau had pointed, was the Southern Cross. It’s like magic; Mau knows where something is without seeing it…
“‘It’s too late,’ Mau said, ‘I am too old, our children have too much to learn, and it’s too late.’ That’s something I never wanted to hear. But he said, ‘It’s okay. All navigators find a way out. When they put me in the ground, it’s all right because I already planted a seed in Hawai’i. When my people want to learn, they can come to Hawai’i and learn about me.’ Mau does not see navigation as cultural revival; it’s his way of life. His people will never come to learn from him until they want to live that way again,” Thompson concluded.
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Trash! what should be, what has been, what shouldn’t be done with it |
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Written by Bill Jaynes
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
 Pohnpei, FSM—A permanent sign installed over the road arriving air passengers must take from the Pohnpei International Airport says, “Welcome to Pohnpei the garden island of Micronesia!” It’s a warm and friendly greeting and though the sentiment is authentic a first time visitor to Pohnpei might find it disingenuous when, after they have traveled a few hundred meters south they are confronted with the warm, sticky sweet smell of decaying garbage as they pass the official solid waste landfill in Pohnpei on the Dekehtik causeway.
Plans have been on Pohnpei’s books since 1994 to relocate the dumpsite. In 2004 the 10 year old plan was folded into the 2004 strategic development plan (SDP) of the FSM and a goal was set to move the dumpsite elsewhere by 2011; next year but that plan is several years behind schedule. It might be more than six years before a new dumpsite is ready for operation in Pohnpei. So say the FSM and Pohnpei Offices of the Public Auditor.
Ten Pacific Island Nations including the Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu conducted simultaneous performance audits of solid waste management practices as part of an initiative developed by the Pacific Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (PASAI) with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions Development Initiative (INTOSAI).
The performance audit of Pohnpei waste management practices was released in early July of this year.
“No singular agency has taken the lead in ensuring that progress continues in a timely manner. Other priorities compete for staff and agency attention, involvement of agencies at both the national and state levels creates confusion over jurisdictional authority and project responsibility, and the fact that waste management involves both environmental and land use policy have hindered progress,” the auditors said in their executive summary of the audit.
They concluded that the structure of the FSM as a federation gives rise to jurisdictional authority questions related to the handling and disposal of hazardous waste materials. The auditor went so far as to say that the FSM may even have violated some international treaties to which it is a signatory nation because of the way that hazardous waste materials are handled in Pohnpei.
The 31 page performance audit includes graphic pictures of trash in the lagoon, in the mangrove swamps, at residences, and on the roadsides in Pohnpei. Along with photographs of the problem, auditors pointed out the need for legislation prohibiting the abandonment of worn out vehicles in Pohnpei. There currently is no law expressly forbidding the practice.
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Statute requiring Congressional approval of FSM EEZ access agreements is unconstitutiona |
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Written by Bill Jaynes
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
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Court rules—statute requiring Congressional approval of FSM EEZ access agreements is unconstitutional
Pohnpei, FSM—Motions and arguments in a case filed by Pacific Food and Services, Incorporated (PF&S) have resulted in an FSM Supreme Court ruling that part of the FSM Code that regulates fishing licenses in the FSM Exclusive Economic Zone is unconstitutional.
Congress has asked the court to amend the ruling to allow them to seek an interim appeal with the Supreme Court Appellate Division.
The case (Civil Action number 2009-001) was filed in January of 2009 by PF&S against the National Oceanic Resource Management Authority (NORMA), the Federated States of Micronesia, the Congress of the FSM, and Bernard Thoulag in his official capacity as Executive Director of NORMA. PF&S filed suit after Congress refused to approve an agreement for fishing licenses after which NORMA immediately cancelled all agreements with PF&S.
“I told my attorney that we don’t want to sue any person. We just want justice for the people of the FSM not just for myself,” said Perdus Ehsa. “The case is easier now because the question about constitutionality has been answered.”
The background information in the court ruling said that PF&S had an agreement with NORMA for fishing licenses that expired in November 2006. On November 6, 2006, PF&S and NORMA concluded a one-year successor agreement and promptly submitted it to Congress.
The agreement remained in effect until Congress passed a resolution on September 26, 2006 rejecting the agreement. NORMA then cancelled permits that had been issued to PF&S represented vessels. Those vessels in turn terminated their agreements with PF&S and entered agency agreements with PF&S competitors.
A footnote in the court ruling said that the reason Congress gave for rejecting the agreement was PF&S’s financial condition and also a $150,000 FSM Supreme Court judgment against it held by National Fisheries Corporation. The footnote said that while fishing boats and their owners are banned from applying for or obtaining FSM EEZ fishing licenses if there are unsatisfied FSM Supreme Court judgments in excess of $25,000 there is no similar ban for access agreement agents such as PF&S.
The FSM code (Title 24) which governs negotiation and execution of licensing agreements in the FSM EEZ contains a section 405 which essentially says that NORMA can negotiate agreements for fishing companies and can issue licenses based on those agreements, but that if the company handles nine or more fishing vessels, Congress has the power to review those agreements and to approve or reject them.
The Supreme Court said in its ruling that section 405 is unconstitutional essentially because it allows Congress to act in an enforcement role of a law they passed which is an Executive branch function.
It quoted a 2003 precedent from a case between the FSM and Udot Municipality: “Once a public law is enacted, the responsibility for the execution and implementation of the law rests with those who have a duty to execute and administer the law, and Senators can have no further role in its execution…”
The June 2010 ruling of the FSM Court said, “Negotiation and approval of commercial transactions is ordinarily an executive power. Congress has enacted Title 24 and engaged in an executive function by formally inserting itself into the execution and implementation of a portion of that act by vesting in itself the power to control how the law regarding fishing access agreements is executed when more than nine vessels are involved. This is impermissible under the separation of powers doctrine.”
The Court rejected the Congress argument that section 405 must be constitutional since it is a function of its treaty ratification powers. Congress pointed in support of their argument to the definition “access agreement,” (24 F.S.M.C 102(1)) which says, “Access agreement means a treaty, agreement or arrangement entered into by the Authority (NORMA) pursuant to this act (Title 24) in relation to access to the exclusive economic zone for fishing by foreign fishing vessels.”
The Court reasoned that a fishing access agreement is usually not a treaty and that certainly in the case of PF&S’ access agreement it can’t be considered to be a treaty particularly because it was an agreement between a Pohnpei Corporation and the national government. It concluded that even if the agreement had been between a foreign corporation and the national government it still would not have been a “treaty.” “They are business deals—not treaties,” the court conclusion stated.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 July 2010 )
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Loaded Penta-Ocean dump truck cuts a path of destruction |
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Written by Bill Jaynes
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
 Pohnpei, FSM—On Thursday, July 15 at 9:15 in the morning, an out of control dump truck loaded down with gravel plowed through an intersection leaving a path of destruction before it finally came to rest narrowly missing the fuel tank and fuel dispenser at the PITC building.
According to the police report, the truck was driven by Maynart Dulei, an employee of Penta-Ocean that owns the dump truck. The loaded truck was traveling east down the steep roadway from the Kolonia Town Hall past Yvonne’s Hotel that finishes at a T-intersection by the Pohnpei Public Market when its brakes failed. The truck, unable to stop at the intersection slammed into a white van functioning as a taxi that was traveling north toward the Dekehtik causeway on the waterfront road.
After hitting the van, the truck continued toward the PITC building, apparently unchecked by its impact. It damaged the roof of PITC, collided with another vehicle parked under the roof of the PITC  building. It collided with three more vehicles including a Nissan Steaga belonging to Paul Lake which flew off of the elevated shore, driven completely into the lagoon by the impact.
Snoleen Manuel and nine year old Lioulel Santos, both passengers in the van struck in the intersection were injured to the extent that they were admitted to the Pohnpei State hospital. Penta Ocean driver Maynart Dulei was also injured in the accident and was treated and released to the custody of Pohnpei State Police.
 A Pohnpei State Police mechanic checked the dump truck and verified that the cause for the vehicle being out of control was in fact a malfunction of the braking system.
Police have closed the investigation and have turned the matter over to the Pohnpei State Attorney General’s office.
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Trial counselor certificate program graduates six in Pohnpei |
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Written by Bill Jaynes
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
 Peilapalap, Pohnpei, FSM—Six students who took part in the College of Micronesia’s Trial Counselor Certificate program graduated on Tuesday, July 20 in a ceremony held at the Pohnpei Supreme Court.
The graduates, Johnny Peter, Mary Immanuel, Jackson F. Joseph, Josephine L. James, Gustin Harris, and Catalina Donre successfully completed the 30 credit hours in legal training required for the program, many, if not all of them while simultaneously working full time. Because of their successful completion all of the graduates now qualify to sit for the FSM Bar exam which, if they pass the exam, will entitle them to practice law in the Federated States of Micronesia.
The program relies on the expertise of local attorneys who teach the 10 three credit hour courses. Coursework includes classes in tort law, criminal law procedure, criminal law, constitutional law, legal research and writing, rules and procedures of evidence and other courses to prepare students for a possible career in the legal profession.
Five attorneys who practice law in the FSM were recognized at the ceremony as having taught courses for the program including Dana Wesley Smith, Kembo Mida, Julius Joe Sapelalut, Sarah Dorsett, and Marstella Jack.
“The program is a stepping stone for anyone who’s interested in taking the bar exam,” said Delihna Ehmes who coordinates the Micronesia Studies program at the College and who also served as an instructor for the course.
Mariana Ben Dereas is the coordinator for the program which is part of the College’s Vocational Certification Program under the direction of Grilley Jack.
COM President Spensin James addresses the graduates assembled at the Supreme Court and outlined a brief history of the program. He said that the late FSM Chief Justice Andon Amaraich first approached the College in 1994 to ask them to explore the possibility of establishing the program. He said that the College was lucky because at that time there was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer with extensive legal background who helped the college to set up the program which began in earnest in 1996.
The program was later extended to Kosrae where three graduates passed the bar. They extended the program to Chuuk but due to funding restraints it had to be closed down. Currently there is a similar program in Chuuk that is sponsored by the State Supreme Court.
“You graduates should shine today with your accomplishments. Take pride in opening your minds and widening your horizons for the future,” President James said.
Pohnpei’s Benjamin Rodriguez, Chief Justice of the Pohnpei State Supreme Court also addressed the graduates and told them that he graduated from the program 11 years ago.
He told the graduates and the assembled crowd of well wishers that a program like the trial counselor’s program is needed in the FSM. “We need more lawyers. We are employing people from the outside. Some lawyers are doing two jobs at once. There is an evidence of need,” he said.
“There is good evidence that the program is working as well,” Chief Justice Rodriguez said. He pointed to himself as evidence as well as three other judges that graduated from the program.
“Graduation from the program shows that we have the know how. From here on out we will have to develop the skills,” he said. “Taking the bar exam is the first step. Experience comes with time and with effort.”
“Certainly graduation is a ticket to a brighter future,” he exclaimed and congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments.
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