Pacific Ways: Government and Politics in the Pacific Islands
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Pacific Ways: Government and Politics in the Pacific Islands
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781776560264 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Victoria University Press |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 284 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
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Pacific Ways
Government and Politics in the Pacific Islands
By Stephen Levine
Victoria University Press
Copyright © 2016 editor and contributorsAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-77656-068-4
CHAPTER 1
American Samoa
J. Robert Shaffer and Cheryl Hunter
J. Robert Shaffer has been a longtime resident of American Samoa, where he served as an assistant to four of the territory's governors. Cheryl Hunter, former newspaper editor and feature writer, has for the past 25 years been a student of Samoan history and culture as collaborator with Mr Shaffer on writings about the Pacific Islands.
Welcoming palms and white sandy beaches are common sights for sea-weary mariners navigating South Pacific waters. The Samoan Islands are no exception when it comes to providing this type of inviting scenery. From prehistory to present day, Samoa's palm-lined shores have welcomed sea-faring adventurers – the first arriving from Fiji, 1,200 kilometres to the west, about 3,500 years ago.
As the ancient mariners' double-hulled sailing vessels glided into a wide and deep harbour sheltered by deep green, steeply rising, densely vegetated mountains, little did they suspect they were seeing what would eventually come to be known as the South Pacific's largest and best natural harbour; or that possession of it in the late 1800s would become a sharp point of contention, leading to a political parting of ways for their descendants.
Today this harbour is a focal point of activity and commerce for the territory known as American Samoa. Formed over millions of years by volcanic activity, followed by thousands of years of refinement by nature before being inhabited, Pago Pago harbour cuts a 3-kilometre-long, 120-metre-deep, L-shaped swath out of the mid-section of Tutuila, the largest island and seat of government for the territory. Flanked on the east by steeply rising Mount Pioa (523 metres) and Mount Alava (491 metres) and to the west by Matafao Peak (653 metres), it is naturally well-protected from harsh winds and potentially hostile visitors alike.
Mount Pioa, more commonly known as 'Rainmaker Mountain', functions as its name implies, attracting heavy rainclouds carried along by southeasterly flowing trade winds, which unload an average of 4.6 metres of rain annually.
Tutuila is home to 96 per cent of the territory's population. Within its mountainous 142 square kilometres, 56,000 persons reside (as of 2014). The village of Fagatogo has the distinction of being the official seat of government, with the territorial legislature – the Fono – located here. Nearby Utulei village houses the governor's office and executive branch offices. Tafuna, 16 kilometres west of the harbour, is home to Pago Pago International Airport, where one major airline and one commuter airline handle all flights into and out of the territory.
American Samoa's additional 57 square kilometres of land include Aunu'u island, the three islands of the Manu'a group, and two coral atolls. Aunu'u is a small islet positioned 0.4 kilometres off the southeast tip of Tutuila. Its population averaged 511 in 2014. The islands of Ta'u, Ofu and Olosega make up the Manu'a group, located about 100 kilometres east of Tutuila. All three of Manu'a's islands rise steeply from the ocean and are densely vegetated. Ta'u, largest of the three, boasts the highest peak in American Samoa, Mount Lata, rising 5,102 metres above sea level. Ten kilometres west of Ta'u are the twin islands of Ofu and Olosega, separated by a narrow strait of about 90 metres. Manu'a once housed about 6 per cent of American Samoa's population, but numbers have been dwindling in recent years due to lack of educational and employment opportunities.
Swains Island, one of the two coral atolls, lies about 320 kilometres northeast of Tutuila. Geographically part of the Tokelau group, govern-mentally it is within American Samoa's jurisdiction. Swains consists of 461 acres on a flat piece of coral that includes a central lagoon. Historically, its population has varied between 30 and 40 inhabitants of Tokelauan descent. More recently the island has been periodically uninhabited.
Uninhabited Rose Atoll is a designated National Marine Preserve, situated at the easternmost point in the territory, about 100 kilometres east of Ta'u. It is monitored and protected by the US National Park Service.
History
Initial settlement in Samoa is believed to have occurred between 1500 and 800 BCE. Lapita pottery discovered at Mulifanua on the western tip of Upolu is indicative of pottery originating in the Lau Island Group in Fiji which dates from that period. The sites of To'aga (Ofu) and 'Aoa (Tutuila) appear to have been inhabited in the same general time period as Mulifanua.
The first known sightings of the islands by Europeans were by Dutchman Jacob Roggeveen in 1722 and French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768. Bougainville named the archipelago the Navigator Islands. On 11 December 1787, another French explorer, Jean-François de La Pérouse, sent a landing party ashore at A'asu village to collect fresh water. A short battle ensued, resulting in the death of a number of French sailors, giving Tutuila a reputation of ferocity that lasted for decades.
In 1829, John Williams of the London Missionary Society (LMS), who had been teaching Christianity in Tahiti and Rarotonga, turned his attention to the Navigator Islands. Not having access to any ships capable of getting him there, he used his previous training as an ironmonger, fashioned some tools with scraps of metal and wood, and built a 60-foot brigantine by himself in three months. Accompanied by another English minister, a group of Tahitian teachers and their families, and a Samoan they met in Tonga on the way, they dropped anchor in Sapapali'i, Savai'i, in 1830. Williams' party was well-received by the most powerful chief of the day, Malietoa, who readily facilitated Christian instruction throughout the islands. Williams spent 17 more years spreading Christianity throughout Polynesia. The LMS Church, as well as most other Christian denominations, thrives in the Samoas today.
Samoa during the latter half of the 19th century was wracked by civil war, due to commercial and military rivalry on the part of Germany, Britain and the United States. Germany and Britain were looking to expand their colonies and influence in the South Pacific. The United States had become focused on Pago Pago harbour as a potential coaling station.
Tension grew between the countries, with Samoan chiefs and villagers taking sides as well. In March 1889, British and American warships faced off against a German naval fleet in Apia harbour. Before the first cannons were fired, however, the most devastating hurricane in 100 years swept ashore, sinking every ship in the harbour except a British frigate. The Samoans, regardless of which country they sided with, worked tirelessly to rescue as many people as possible.
The international rivalry over Samoa was settled in 1899 with the Treaty of Berlin, which established two separate Samoas. Germany desired, and was granted, control over Savai'i, Upolu and their neighboring islets. They had established coffee and coconut plantations on the gradually sloping, fertile acres of those islands, and were shipping those products (and by-products) throughout Europe. The US achieved the rights it sought over Tutuila and Pago Pago harbour, along with the eastern islands and atolls. Britain relinquished all claims in Samoa, opting to focus attention on Tonga.
In 1900 the US Navy began to formally occupy Tutuila and Aunu'u on behalf of the United States, and the existing coaling station in the harbour was expanded into a full naval station under Benjamin Franklin Tilly, appointed Commandant of the United States Naval Station Tutuila. In April of that year a deed of cession was signed, and the American flag was officially raised on Tutuila on 17 April 1900. A deed of cession for Manu'a was signed in 1904. On 17 July 1911 the US Naval Station, Tutuila, was officially renamed American Samoa.
During World War II, both US Navy and Marine Corps units occupied American Samoa. Roads and housing for the troops were built to accommodate the influx of military personnel and to move equipment around the island. These roads and many of the structures are still in use today.
Military administration of the territory ended in 1950. On 1 July 1951, administration of American Samoa was formally transferred to the US Department of the Interior (DOI), and in 1956 DOI appointed American Samoa-born Peter Coleman as the territory's first Samoan governor. Coleman served in that capacity until 1961. He was followed by a series of governors appointed by DOI. In 1977, 17 years after leaving office, Coleman became the first locally elected governor in the territory. He was re-elected twice more, serving a total of 11 years as the popularly elected chief executive.
Politics
American Samoa's politics include three categories that often intertwine. The executive and legislative branches make up the first category within a framework of representative democracy. Executive power is placed with the governor, who heads up a non-partisan system. Legislative power is vested in two chambers, an upper (Senate) and a lower (House of Representatives). US political parties (Republican and Democrat) exist in the territory, but few local politicians are aligned with either one.
The second category involves traditional village politics. This level of political interaction centers around two Samoan cultural institutions – fa'a matai (chiefly system and protocol) and fa'a Samoa (the Samoan way of life, language, customs). The fa'a matai includes all levels of the Samoan body politic: from family, to village, to fono, to district, and finally to national matters.
The third category centers on the village matai(chiefs). Matai are elected by a consensus in a fono (gathering, meeting) of the 'aiga, the key unit of social organisation in Samoan culture. The 'aiga refers to the 'extended family' or 'clan', a group of people related by blood, marriage or adoption. The head of an 'aiga, or a branch thereof, is the matai. Depending upon the traditional nature of a chiefly title, a matai can be either an Ali'i (chief) or a Tulafale (orator). The matai and fono(which is itself made up of matai) decide the distribution of family exchanges and tenancy of communal lands. A matai can represent a small family group or a much larger extended family reaching across islands in American Samoa and independent Samoa.
Government
American Samoa's government consists of three branches modelled after the US Constitution: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. The territorial government is defined under the Constitution of American Samoa, which was drafted under the direction of Governor Coleman in 1961. The final draft of this constitution took effect on 1 July 1967. As an 'unincorporated' and 'unorganised' territory, American Samoa is administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, Department of the Interior, based in Washington, DC.
In order for American Samoa to be considered an 'organised' territory, the US Congress must pass an Organic Act. It has yet to do so. This means that American Samoans born in the territory are considered US 'nationals', the only such designation among all US possessions and territories. However, if one parent is a US citizen, a child born in American Samoa is also a US citizen. Under the 'national' designation, American Samoans are issued US passports and can freely travel to, or establish residence in, the United States, with only their birth certificates (i.e., passports and visas are not required). American Samoans have all the rights and privileges of US citizens except the right to vote in state or national elections. Should they choose to become US citizens, the process is less burdensome than it is for foreigners.
The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms. They are limited to two terms of office. Gubernatorial elections coincide with US presidential elections, held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.
The document establishing the Fono of American Samoa was drafted in 1948, primarily by the attorney general of the territory, John D. Maroney. In drafting the original document, Maroney consulted very closely with territorial Chief Justice Arthur A. Morrow and orator matai Tuiasosopo Mariota, considered the primary Samoan 'founder' of the modern American Samoa legislature.
Because the matai system of government is so deeply ingrained in Samoan culture, drafters of the Samoan bicameral legislature set up a Fono that is sensitive to, and in keeping with, this system. It is made up of an upper and a lower house.
The Fono's upper house, the House of Ali'i (Senate), consists of 18 members, elected for four-year terms by matai of each district as designated by traditional Samoan custom. The House of Representatives consists of 20 members, one from each district, elected for two-year terms. One additional non-voting member is elected from Swains Island in a public meeting. Candidates for House seats are not required to hold a matai title and all registered voters can vote for them in their districts, thereby following the traditional democratic principles of a representative democracy.
The judiciary branch, like the US model, is independent. Its High Court is the highest court below the US Supreme Court in American Samoa, with district courts below it. The High Court is located in Fagatogo, and consists of a chief justice and an associate justice, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior.
One of the uniquely Samoan aspects of politics in American Samoa is that not all elected officials, including the governor and lieutenant governor, are required to hold a matai title. However, because the importance and relevance of matai titles remains paramount in the territory on all political levels, the chances of an individual being elected governor without holding a matai title are slim. Government officials, including the chief justice, also are not required to hold a matai title in order to serve.
Administrative Divisions
For traditional governance, American Samoa is divided into three major districts – Eastern, Western and Manu'a. Each is administered by a district governor who is appointed by the territorial governor. To be qualified as a district governor, an individual must hold a matai title within the district to which he/she is to be appointed.
Delegate to the US House of Representatives
Delegates to the US House of Representatives are elected by registered voters of the territory. American Samoa does not have the right to elect a United States senator, but elects a single, non-voting delegate to the House. The right to elect this delegate was granted on 31 October 1978. The first delegate, Fofó Iosefa Fiti Sunia, was elected in November 1980 and took office in January 1981.
Delegates serve two-year terms (as do all members of the House) and can participate and vote in committee, but not on the House floor. The delegate may also serve as a committee chair, if they have earned the necessary seniority to hold that position, and may also make amendments to proposed legislation during discussion on the House floor. Since 1993, rules governing the rights of non-voting delegates from US territories have changed several times – either limiting or increasing voting rights of the delegate.
Amata Coleman Radewagen (daughter of the first appointed and elected Samoan governor, Peter Coleman) defeated incumbent Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin on 4 November 2014, becoming the first woman to represent American Samoa in the House of Representatives. She was sworn into office on 6 January 2015. (Hunkin was American Samoa's second delegate, serving since January 1989.)
Amata also became the first Republican to be elected as American Samoa's delegate. Traditionally, Samoan candidates do not campaign as members of either of the major political parties, or as 'liberal' or 'conservative'. Campaign issues for candidates in the territory are 'local', with little attachment to national parties in Washington, DC. However, it is recognised that if a delegate's alignment is with the party in control of the House of Representatives – the majority party – then that delegate may have more political influence than if they were a member of the minority party.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Pacific Ways by Stephen Levine. Copyright © 2016 editor and contributors. Excerpted by permission of Victoria University Press.
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Table of Contents
Preface to the second edition Stephen Levine 9
Introduction Stephen Levine 13
Country Studies
American Samoa J. Robert Shaffer Cheryl Hunter 19
Australia Nigel S. Roberts 29
Cook Islands Phillipa Webb 40
Federated Slates of Micronesia Glenn Petersen Zag Puas 59
Fiji Robert Norton 71
French Polynesia Lorenz Gonschor 91
Guam Kelly G. Marsh Tyrone J. Taitano 107
Kiribati Takuia Uakeia 118
Marshall Islands David W. Kupferman 132
Nauru Max Quanchi 148
New Caledonia Nic Maclellan 163
New Zealand Stephen Levine 177
Niue Salote Talagi 188
Northern Mariana Islands Frank Quimby 202
Palau Wouter Veenendaal 219
Papua New Guinea Vergil Narokobi 229
Pitcairn Peter Clegg 247
Rapa Nui / Easter Island Forrest Wade Young 257
Samoa Iati Iati 274
Solomon Islands Gordon Lena Nanau 291
Timor-Leste / East Timor Michael Leach 312
Tokelau Kelihiano Kalolo 325
Tonga Steven Ratuva 337
Tuvalu Jack Corbett Jon Fraenkel 350
Vanuatu Marc Lanteigne 361
Wallis and Futuna Hapakuke Pierre Leleivai 372
West Papua Gregory B. Poling 384
Conclusion: Political Institutions in the Pacific Islands Jon Fraenkel 395