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| Marshalls Compact opponents demonstrate at parliament
Giff Johnson MAJURO, August 4 (AFP) - Opponents of a Compact of Free Association with the United States held a rare public demonstration at the Marshall Islands Nitijela (parliament) opening here Monday. BizVantage – Beyond the news: indepth on business, investment and technology. A group of about 300 Marshall Islanders, led by traditional and political leaders from the islands of Majuro and Kwajalein, carried placards objecting to the recently signed Compact of Free Association with the United States and urged the Nitijela to not approve the Compact. During his state of the nation address at the opening, President Kessai Note said that it was essential for the amended Compact to be approved by September 30 so that guaranteed funding from the US to the Marshall Islands does not come to a halt when the current funding agreement ends. He said that the amended Compact will provide significantly more grant funding than the expiring agreement, rising from 19 million dollars to 30 million dollars annually, along with numerous US federal health, education and other programs. Anti-Compact Kwajalein leaders stepped up pressure on the government by bringing Mondays protest to the capital building, in the first public demonstration in Majuro in four years. Kwajalein leaders say the terms of a 60-year extension of use of the Kwajalein missile testing range included in the amended Compact are unacceptable. Annual rental payments will rise from the current 11.3 million dollars to 15 million dollars starting October 1 and there is an increase from 1.9 million dollars to 5.1 million dollars for infrastructure and development at the atoll. However, landowner leaders say that they want 19.1 million dollars a year in rent. The backdrop for the demonstration and the Compact opposition is the countrys national election that is scheduled for November 17. The Compact is now also pending in the US Congress, where it was introduced last month. It has not officially been introduced into the Nitijela for review, but is expected to be later this week. The new agreement must be approved by both legislatures to take effect on October 1. gj/mjf/rmj Marshalls-US
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