Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands has built new roads of all kinds during the period under review. From road construction funded by the government of Japan, to new approaches to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China (Taiwan), to sinuous pathways connecting national leaders, the year revealed many novel detours in policy and unprecedented political directions.

The minority party, or "opposition," achieved an unprecedented level of organization and effectiveness. Although a vote of no confidence failed to remove President Imata Kabua from office in October 1998, the motion marked a turning point in the Marshall Islands' nineteen years of constitutional government. The vote followed the unprecedented success of the opposition party in the previous Nitijela (Parliament) session of March, when two bills they had proposed were passed into law. The passage of Bills 113 and 114 regarding gambling in the Marshalls were effectively a vote of no confidence, resulting in legal battles and a cabinet reshuffle. The context of these significant events must be explained.

In the final months of 1997, national morale ran low as various government projects attracted public suspicion. The government's withholding of reports on the unauthorized use of Social Security Administration funds resulted in the Asian Development Bank detaining portions of much-needed loans. Investigations were rumored into continued sales of RMI passports to foreign nationals, particularly in China and Taiwan. Compact revenue had decreased. An ADB-promoted reduction-in-force (designed to limit the public sector, which creates two-thirds of all jobs in the Marshalls) placed critical government paychecks in short supply. Added to these difficulties was the increase in foreign competition as new car-rental companies, restaurants, and retail stores were introduced by Taiwanese and Chinese investors. With a decrease in copra production, and import taxes at an all-time high, these were hard times. In response, citizens took their chances at the newly constructed gambling houses around the islands, playing slot machines in hopes of hitting the jackpot.

In 1996, President Amata Kabua had led a campaign to establish casinos in the islands as an enticement for tourists and businesspeople staying at the soon-to-be-completed Outrigger Hotel and other proposed resorts. Despite church opposition, and defeat in its first two readings, Bill 8 became Public Law 1996-4 in its final vote and effectively legalized gambling in the Marshall Islands. Unfortunately, the regulations recommended in the bill were not enforced and slot machines quickly became an unmonitored and untaxed industry for local and foreign entrepreneurs.

As the impact of gambling was felt on families already struggling through an economic depression, opposition extended beyond its previous base at the Catholic Church. In an ecumenical effort, the churches of the Marshalls met weekly and planned to propose a repeal of the 1996 gambling law for the January 1998 Nitijela session. Organizers strategically decided to propose two bills: one to repeal the prior bill, and another to explicitly prohibit gambling of any kind (including popular bingo games), with the exception of school fund-raising raffles. The history of these two bills is an important frame of reference for the unforeseen activities of the following months.

Given the lack of faith in the government in late 1997 and the insecurity about national and individual finances, and even grumblings of discontent about the newly elected president, anxiety and hard feelings were at their peak. The nation was embarrassed by coverage of the president in international media and by his notorious behavior. In a national broadcast of the Nitijela session, the president presented his yes vote "in the name of Miller Lite," his beer of choice. Citizens accustomed to the stability of Amata Kabua's twenty-plus-year administration judged Imata harshly. The Asian Development Bank was publicly pressuring the government for the findings of the passport and social security investigative team. Additionally, the United States and its ambassador were...