Page 18 - IB APR 2017

Politics
‘ to bring women’s per-
I think it’s important

spective into leadership
in the Pacific. There are
so many gifted women
in the Pacific, but they
haven’t been given the
support and the time to
be part of the process.
That’s why me sitting in
this chair gives hope to

very gifted and talented
in their own right.
- On women’s involvement in
political leadership:
a lot of women, who are ‘
We women have a place,
President Hildsa Heine says education is the key for her people. Photo: Nic Maclellan ‘ when we go back home
Hilda at the helm and we are in our commu-

nities and our cultural set-
ting. I know exactly where

n From PAGE 17 “Right now, there are some programs in I should be, when I should
existence that deal with the effects of the be speaking or not speak-
In March, RMI diplomats joined rep- nuclear program, but the importance of the ing. I think that as women
resentatives from 120 nations in nego- Commission is that they will coordinate all
tiations in New York for a nuclear ban of these separate programs, as well as look leaders in this culture,
treaty. But the government is also under at the strategy for going forward. They will these are things that we
domestic pressure from an ageing cohort also exercise general oversight to work should be mindful of, but
of nuclear survivors who are pressing for with researchers, filmmakers, journalists
action at home. People living in exile from and others who seek to report on the issue. that shouldn’t mean that
their homes on Bikini and Rongelap are Above all, they should advise the govern- we shouldn’t be taking a
calling for urgent action to finalise the ment on how we should go forward.” role in government. As
remediation and clean-up of contaminated On 1 March, the RMI government host-
atolls in the north of the country, after 67 ed an international conference on nuclear long as you can navigate,
atmospheric nuclear tests at Bikini and legacies in the Marshall Islands: “Charting you know your role and
Enewetak. a Journey Toward Justice.” Hundreds of what you should be doing
Earlier this year, the RMI Nitijela (par- participants heard from nuclear survivors,
liament) passed legislation to establish research scientists, anthropologists and in the cultural setting and
a three-person National Nuclear Com- government leaders. For President Heine, also in the government
mission, which will coordinate nuclear it was heartening to see the interest shown setting, then I think we
programs, promote remediation of con- by young people in events that took place
taminated atolls and propose strategies to decades before they were born. should be OK. But it’s a de-
government for international diplomacy. “Very few of those who were there in the bate that is going on in the
An ongoing concern is to obtain funding 1950s are still with us,” she told Islands Marshall Islands. There
from the US Congress, to pay for unfunded Business. “Many of the living ones are
court rulings by the RMI Nuclear Claims quite old, close to the end of their life. They will be people who will
Tribunal, amounting to more than US$2.3 are very disappointed, because nothing continue to ask whether I
billion. has happened in their lifetime and they should be sitting here, and
“The purpose of the Nuclear Commis- know that nothing will happen before
sion is to develop a strategy on nuclear they pass on. that makes the job a little
justice, as well as to coordinate and inte- “Therefore it’s up to us to energise the bit trickier, because I have
grate all aspects of the US nuclear testing young generation to take on the mantle to be mindful of that.
program conducted in the Republic of and go forward, because obviously it’s - On cultural restrictions for ‘
the Marshall Islands between 1946 and going to be a long fight.” women in public life:
1958,” said Heine. q nicmac3056@gmail.com

18 Islands Business, April 2017