40) 1 Oe
a
Pacifiic“Islande..3°Demand:
.
ey
f
tee,
te SNE
liar
sahcatemaentel
cored
ra tawoh
.
Neglect Alleged ..
-. The. most controversial allegation made ‘in the Council] was
‘a charge by George Allen, legal]
counsel for. -the’ Marshallese
petitioning group, that a recent
infiuenza epidemic followed by
an outbreak of spinal’ menin-
oe
Cree
By KATHLEEN TELTSCH.. which’:mak é up the trust:ter-|1
jritory:‘of. 2,100 islands scattered play therole ‘of “eolonizer” an
.
Special to The.New York Times ad
UNITED NATIONS;N.Y.July actoss3 million.‘square thiles compel :the: 27,000. Marshalles
to“tie. their political futureuM
3—Separatist. groups. from: ithe of:the western: Pacific. Only’100 those of the otherislands.
of
the
islandsare,
inhabited.
remote. Marshail.and Palau Is"He ‘said: the.‘United States wa
lands pressed« demands’ here| ' “According;to. the -petitidners| maneuvering:“to Smaintaining4
this week for: independence and the- lawyers assisting them,}.“colonial..strangtehold”’.' ave
from: the United States-admin- this was. the year to vigorously. :
Me{ththe’ aim 0
istered Trust Territory°‘of the push .the ‘independence « cam-| =
paign,
®
Pacific. ,
in’part. because the}.
- Four of the petitioners were Northern: Marianas had already.
Marshallese, . and they wore succeeded. *
negotiating - a
outsized yellow lapel buttons separate-*: “political” common-f::
with the slogan “Free the Mar- wealth arrangement with the}-}°
shall Islands” ‘when -they ‘ap- United ‘States and also because}.
peared before the Trusteeship of the American Bicentennial.
=
ee
_OFTHEPAGIIC
iS.
Council to repdrt.on,a,cataCapitalizing on’ that. theme,
ae
i
z
logue of grievances.
‘Tony deBrum, ‘a31-year-old
.UKWAJALE
- ale
Separatist movements have spokesman for the Marshallese,
been growing for years in the told the Council that at a time
three archipelagoes—the Mar- when “the United States“ was].
|shalls, Carolines and. Marianas celebrating the end of colonial}
}gitis had left .12 Marshallese
dead and two children brain
damaged on the. impoverished
island of Ebeye. He complained
that none of the seven American physicians assigned to the
American calony on neighboring
Kwajalein had. .come to assist
in the epidemic.
United States
authorities
spent 48 hourschecking the report by telephone. A “spokesman for Peter T. Coleman, the
acting High Commissioner for
the territory, said the allegations had been largely unsub‘stantiated. He said there was
one death after the outbreak
of inflienza and meningitis, He
said “one child suffered -brain
damage but was improving. No
request for help had been made
by the medical‘ officer on
Ebeye, it was said. ,
The Patific territory ‘is the
last of the eleven. trusteeships
administered.under theaegis: of
the United. Nations Council.
Others have obtained independence or adopted a free associa-
-
perpetuating
zB * te:
Kwajalein’ tatoll,*:
JUnited States maintains a castly missile testing range: -.
.Palau petitioners also: pushed
their case for separation from
the rest of the territory. They
denied that their. aim .was sa
“greedy ‘ consideration” to -he
‘the sole beneficiaries of 2 proposed port for. supertankers#
and
also
insisted that
the
wanted to insure a“close an
enduring: association” with the;
United. States,
‘A
‘Four. daysof Council hearings!
brought. out a raft of: conflicting
viewpoints, some . allegations
jfrom, the Marshallese ‘about
‘economic exploitation and from
their lawyers about racial: bias.
J|A general impression was left
that many issues would. have
to be resolved before the trusteeship agreement is terminated
as plannediin 1981..
tion status.
—
ol bet AGT al era aeket eereee peg Os
tT
f
we
a,
- The United . States: had pro-
posed that the currént trustee-
|ship agreement .be replaced by
a compact of free association.
It told the Council-that if the
Marshallese: or the- people of
Palau do not accept its terms
they will be able-to register’
j their views in a plebiscite.
ae.
_