Po Pe mors rs : “O} Cio5 | ‘RIOR rere DEPARTMENT°w OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY For Release August t_25, 25, 1978 19 Box /3 Folder shh J news release Kall Liman Deel979.-317 3171 RELOCATION OF BIKIN! Relocation to Kili Island of 145 people living on Bikini Island will begin August 27, 1978, U. S. Mainland time, the Department of the Interior announced today. (The Marsnall Islands are WEST of the International Dateline. operations will begin Monday, August 28, Marshall Islands time.) Relocation In confirming the date the operation will begin, Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph announced that work will commence "forthwith" to build a new dispensary, a new school, an addition to the church, and an addition to the civic assembly building on Kili -- all temporary structures expected to be completed in the fall of 1978. as rapidly as possible, Joseph added. Permanent structures will take their place "We have constructed temporary housing to accommodate the returning residents," Joseph said. "This is only the beginning of our commitment to provide for the total rehabilitation of Kili Island. Trust Territory High Commissioner Adrian Winkel and we are moving to prepare a total resettlement program for the Bikini people that includes adequate housing, permanent community buildings, and a dock to provide access to the island." Joseph added, “After full consultation with the Bikinians, the Government will develop plans for relocation of those residents who wish to move elsewhere. The Bikini people have some land rights on nearby Jaluit atoll and some may wish to settle there." Under Secretary Joseph and Ruth G. Van Cleve, Director of the Office of Territorial Affairs, left Washington, D. C. August 4 and went to Kili to inspect the temporary housing and other facilities being constructed there by the Trust Territory Government. They then traveled to Bikini on August 11, to meet with the islanders and assure them that the relocation was necessary for health reasons. Bikini Atoll still contains radioactive health hazards as a result of nuclear testing conducted there more than 30 years ago. It is part of the Marshall Island group in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands administered by the United States under a trusteeship agreement with the United Nations. In 1946 the U. S. asked the people of Bikini for permission to use the atoll as a testing area. The people agreed to leave Bikini and were ultimately settled on Kili Island in the southern Marshalls. Radiological surveys performed by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1968 said Bikini was again safe for human habitation and President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a complete rehabilitation of the atoll. Plans were made to create a model community on the island and then return the Bikinians to their traditional home. (More)