Page 7 general tone and language of the proposed act is to drift away

from the American political infrastructure.

Therefore, some adjustments in our thinking and flexibility

in our approach to our off-shore territories are critical. The need to ameliorate the competing ideals of local self-government and the requirement of our national government is crucial. Admittedly, a reasonable compromise would require some ingenious adjustments, but an enlightened view point -- scraping the old belief of "conflict of interest" -- could be catalytic towards change. Based upon this premise, the Congress should be persuaded that greater self-rule and increased autonomy would not present any threat to the military's employment of Guam as a strategic defense base. The first step is for the Executive Department to loosen its authority to allocate resources in the territory, and for Guam to remove from the draft Commonwealth Act the racial restrictive language that is incompatible with the principle of "freedom and equality for all".

END

GEORGE CASTRO EUSTAQUIO
January 1990

Record

December 11, 1989

Honorable Ron de Lugo
Chairman
Interior Subcommittee on

Insular and International Affairs
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

RE: H.R.98-COMMONWEALTH BILL OF GUAM
Dear Mr. Chairman:

My name is Kurt s. Moylan, last appointed Secretary of Guam and first elected Lieutenant Governor of Guam with Governor Carlos G. Camacho in 1970. I appear before you in total support of H.R.98 introduced by our own u.s. House Delegate Ben Blaz which grants Guamanians the right of self-determination.

I would like to outline significant dates in Guam's history which will assist the Subcommittee members in supporting this historic piece of legislation.

1565....Guam and the Mariana Islands were claimed by Spain.

The Chamorros were later forced into submission
by Spain.

1898.. .Guam is ceded to the United States by Spain under

the Treaty of Paris agreement. The rest of the
Mariana Islands are sold to Germany. The United
States allowed the division of the same people and
their lands when Guam was separated from the other
Mariana Islands. From this date until 1941, Guam
was administered by military governors appointed

by the Secretary of Navy.
1901. ...Guam becomes an unincorporated territory with

Congress retaining complete control over the
island and its people.

1941....On December 8, 1941, a holy day in Guam, Japanese

troops seized Guam from the United States. For
three years, the enemy imprisoned, tortured and
murdered Guamanians. Approximately 8% of the
Chamorro population perished while under
Japanese military rule.

1944. ...On July 21, 1944, U.s. troops liberated Guam from

the enemy. The Secretary of Navy once again

asssumed military rule over Guam and its people.
1949. ..On September 27, 1949, President Truman appointed

the first civilian Governor of Guam. Administration
of Guam was transferred from the Secretary of Navy
to the Secretary of Interior. At the same time,
Interior assumed the trusteeship over the Mariana
Islands, Palau, Yap, Truk, Kosare, Pohnpei and the
Marshall Islands.

.On August 1, 1950, the Organic Act of Guam became
law which granted U.S. citizenship to Guamanians
and established a civilian government for the first
time since Guam was taken by Spain in 1565...385 years
under one form or another of military rule. The
Organic Act provided limited civilian control since
the Governor and Secretary were federal appointees,
and all Legislative bills vetoed and subsequently
overriden by an elected body, were subject to a final
determination by the Secretary of Interior. The
Organic Act was designed, drafted and voted upon
by the U.S. Congress. Guamanians never voted on any
of the provisions in the Organic Act. The right
of self-determination was not given to the Guamanians,
a right that should never have been denied by Congress
and the President of the United States.

1961....President Kennedy by Executive Order removed the

military security clearance required of all persons entering Guam, including returning Guamanians. An unnecessary military restriction on the free movement of Guamanian-Americans was permanently removed eleven years after the enactment of the Organic Act. Guam remained economically stagnant since it was

treated like a military base and another trusteeship. 1968....Led by Guam Delegate Won Pat and California Congressman

Phil Burton, Congress enacted legislation permitting Guam to elect its own Governor and Lieutenant Governor, thereby removing forever ths appointment of federal Governors by the Department of Interior. The right to elect our own leaders should have been included in the Organic Act in 1950.

1970....Guamanians elect their own Governor and Lieutenant

Governor who are responsible to them and not to the
Department of Interior. Still, self-government is

limited by u.s. Congress's plenary powers over Guam. 1989....On December 11, 1989, in Honolulu, marks the date

Congress opens hearings on H.R.98, introduced by
our own Congressman Blaz. It is also fitting to
recognize that a Virgin Islander and Congressman is
Chairing this historic bill.

These events have bound us together in our determination to see that H.R.98 is enacted by Congress. H.R.98 has been voted by the people of Guam. It is a bill which will forge a new political relationship between Guam and the United States, a relationship based on the right of self-determination.

Mr. Chairman, you have been instrumental in guiding through Congress legislation which created a unique relationship between the former Trusteeship island republics of the Republic of Belau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with the United States. Congress granted these island nations the right of self-determination.

I ask that you give this same consideration to the Chamorros by giving your approval to H.R.98, a bill which should have been enacted in 1950 when the Organic Act became law.