Mr. DE LUGO. Thank you very much.

We now have another witness to hear from, but before we hear from Mr. Taitano, there are witnesses at the table that I understand have a flight to catch at this time.

The committee would like to, again, thank Senator Bordallo, Governor Calvo, and Lieutenant Governor Moylan for having participated in this presentation. Thank you very much. You have been very helpful and we appreciate your appearance.

I was reminded by the very fine testimony of Joaquin Arriola, that he and our delegate from Guam, Ben Blaz, were in the Japanese concentration camps together during the war years; and that Mr. Arriola is not only one of the finest attorneys on Guam, an outstanding attorney, but a talented musician as well, I understand.

Mr. SABLAN. You want to see?

Mr. DE LUGO. I understand his talent lies in the area of the piano.

Well, now we will hear from the Honorable Carlos Taitano. Welcome to the subcommittee. Your statement will be made a part of the record. You may proceed.

Mr. TAITANO. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, my name is Carlos Taitano, former Speaker of the Guam Legislature. I have been involved in the struggle for civil and political rights for Guam since 1948. It has been a long and difficult struggle. I was naive enough in the early days to believe that when it came to basic human rights, Congress would act quickly and grant them. In my time, I have heard such statements as, we cannot allow the Guamanians to elect their own governor. The United States has a very large investment in military facilities on the island requiring tight control by Congress. Or, you will not see a Guamanian governor in your lifetime. Or, we cannot grant you American citizenship, the Navy is against it.

Some Senator from the South is against it for racial reasons. Or, when a Senator was in favor of granting full vote representation to the District of Columbia, proclaims that no Americans are truly free unless they have a voice in the election of those who write the nation's laws.

When confronted with the fact that the Chamorros are in the same situation, there was no response. When one of the leading Senators said to me when I requested to see him, he said, I will give you just 15 minutes of my time. Fifteen minutes, after years and years of political neglect; or the classic, classic answer from all over Washington, Mr. Taitano, you have to be patient. These things take time.

This is a denial of civil rights. We are talking about something that calls for immediate action.

There are other kinds of treatment the Chamorros have been getting all these years. This is the reason for the general restlessness and impatience exhibited by some of our political leaders.

We say commonwealth now, not 5, 10, 15 years from now. Human rights now.

Over 300 years after the Spanish invaded the Marianas in 1668 and 90 years after the United States replaced Spain in 1898 as the

ruling power over Guam, the island remains today as in 1668 and in 1898, a non-self-governing territory, in other words, a colony.

This breath of external governance is almost extinct today. Guam is not an independent nation and it has not been integrated into the political system of the United States. The people of Guam have been ruled by outside nations without their consent. They have been denied their right of self-determination. They live under limited home rule and abide by laws in which they have no representation with voting privileges and administered by a president for whom they do not vote.

Whether at home or abroad, I am always ready whenever the occasion requires to defend, protect and expound the ideals of the nation. Like many other Americans, I get emotional over such subjects as patriotism and the flag. But, gentlemen, I experienced deep disappointment and anger at times at the discrimination against the residents of Guam.

I was in the Guam Congress Walkout of 1949 or as some people called it, the Guam rebellion of 1949, because that was exactly what it was. It was a rebellion against the ruling authority for 50 years of political neglect. For conditions of inequality. For denial of political and civil rights.

There were 34 members who were involved in this walk out. Most of them have passed away. Will those in the group still alive see the day when the Chamorros will be granted their right of selfdetermination?

I must tell you that on that day in 1949 when we walked out, we were scared. We were fearful of the repercussions. We feared the power of America. We were after all still ruled by the Navy, but if we feared the anger of our rulers, we feared doing nothing even more. We feel the continuation of colonial attitudes and the damage being done to our people.

Forty years later the central issue of self-determination is unresolved. Despite the attempts of some people to confuse the issue, the question is simple, will Congress give it to us or not?

For the sake of so many of our people who have lived in hopes of realizing these dreams and aspirations, common to all who believe in the sanctity of freedom, we pray that the answer is yes.

Thank you very much.

[Prepared statement of Mr. Taitano follows:]

STATEMENT OF CARLOS TAITANO

-

Over three hundred years after the Spanish invaded the Marianas in 1668 and ninety years after the United States replaced Spain in 1898 as the ruling power over Guam, this island remains today, as in 1668 and in 1898, a non-self-governing territory; in other words, a colony a breed that is almost extinct around the world today. It is not an independent nation and it has not been integrated into the political system of the United States. The people of Guam have been ruled by outside nations without their consent. They have been denied their right self-determination. They live under limited home rule and abide by laws passed by Congress in which they have no representation with voting privileges and administered by a President for whom they cannot

vote.

Since the Second World War world leaders became concerned for the many people throughout the world who had no voice in the enactment of laws that governed them and who continued to live under conditions of inequality and without regard for the rights of the individual. Since the end of that war many people under colonial rule were given the opportunity to exercise their right of self-determination. In our part of the world the United States granted this opportunity to all the islands under its control, except Guam. Naturally, Guam looks with disappointment and envy at its neighbors, island communities that came under American rule almost fifty years after Guam was acquired from Spain.

Whether at home or abroad, I am always ready whenever the occasion requires, to defend, protect and expound the ideals of the Nation. Like many other Americans, I get emotional over such subjects as patriotism and the flag. But, gentlemen, I also experience deep disappointment and anger, at times, at the discrimination against the residents of Guam.

I was in the Guam Congress Walkout of 1949, or, as some people call it, the Guam Rebellion of 1949, because that was exactly what it was. It was a rebellion against the ruling authority for fifty years of political neglect, for conditions of inequality and for denial of civil and political rights. The following year the Organic Act of Guam was passed. I was also involved in the struggle for the right to elect our own Governor and to send a delegate to Washington. There was tremendous resistance by certain key members of Congress, especially with respect to the governorship bill. One member told me that they could not allow the Guamanians to elect their own Governor, because the United States had a very large investment in military facilities on the island requiring tight control by Congress. The chief of staff of one of the leading senators offered the prediction that I would not see a Guamanian Governor in my lifetime. After the enactment of the governorship bill in 1968, the petition for a non-voting delegate to Congress was granted in 1972. The people of Guam are United States citizens, yet, these fundamental rights are doled out to them, piece by piece.

In a period of rapid political changes throughout the world, even in Eastern Europe, politically, Guam under congressional rule

The time is

is moving at a snail pace, if not at a standstill. long overdue for Congress to act. In this day and age, the

situation on Guam is outmoded.

to develop in their own way.

Congress must give Guam the freedom