Northern Mariana Islands
The
Northern Mariana Islands, officially the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is a
commonwealth in political union with the
United States of America at a strategic location in the West
Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from
Hawaii to the
Philippines, at . It has a population (
2005 est) of 80,362. The official
2000 census count was 69,221 [
1]. The total land area of all islands is 463.63 km² (179.01 sq mi), as reported by the
United States Census Bureau.
Together with
Guam to the south, also a
United States territory, the Northern Mariana Islands make up the
island arc of the
Mariana Islands.
The northern maritime boundary of the island chain connects with the southern maritime boundary of Japan's outermost islands.
The southern islands are
limestone with level terraces and fringing
coral reefs; the northern islands are volcanic, with active
volcanoes on
Anatahan,
Pagan and
Agrihan. The volcano on Agrihan is the highest elevation in the islands at 965 meters. About one-fifth of the land is arable, another tenth is permanent pasture. The primary natural resource is fish, which causes conflict with the protection of
endangered species. Past development has created
landfills that must be cleaned up and has caused contamination of groundwater on Saipan, which may contribute to disease.
Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island located 120 km (80 miles) north of Saipan Island and 320 km (200 miles) north of
Guam. The island is about 9 km (5.6 miles) long and 3 km (2 miles) wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater on
May 10,
2003 at about 5:00 p.m. (17h).
|
Map of the Northern Mariana Islands |
Since then it has continued to alternate between eruptive and calm periods. On April 6, 2005, approximately 50,000 cubic meters of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift southward over Saipan and Tinian. Recent eruptions have caused some commercial flights to re-route.
The islands have a tropical marine climate moderated by seasonal northeast
trade winds. There is little seasonal temperature variation; the dry season runs from December to June, and the rainy season from July to October can include
typhoons.
The first European in these waters was
Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, who landed on nearby
Guam and claimed the islands for Spain. After being met offshore and accepting the refreshments offered to them by the native
Chamorros, the latter then in exchange helped themselves to a small boat belonging to Magellan's fleet. Due to this cultural misunderstanding, over half a dozen locals were killed and a village of 40 homes burned before the boat was retrieved, and the archipelago subsequently gained the ignominious name
Islas de los Ladrones ("Islands of the Thieves"). Three days after he had arrived, Magellan fled the archipelago under attack--a portentous beginning to its relationship with the Spanish. In
1668 their name was changed to Las Marianas after
Mariana of Austria, widow of Spain's
Philip IV. Nearly all of the islands' native population (90%-95%) died out under Spanish rule, but new settlers, primarily from the
Philippines and the
Carolines were brought in to repopulate them. Sold to
Germany in
1899, the
Japanese took over in
1914 and turned the island into a military garrison. On
June 15,
1944, during World War II, U.S. Marines landed on the islands and eventually won the bitterly fought three-week
Battle of Saipan.
After Japan's defeat, the islands were administered by the United States as part of the
United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; thus, defense and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the U.S. The people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the
1970s not to seek independence, but instead to forge closer links with the U.S. Negotiations for territorial status began in
1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the U.S. was approved in
1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in
1978.
Politics of the Northern Mariana Islands takes place in a framework of a
presidential representative democratic system, whereby the
Governor is
head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. The
Northern Mariana Islands are a commonwealth in political union with the
United States. Federal funds to the Commonwealth are administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the
U.S. Department of the Interior.
Executive power is exercised by the government.
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament. The
Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Northern Mariana Islands have also come into the news recently due to their connection to the
scandals involving
Jack Abramoff and allegedly former House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay[
2]. As a direct result of lobbying by Abramoff and associates, the Northern Mariana Islands received special federal subsidies.[
3] As well,
Congressman Bob Ney allegedly received free trips to the Northern Mariana Islands from Abramoff, in violation of federal law.[
4]
In 1947, the Northern Mariana Islands became part of the post-World War II United Nations
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). The United States became the TTPI's administering authority under the terms of a trusteeship agreement. In 1976, Congress approved the mutually negotiated Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in Political Union with the United States. The CNMI Government adopted its own constitution in 1977, and the constitutional government took office in January 1978. The Covenant was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation no. 5564, which conferred United States citizenship on legally qualified CNMI residents.
On December 22, 1990, the Security Council of the United Nations terminated the TTPI as it applied to the CNMI and five other [the
Marshall Islands and the Federated States of
Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap)] of the TTPI's original seven districts.
Under the Covenant, in general, Federal law applies to CNMI. However, the CNMI is outside the customs territory of the United States and, although the internal revenue code does apply in the form of a local income tax, the income tax system is largely locally determined. According to the Covenant, the federal minimum wage and federal immigration laws "will not apply to the Northern Mariana Islands except in the manner and to the extent made applicable to them by the Congress by law after termination of the Trusteeship Agreement" [
5]
On
September 23,
2004, Congressman
Richard Pombo of
California introduced H.R. 5135 - the
Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act. The bill, had it become law, would have allowed CNMI to elect a non-voting delegate to the
United States House of Representatives starting with the
2006 election. The bill died at the end of the 108th Congress. But, on
February 18,
2005, the
Delegate Act was reintroduced by Pombo with a new number, H.R. 873.[
6]
See main article Economy of the Northern Mariana IslandsThe economy of the Northern Mariana Islands depends primarily on
tourism, especially, from
Japan, and the rapidly growing
garment manufacturing sector. The Commonwealth also benefits from substantial subsidies and development assistance from the federal government of the United States.
The Northern Mariana Islands had successfully exploited its position as a free trade area with the US, while at the same time not being subject to the same
labor laws as it: The minimum wage in the Commonwealth is lower than in the US and some other worker protections are weaker leading to lower production costs. This allows garments to be labelled "Made in USA" while being produced under
sweatshop conditions. A different immigration régime meant that a large number of Chinese migrant workers were employed in the Islands' garment trade. However, the lifting of
World Trade Organisation restrictions on Chinese imports to the US has put the Commonwealth-based trade under severe pressure, leading to a number of factory closures.
Agricultural production, primarily of
tapioca,
cattle,
coconuts,
breadfruit,
tomatoes and
melons exists, but is of relatively minor economic import.
The islands have over 350
kilometers of highways, three airports with paved runways (one some 3000 meters (9840 feet) long; two around 2000 meters (2km) (6560 feet)), three airports with unpaved runways (one about 3000 meters (3km) long; two under 1000 meters (1km) (3280 feet)), and one heliport.
The islands total
463.63 square kilometers. An overview is presented next, with the individual islands from north to south:
Administratively, the CNMI is divided into four
municipalities:
Islands 1 through 11 are collective known as the Northern Islands, together forming the
Northern Islands Municipality.Islands 12 through 15 are collectively known as the Southern Islands, with the municipalities
Saipan,
Tinian, and
Rota (uninhabited Aguijan is part of Tinian municipality).
Because of volcanic threat, the northern islands have been largely evacuated, with just six people remaining on Alamagan island (Census of 2000), and with the Mayor of the Northern Islands Municipality residing in "exile" on Saipan.
Saipan, Tinian, and Rota have the only ports and harbors, and are the only permanently populated islands.
From the CIA World Factbook 2000.:Land areas and population data from
United States Census Bureau.
*
Micronesia*
United Nations Trust Territories*
Battle of Saipan*
Battle of Tinian*
Garapan*
Demographics of the Northern Mariana Islands*
Northern Mariana Islands Territory Constitution*
Politics of the Northern Mariana Islands*
Communications on the Northern Mariana Islands*
Music of the Northern Mariana Islands*
Scouting in the Northern Mariana Islands*
Northern Marianas College*
Northern Mariana Islands and constituent municipalities, United States Census Bureau*[
7] Pictures
*
Northern Mariana Islands official site
*
H.R. 873 - the Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act*
Open Directory Project - Northern Mariana Islands directory category
*
Moon Handbooks Micronesia*
myMicronesia/Northern Marianas section*
Satellite Image of Anatahan Ash Plume*
www.lonelyplanet.com*
Digital Micronesia*
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Archives*
Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences *
Micronesian Seminar*
The Saipan Blog*
"Paradise Lost: Greed, Sex Slavery, Forced Abortions and Right-Wing Moralists" by Rebecca Clarren*
Fresh Air (NPR): "Sweatshops in U.S. Territory"*
"Neo-Colonialism & Contract Labor Under The U.S. Flag" by Phil Kaplan*
"Solving Worker Abuse Problems in the Northern Mariana Islands" by Karen M. Smith*
H.R. 5550 - The United States-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dignity Act*
"About Saipan" - A strongly critical take on the CNMI
*
Saipan Tribune *
Marianas Variety *
Bruce Lloyd Media Services CNMI News*
The Pacific Times
