DocJax

Declassified record · U.S. Department of Energy

US to Return, Rehabilitate Eniwetok (Highlights)

Dated
May 1, 1972
Document type
Book
Length
2 pages
Open the original scanArchive record OSTI ID 16064495 · public domain

Document text

Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.

Page 1

According to the joint announcement, it _will be necessary to carry out t!lc same typo of survey, cleanup and rehabilitation proccdurcs that have been used at U.S. plans to commence the survey of the atoll probably fate this summer. The cleanup and rchabilitatiun of the southeastern part of the atoll, will receive first priority.” Prior i to the return of Eniwetok to Trust Territory jurisdiction by the end of 1973, the? announcement said, “the U&d States is completing some research and development testing on the atoll v~hich will not involve nuclear detonaiions of any type. These tests vAll in no way interfere with an early commencement of the rehabilitation process and will be completed by the end’of The M/V Pacifica left Koror late fast month for t Southviest Islands of Pa!au District, on the regular fit trip. Hovrever this trip i: a spcciaf one for the islanders Sonsorol, Tobi, and Pulo Anna. and has been c!:lbb .Thc reason is that the ship .is carrying materials ar men to construct long-awaited. public buildings at t:;i three locations. On board the ship arc tvzo pre:;britst dispensary building, one for Sonsoroi and tilt other f Tobi, and a municipal building for the island of Pu The construction operation is the largest of its kin cvcr staged in Palau District The M/V Pacifica is carryi a team of ten men for each of the three islands. The teams will assist in unloading the supplies, and will th remain on the islands for about five to six veer? completing construction of the buildings. The teams z composed of men from the District Public Wor Department, the Community Dcvclopmcnt Division, a( the military Civic Action Team in Palau. ?hc residents of Kaycngcl Atoll, about six:y mil north of Koror. Palau. have seized another foreign fishi! vcssef: It is the second time in less than a year that ti Kaycngcl Islanders have apprehended a ship ior allcgx! violating the waters around their iskxds. . The latest incident occurred when a boat flying Nationalist Chinese flag was spotted within the three-mi limit, apparently fishing. The residents who SW tlx bo notified a Trust Territory Government b&t which v:< doing clranncl blasting in the vicinity, and the govcrnmc: for VioIation of tcrriiorial waters, and held her ml; district o!ficia!s could arrive.

Page 2

f\mbassador Franklin Haydn Williams have issrrcd a joint wnouncemcnt indicating that the United States r3overnment is prepared to return Eniwetott atoll to the frrust Territory at the end of 1973. e : Eniv*.Ttok atoll is one of the areas of the Marshall - iislands District where the United States has been involved h dcfensc rc:carch and development projecti since 1946. The people of the atoll were relocated to other islandsin Ithe Marshalls, end had recently snnounced their ~intention to return to their home is1ar.Z; I.Y; the end of In their statement High Conlmissioner Johnston and :Ambassador Williams said that future Micrcnr*!an land &needs of the Department of Dcfonsc wcrc szt forth in the jthird round of status negotiations which took p!ace in in regard to.. . security rcjatcd l&d requirements in the Karst.alls, the need for research and development ectivitics at Kwajalcin would not disappear in the forseeab!c Cutwe.” The statement added, however, that become possible to consolidate our testing activities in the Pacific end concurrently rcducc our land interests in the .. The announcement said that “the status of Eniwctok has been under study by the various departments and agzncics in the Uniied States government ever since’the. possib!i!ity of returning Bikini Atoll was first ccnsiclcrcd. Over the years, the Department of Defense has been striving to .brir.g its work on Eniwctok to a close. (Now). During Tromorion Ccrcmonid held April 21 at the 77 sclrool of Ntmkg, tV:rs Cokman, wife of the Dqxzty High Commissioner, pins a cap on Miss Theodora Joseph (Tkukl. Fifrem girls rcceiwd caps during the ccremon!cx kk~ f&/.-o Sigrah of the nursing school staff w~/chcs at structure its research plans and progrwns in wch a vJay to permit an early return of the 2tOjt to the people Oi High Commissioner Johnstoti telephoned Marsh?, District Administrator Oscar DeBrum_ late Tuesday . (April IS) to announce the return of tfre atoll, and indicated that the U.S. govcrnmcnt and iha Trust Territory administration will begin immediete!y to work with the people of Eniwetok on a timetable and other pfans for a’rchabilitation program. . . In this rtgard, the HiCon noted thet Deputy Hioh Commissione; Peter T. Coleman was to &xmp& Ambassador Williams on his trip. through the castcrn districts, encltng in Majuro where he had scheduled meetings with Eniwetokcse at the district center. Co!eman also pfsnncd to overfly the Eniwetok compfrx on his way to an inspection of Bikini atoll, where the agricu!tural rc!labilitation of that former atomic testing site is now being closed out. The HiCom said that at some future date the lead& of Eniwetok v&l be invited to Bikini to obwvc the rehabilitation progrdm there in aciion. He said further that the people of Eniwetok will be consulted at every step along the way in the rehabilitation p:ogram. DistAd DeBrum said that he was derply grateful to the High Commissioner and Ambassador Williams for their long and hard efforts to expedite the return of the stall to the pcopl~. He said he looked forward to the meetings with Deputy HiCom Coleman and to bqinning t!re planning for the reversion of Eniwctok to the Trust