Social development through the political process by letting the people take the lead in articulating forth the issues important to them – The People’s Platform
Background
In 1979, the Constitution of the Republic of Palau was written and later approved by 92% of the Palauan voters and a nation was “born”. This was a memorable achievement after almost a century of various colonial governments. The Will of the Palauan people was crafted clearly by the framers of the Constitution and declared through the archives of history that when these aspirations are achieved, the Palauan people would declare themselves true stewards of their heritage. Thus
The Preamble
“In exercising our inherent sovereignty,
We, the people of Palau proclaim and reaffirm
our immemorial right to be supreme on these islands of Palau,
our homeland. We renew our dedication to preserve and enhance
our traditional heritage, our national identity and our respect for peace,
freedom and justice for all mankind. In establishing this Constitution
of the sovereign Republic of Palau, We venture into the future with full
reliance our own efforts and the divine guidance of Almighty God.”
Article V of the Constitution- Traditional Rights documents the spirit of the Palauan through the framers that we must preserve our identity as people. Such identity is expressed in Klechibelau (Palauism) and Klebelau (Palauness).
In addition Article VI of the Constitution spells out the Responsibilities of the National Government and there are 4 main areas which are all expressions of a broad definition of ENVIRONMENT- natural, economic, security/safety and social. “And the national government shall take positive action to attain these national objectives and implement these national policies.”
-
a. Conservation and protection of the natural environment.
-
b. Promotion of national economy.
-
c. Protection of the safety and security of persons and property.
- d. Promotion of the health and social welfare of the citizens: 1) provision of free or subsidized health care. 2) provision of public education for citizens which shall be free and compulsory.
Issues of Aspirations
The Preamble, Article V and Article VI of the Republic of Palau Constitution present issues that harnesses the foundation of Palau as a society and Palauans as people who have decidedto take the course of their history intotheir own hands. When these issues are addressed adequately, Palau will move forward toward a more transparent government and ultimately toward self reliance. These are the principles on which the People’s Platform 2008 is being negotiated among the grassroots to mobilize them in returning the collective leadership toward what was planned some 27 years ago. A leadership that is responsive to the needs of the people and brings them, ALL of them, along the journey of nation building toward self-sufficiency. This can only be done by ahving the people articulate forth what is important to them…Thus the People’s Platform.
1. Unity and Palau for Palauans.The Preamble clearly states that is “WE, the Palauans…” Unity is achieved through common objectives. We all can fish differently but the goal is fish for Palau.
2. Palau must be for Palauans. “We, the Palauans…”
3. We must preserve our Identity as Palauan people.Article V: IDENTITY of Palauans. We must protect our identity through the protection of what makes us Palauans… Palauness (Klebelau). While Palauism (Klechibelau) might change from time to time… Klebelau should be rediscovered and protected.
4. a. Palau must sustainably preserve its pristine and unique biodiversity as well as, conserve its natural resources.
Article VI: Protection and conservation of the NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
b. Palau must pursue economic development consistent to the spirit of the preamble, in the context of Article V and in balanced context with Article VI of the Constitution.
Article VI: Promotion of the national ECONOMIC ENVIROMENT.
c. Palau must assure safety and security of Palauans and their quests.
Article VI: The ENVIRONMENT that promotes SAFETY and SECURITY of persons and property
d. Palau must pursue health not only as a social development strategy but also as an economic strategy.
Article VI: SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT that provides of free or subsidized HEALTH CARE
e. Palau must be in persuit of knowledge as a catalyst for nation building.
Article VI: SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT that provides free and compulsory EDUCATION
-
a. Support Bul, PAN, WSA, MC, and the effor of the environmental NGO’s.
-
b. Support production based economies such as agri-aqua culture, banking, communication and tourism.
-
c. Support Palau National Guard – two years service post-high school.
-
d. Support universal health insurance but also viable social insurance that invest early life. That would ensure vested retirement.
-
e. Support 16-20 percent of our revenue for education that fully support early years and academic-vocational model.
The following is a TOOL that can be used to evaluate any promise or agenda that politicians put forth to the people. This example is using the above tool to look at tourism.Implementation of PEOPLE’S PLATFORM 2008 on Tourism
-
We must be united in pursuit of tourism as an economic strategy.
-
Tourism must ensure Palau for Palauans.
-
We must adopt tourism as an economic strategy without sacrificing our identity as Palauans.
-
We must protect and conserve our natural environment in the midst of adopting tourism as an economic strategy.
-
Palau must ensure that tourism is good for economic development in Palau. The process must be transparent so that Palau is not exploited.
-
We must assure that Palauans are safe because that is the basis of providing safety and security to the tourist.
-
Palau must not only look at health as providing medical services to the tourist but also can develop health tourism as economic strategy.
-
Palau must also posses the knowledge to achieve the highest return on tourism investment as well as, provide mechanism for educational tourism.
March 18, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Dear All,
Let me take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to visit this site. People’s Platform is born out of the frustrations that the voters, the “ordinary” people, the grassroot people are experiencing in trying to engage the process from policy design to policy implementation. The adoption of the modern governing system has brought about the foundation fo political ambivalency which plays out as a forever debate on the merits and or demerits of traditional Vs democratic type of government. In the end, the system is NOT the problem. The problem is the very people whom we have placed our trust that ends up being the barrier for the voters to truly engage in the developmental process of a nation building.
People’s Platform attempts to provide the following couple of things:
1) A Guideline which a voter can use to measure the policies, strategies, bills or promises that are made by those who have declared to run for President, Vice President and Olbiil Era Kelulau. This is done by asking questions that articulated forth in the Constituion of the Republic of Palau that was approved by 92% of Palauan voters. Here are the following questions.a. Are we united behind the issue? (Preamble: “We the people”b. Does it support Palau for Palauans? (Preamble: “We, the people of Palau…”c. Does it protect our identity as Palauans? (Article V)d. Is it good for the enivronment? (Article VI)e. Is it good for sustainable economic development (Article VI)f. Does it contribute to safety and security of Palauans (Article VI)g. Does it support health and education? (Article VI),
2) People’s Platform will serve as vehicle for the voters to articulate forth their issues and hold their leaders accountable. This can be done by gathering enough signatures attached to the main issues that comes from the voters and present them to candidates after the primary election. Those candidate who openly support the People’s Platform Program Agenda will have a better chance of being elected. People’s Platform is NOT affiliated with any candidate and will not be signed by any formal candidate to the Offices of the President, Vice President and OEK.
We welcome your comments but even more so, you are welcome to join the People’s Platform.
Thank you
Stevenson Kuartei
March 20, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Thank you, to the People’s Platform initiators. I’m posting my comment here wishing to join the Palauan People’s Platform as to link my personal concerns, iideas to “Palau Republic Policie’s Implementation” and the thought of netting to the process of choosing a right candidates in this upcoming 2008 general election.
I take this opportunity to applaud the gesture and put faith that as Palauan People, grassroots, an ordinary person, we play the ultimate role in determine safeguard of next generation.
I’m looking forward to learn more about the movement and to understand exactly what for me to be a part of the “PEOPLE PLATFORMS”. Please, I can be contact through email as well as my office at 488-2547.
Thank you, once again
akaluu
March 20, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Alex,
Thanks for you insight. Anyone who chooses to sign up to support the People’s Platform is a member. The hope is that we will get a lot of signatures so that the concerns of the ordinary people can be heard in the halls of leadership all over Palau.
Please call 488-6655 and stop by and get a copy and a signature page or you can down load it from the Peoples Platform Website.
The Franciscan Benediction says: “And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believed that you can make a difference in the world. So that you can do what others claim cannot be done. To bring justice and kindness to all our children and poor.”
Thanks and let’s do this and convince people to come on board.
Steve
March 22, 2008 at 12:44 pm
(The below comment is a reprint of an original email sent to Dr. Kuartei and that also appeared in the Bridge_list as well)
Mesulang for your email and for everyone who has responded. I would like to make a comment based on Marv’s email. First though, I want to again thank you and your colleagues in putting this People’s Platform together. I continue to read and study it and am encouraged by the spirit of wisdom behind it. In such a brief write-up, you have articulated a vision of civic engagement based NOT on a vision of radical politics but on the hopes, expectations, and aspirations of our own founding fathers, expressed in the founding document that gave form to our nation-state. This is good as I hope it can remind many of us again of the founding principles that guided us at the start of our nation-building enterprise.
Unlike Marvin though, I think many Belau political leaders know of these expectations explicitly stated in our Constitution. I want to add on to Marv’s concern about the seeming lack of oversight in terms of the visions we have as a nation…
Arguably, this is what we lack: the fact that in spite of clearly articulated visions and principles of nation-building, current political reality in Belau seem stuck in “Neverland,” with a huge gap existing between (political) rhetoric and reality. A critique of this state of affairs is implied in the People’s Platform, which is good. I just hope that the writers of the People’s Platform ought to have taken more time to elaborate on all aspects of such a critique. But I confess though that the critique is implied there as well, which is why we have it in the first place, I imagine. So thanks again.
I think Marvin has a point that I agree with. I encourage you all to continue to improve on this People’s Platform. Perhaps it would be more effective to clarify any number of important Benchmarks and or any number of standard assessments, which you and others can use to assess the performance of leaders at one-, two-, or three-year intervals and then use them in the fourth-year to assess continuing viability (or lack thereof) of politicians wanting to run for office again. As many educators in the Belau Ministry of Education will tell you, assessments are important tools for measuring the effectiveness of curriculum, teaching styles, teachers’ performances, and student learning and retention. Everything we educators can learn from assessments is then used to inform current teaching practice and improve our overall education service delivery performances.
*If this People’s Platforms aims to engage members of Belau’s civil society by envisioning and encouraging active citizenship, then I think it would be best to develop clear assessments for public service performance and to invite the public to carry out the assessments.
Here is an idea I want to share with everyone: In 1997, I was a guest of the Canadian Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs when that government officially solicited contributions from Indigenous peoples and Pacific Islanders as prelude to its hosting of the APEC Summit (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit) during what was then a heady push by governments for Globalization that has since abated to some extent. After our events in Vancouver, I spoke at a post-Summit related community event in Saskatchewan that the Canadian NGO Council of Canadians sponsored as an educational event with economists educating community members to become more involved citizens. One of the things they did was to talk about their government budget for that year that had allocated a huge chunk of money to corporate business and very little to social issues. Participants at the meeting described how they got together, studied and analyzed Canada’s overall budget for that year and then wrote a supplement to the budget that actually set aside money for the poor, for social uplift of communities and areas of Canada that may have historically been excluded from economic development funding, and funding for community-based programs that sought to create genuine social development. Then they had educational events teach about effective legislative advocay and then used their community-written budget supplement to advocate for change to national priorities.
This may be one example of what the People’s Platform Group can or may do. If it is to be done, you might begin with some basic community informational events that educate folks about current economic realities in Belau and explore alternative economic development plans (sustainable development types or ones based on what you have defined in the People’s Platform). The People’s Platform states, under “Issues of Aspirations,” Item4b, that “Palau must pursue economic development consistent with the spirit of the preamble, in the context of Article V and in balanced context with Article VI of the Constitution.” This is a progressive model of economic development not unlike many that have been articulated in many places and at various times. An economic development strategy that exercises and develops our “inherent sovereignty,” one that is dedicated to “preserve and enhance traditional heritage,” “national identity,” and “respect for peace, freedom, justice for all” [as stated for us in our Constitution's preamble] and promotes comprehensive economic development by focusing attention on the development of so-called enabling conditions that make possible safety, security, and property rights and promotes health and social welfare is akin to what all the theoretical and practical work have sought to do in the past few decades in defining what “sustainable development” really was. Perhaps you are talking about sustainable development, Palauone-style! I am hopeful that you go back to our own Constitution to establish the basis for this kind of economic development. Once again, I think this confirms for us the immense store of wisdom Belau culture and society have already bequeathed to us. At the deeper level of our Belau psyche, this wisdom exists and is transmitted through the ages for us.
Thus, I argue our leaders know very well what their expectations should be. The huge gap between what they claim in their political rhetoric and reality, I suspect, exists because they think they can take us for a ride and get away with it. And they do get away with it. The crisis of political leadership in Belau that I have talked about elsewhere is the result of this gap in perception and reality. I am happy that you and others are taking the lead in forming a “People’s Platform” that seeks to bridge this gap.
You have described a little of what could be done with Tourism, with this focus on peace, security, social justice, and environmental protection. This is a good foundation. A more comprehensive tourism strategy that engages the community and values its contributions is one that looks also at the ways in which Environmental Impact Statements are done and whether they engage the community at all levels from design to implementation and all their possible impacts on the environment, the seas, and to culture in Belau, from worker safety and wages and to all the social consequences of the tourism industry. Capitalism and Democracy may need each other to ensure their continued existence but Capitalism without Democracy leads to Fascism, a form of market fundamentalism that destroys all democratic societies attempting to remake themselves.
A tourism industry as leisure industry is still a Capitalist project that seeks to maximize profits from providing leisure activities for the weary-wealthy of rich nations looking for more and more exotic places to escape the monotonous and boring life in the rich nations! So we still have to aggressively fight for the right to engage in the economic activities of a tourism industry and to ensure that Belau workers are treated fairly and paid working wages. Any industry that sets aside environmental quality and workers’ safety and living wages cannot be allowed to prosper in Belau. This requires educating the public about all aspects of tourism as Capitalist venture and whether or not Belau peoples really do get a fair shake ultimately. So far, it has benefited a few in Belau and proceeded on a pace not unlike all other Capitalist ventures in other parts of the world, where profits reign supreme and the people and publics BE DAMNED! Since you express interest in engaging the public in the proper design and implementation of a tourism industry that is sustainable, then it is important to clarify the ways in which the public can participate beneficially… **As you have done for tourism, please consider doing the same to illustrate the benefits of an active and engaged civil society and benefits overall to democracy in Belau…
Please allow the process for contributing ideas and for improving the People’s Platform to remain open and transparent as well. As time permits, I hope to continue to do the same. Encourage peoples to freely share ideas and agree or disagree. Dr. Isebong Asang wrote her doctoral dissertation about the supposed “messiness” of Belau epistemology (the ways in which Belau knowledge is gained and transmitted throughout the generations). I think what she meant was that the ways we produce or transmit knowledge about ourselves, the world, nature, and the ways we relate to the world, nature, and ourselves are far more complex and very complicated processes that depend on culturally based extensions of personal and extended family relationships that mimic our notions of “melengmes,” “klauchad,” etc, etc, so that the knowledge we possess as Belau peoples are just that: difficult to decipher and more challenging to understand! Or something like that! I suspect it will be difficult to engage Belau peoples to become politically engaged citizens for these same reasons. The process itself may be actually be “messy” in more ways than one! Don’t despair. Keep working on it. And keep the faith!
Mesulang again Dr. Kuartei. This is a very good start. I congratulate you and whoever has been involved with you in developing this People’s Platform. It’s promising and is an excellent start. I will support you all the way. I hope to return to Belau soon and promise to be a waterboy or errandboy for your People’s Platform!
With best wishes for continuing success. Mesulang.
richard salvador
April 3, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Dear All,
The problem with (our) society is that instead of adapting ourselves to suit democracy, we are trying to adapt democracy to suit ourselves.
Tradition and change cannot interact because you cannot change tradition. Problems arise when we try to bring modernity into customary events and practices, claiming that it would bring “modern solutions to traditional problems”. It does not work that way. Ironically, in my opinion, customary events are now being used more often as “profit making oppotunities” rather than serving their true and traditional purpose.
Democracy gives you the oppotunity to be free. Free to roam; free to purchase; free to speak out; free to run,vote, and impeach. It provides for political and social equality. However, it does not give you the right to change tradition to suit your individual needs.
Our nation is somewhat intoxicated by an atmospheric hype based on wealth, power, and politics. There are people aiming for public office who are really aiming to personally use public funds. There are voters who vote on cadidates based on their promised committment to perform personal favors while in office. Is this democracy or tradition?
In reality our nation faces many socio-economic challenges. There is an increasing gap between those who barely meet ends and those who barely feel hunger. Unfortunately at present, we are defining our economical strength based on the number of tourists arriving into the country and the vast amount of aid being received. A nation’s economical strength is not defined by numbers and figures, it is defined by the state of welfare and wellbeing of its citizens. It is people that drive the economy, not investments.
Unfortunately there are more ways to identify problems than there are to solve them. However, I applaud Dr. Kuartei along with the People’s Platform for their committment to ensure the continuity of both our traditional spirit and democractic values. I believe that this simple act of political surety would surely make a difference not necessarily in the elections but more importantly in the lives of Palauans in following years to come.
A ouai kaikid el tekoi, uldasu, malechub eng chelechad el ngii a mokdubech lultuil era errungel el urungulir a rechad, e bleketakl era eungel a uchetemel a llach a klou a ultutelel e ultebengall era rokui el chad. Aikaikid el tekoi, uldasu, malechub eng chelechad a sebechel dmedesii a rael era uchei era bodo ruul er ngii, e sebechel meketakl a tekoi era uchei era le medung, e sumechokl era uchei era le metemall.
Belau loba Klisiich,
Gaafar J. Uherbelau