Tales of Decolonization #11: To Militarize? Or to Decolonize?
Since 2011 I have been a member of the
Commission on Decolonization, and although many people might think of issues of
self-determination and military increases as being separate, we should think of
them as being more closely connected. The overall mission of the Commission on
Decolonization is to educate the island community on issues of political
status, in particular related to the holding of a political status plebiscite
in which those who are legally qualified will vote on one of three future
political statuses for Guam (integration, free association or independence). But
how does our value as a base affect the willingness or unwillingness of our
colonizer to support us in our decolonization?
The position of the United Nations on
this issue has always been clear, but is scarcely reported locally. In its
resolutions, military increases or strategic military importance should not be
considered as reason to not decolonize territories, but this is generally used
as an excuse to delay or deny action. We can find this point made in their
numerous resolutions on the Question of Guam, such as this one from 1984:
The General Assembly of the United
Nations “Reaffirms its strong conviction that the presence of military bases and
installations in the Territory [of Guam]
could constitute a major obstacle to the implementation of the Declaration and
that it is the responsibility of the administering Power to ensure that the existence
of such bases and installations does not hinder the population of the Territory
from exercising its right to self- determination and independence in conformity
with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”
UN Resolution 1514 (X/V) in 1960 called
upon all colonial powers to assist their colonial possessions in moving towards
decolonization. It does not mention specifically military bases or military
training. But by 1964 the United Nations had begun to notice that in
non-self-governing territories like Guam, the colonial power’s military
controlled a great deal of resources and had a great deal of sway over the
destiny of the colonies. Since 1965 the United Nations has approved numerous
resolutions calling upon all colonial powers (including the United States) to
withdraw their military bases as they represent series obstacles to the
exercising of self-determination by colonized peoples.
Bases help to enable to colonial power
to see an island like Guam, not as a place in need of decolonization and
redress, but as a strategically valuable piece of real estate, one necessary
for the projection of military force and the maintaining of its geopolitical
interests. Military facilities help colonial powers to de-emphasize the
inalienable human rights of colonized peoples and instead focus on the
instrumentality and necessity of controlling their lands. The expansion of
bases and the establishing of new training areas as outlined in the ROD is
precisely the type of increased military presence the United Nations has long
cautioned against. The United Nations has also cautioned countries like the
United States from using their colonies in offensive wars or actions against
other nations as this could potentially make enemies on behalf of the colony when
it achieves decolonization. To illustrate this point the more that Guam is used
for American military saber rattling in the Asia-Pacific region, the more it
becomes a target for enemies of the United States today and should it ever
achieve another political status.
The Department of Defense is aware of
this concern and has acknowledged the potential for their military buildup to
affect certain Chamorro issues or concerns, such as decolonization in their
military buildup environmental impact studies. But as with most concerns
related to the United Nations and decolonization they have chosen to wash their
hands of this and argue they have no responsibility or obligation in the
matter.
For those who think these matters are
separate or that one doesn’t affect the other, that simply isn’t true. Our
strategic military value to the United States has long affected what we can and
cannot get from the United States. For decades the members of the Trust
Territory of Micronesia negotiated with the United States, a process that led
to the formation of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and three
nation-states that have seats at the United Nations: the Republic of
Belau (Palau), the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of
Micronesia. The United States did not allow Guam to participate in similar
negotiations as its strategic value to the United States as a base, has
consistently led to a denial of this basic human right.
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