Draft Sec 305, Title III COFA Re Status of US Armed Forces in Micronesia & Notes of Conversation between Amb Williams and Sen Lazarus Salii
Draft Sec 305, Title III COFA Re Status of US Armed Forces in Micronesia & Notes of Conversation between Amb Williams and Sen Lazarus Salii. Washington, DC: United States Government. 1972-10-05.
- Has attachment: File:S5A3KQPE.pdf
Abstract: Draft agreement dated 5 October 1972 prepared pursuant to Section 305, Title III of the proposed Compact of Free Association establishing the legal status, privileges, immunities, and jurisdictional framework governing United States Armed Forces, contractors, and associated personnel in Micronesia following the Trust Territory period. The draft defines defense sites and provides for freedom of movement of U.S. aircraft, vessels, and vehicles; exemption from Micronesian passport, visa, registration, taxation, customs, licensing, and regulatory requirements; establishment of military service facilities, exchanges, postal services, and related installations; ownership, removal, and disposition of property; and procedures governing reversion of defense sites and compensation for residual improvements. It sets forth detailed provisions allocating civil and criminal jurisdiction between Micronesia and the United States, including primary and exclusive jurisdiction rules, arrest and custody procedures, evidentiary cooperation, double jeopardy protections, procedural safeguards for accused personnel, confinement standards, and prohibition of the death penalty for U.S. personnel convicted in Micronesian courts. The document is marked “For Official Use Only” and contains handwritten marginal annotations and editorial comments. Also included are contemporaneous notes of a 5 October 1972 conversation between Ambassador Williams and Senator Lazarus Salii addressing negotiations over free association versus independence, SJR 117, internal divisions within the Congress of Micronesia, influence of pro-independence advocates and external actors, district-level political dynamics, and strategic considerations concerning completion, timing, and public presentation of the Compact.
