By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Benigno R. Fitial will represent the CNMI in the 902 talks next week with visiting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs David Cohen.
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said the governor will have a one-on-one discussion with Cohen and that he, the press secretary, the governor’s special legal counsel Howard P. Willens and Attorney General Matthew Gregory will act as “support staff.”
Senate Vice President Pete P. Reyes, Ind.-Saipan, and Sen. Maria T. Pangelinan, D-Saipan, yesterday reacted to the governor’s announcement on Tuesday that he had “tasked” the three — not appointed as earlier reported — to hold talks with Cohen on issues related to the islands’ immigration, labor and taxation.
Cohen’s visit to Saipan was prompted by the governor’s Jan. 5 letter to President Bush in which Fitial asked for “consultation” with the White House representative under the Covenant’s Section 902.
Bush named Cohen to represent him in the talks.
Pangelinan said the issues to be discussed with Cohen should be clarified and the Legislature should be consulted.
She added that the legal expertise of Willens and Gregory is not necessary since the 902 discussions focus on policy issues.
“We don’t need lawyers. This is no longer a legal matter,” she said.
But according to the press secretary: “We need professional staff to write the agenda.”