THREE local residents on Friday staged a protest action at the Indigenous Affairs Office on Capital Hill which remained closed and locked up.
“Much to my frustration, nobody from the Office of the Governor met with us — it is a direct violation of our indigenous rights,” said Raymond Quitugua, the indigenous rights activist who organized the event.
Quitugua initially planned to burn the CNMI flag, but did not do so.
“We’re choosing diplomacy instead of burning the flag which would just defeat our purpose,” he said. “I didn’t give the public what they wanted to see but I gave them something they should hear.”
He added, “I hope that our message opens a solution once and for all pertaining to budgeting this very entity,” referring to the IAO.
He said he “never wanted to be ‘an enemy of the state,’ but [the new] administration’s decision to not staff our Indigenous Affairs Office while the Carolinian Affairs Office remains open is discriminatory to me and the rest of the indigenous population, and confirms my finding that there is a huge problem with our local constitution and our Covenant” with the U.S.
Quitugua said he continues to seek an open dialogue with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang.
Quitugua told Variety that he will continue to fight for his rights and that he is hoping that “more community members will open their eyes to the reality that they are being discriminated” against by their government.
“We want to know why the Carolinian Affairs Office remains open while the IAO has been shut down,” he said.
Police officers were deployed to the site of the protest action to ensure that peace and order was maintained.
The IAO building has been closed since Jan. 6, 2023, but the administration said the IAO remains an active office under the governor’s office.
The Indigenous Affairs Office, seen in this photo taken on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023, has been closed since Jan. 6, 2023.
