WHILE a background check is being undertaken by the Department of Labor and Immigration on the Global Country of World Peace, a lawmaker said a through investigation into allegations leveled against the group in the United States and India should also be conducted.
Sen. Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, said Rota Mayor Benjamin T. Manglona and Rota’s legislators “have the best interest of their community in mind, and I have no doubt that they genuinely desire to raise our standard of living.”
However, Reyes added, “the question we must ask ourselves…is at what cost do we want to bring in investment. If it means that we must give up our control of our land (something that the Covenant with the U.S. does not allow us to do), then it is not worth all the gold in the world.”
According to Reyes, Global Country officials are apparently running away from scandals.
Reyes, in a statement released to the Variety yesterday, said Global Country’s history “is characterized by tax evasion and scandal.”
He said there are other issues concerning the group that “would taint the reputation of our…friendly islands.”
These issues, Reyes said, “include the disappearances and mistreatment of young boys in India, allegations of illegal drug importation (herbal remedies that contain substances not approved in the U.S.), questionable political activity…, and the sexual molestation of minors.”
Reyes said these allegations must be investigated “before we can make any decision to host, much less bestow sovereignty upon a group that has appeared out of nowhere promising peace, but seemingly running from scandal.”
“It is still uncertain why…Global Country…would want to set up a sovereign nation on…Rota, an already peaceful environment with strong religious roots, except for that fact that they have tried to establish…kingdoms…elsewhere, including Suriname and Brazil, and have failed to do so,” Reyes said.
