Five hearings are scheduled for Saipan every Wednesday of each week. The first was held last night at Koblerville Elementary School.
Similar hearings will be held on Tinian and Rota but the dates are yet to be announced.
Hofschneider, R-Tinian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Federal Relations and Independent Agencies, was asked by Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, to conduct the hearings in preparation for the Legislature’s plan to submit another official position on the issue.
“We want to hit all the villages and really get the true sentiment of the general public on this issue,” Hofschneider told the Variety in an interview yesterday afternoon.
He said his committee will submit to the CNMI Senate its findings, based on the public hearings, sometime in August.
The CNMI Legislature earlier adopted a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to reject Interior’s report and recommendation and to consult with Gov. Benigno R. Fitial on the issue.
Though Congress has yet to act on Interior’s recommendation, the local people have expressed strong opposition to it.
Hofschneider said though the issue is an emotional and sensitive one for many indigenous people, the public hearings will be conducted in a peaceful manner.
