Uludong filed a complaint yesterday against Horizon and its reporters Philip Haruo, Bernadette Carreon, F. Kazuo Asanuma, Ernest Ongidobel, Senator Alfonso Diaz and his broadcasting company, Island Times and its reporter Aurea Gerundio and editor Fermin Meriang and five others identified as John Does.
The complaint is seeking damages of $50,000 each for Horizon reporters and $100,000 for Palau Horizon and an order to permanently restrain them from writing and publishing stories about Uludong.The plaintiff is also asking for damages of $500,000 against Kazuo, $100,000 for Ongidobel, $1,000,000 for Senator Diaz and $50,000 for Island Times reporter and $100,000 for the editor.The complaint stemmed from a report which was published in Horizon on November 25-27, 2008 entitled “Vacancies declared in BaiMelekeong.”Horizon reported that two seats in BaiMelekeong the highest traditional council of chiefs of Melekeok State were declared vacant on November 24, 2008.The report stated that according to a press release issued by Adelbai Er a Udes Frank Kazuo Asanuma, Asanuma was instructed to inform the people of Melekeok State that chief titles Sechalruliong and Ngirmang no longer have representation in BaiMelekeong.Based on the press release sent to the media, the report stated that Theodoro Rengulbai bearer of Sechalruliong and Moses Uludong bearer of Ngirmang have been dismissed from BaiMelekeong.Uludong’s complaint stated that Asanuma was a candidate for Melekeok Delegate to the OEK in the November 4, 2008 election and he concocted a scheme to oust Rengulbai and Uludong after his defeat from the OEK election last year. Palau Horizon regrets that there was no attempt or notice from the plaintiff after the story came out to correct or rewrite the story.
