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Taongi Atoll was
classified as the northernmost atoll of the Marshall Islands, and is part of the Ratak
Chain of Atolls. Ratak means sunrise in Marshalese. The former President and Minister of
Justice of the Marshall Islands both recognized Iroijlaplap Murjel Hermios as the true
owner of Taongi and that same Iroijlaplap granted a 55 year power of attorney to his
adopted brother, Taongi Alap, Robert Moore. Robert Moore transferred his power of attorney
to the Republic of New Lemuria leaving 45 years to REPUBLIC OF NEW LEMURIA 's governance of Taongi. An
Iroijlaplap is a "Paramount Chief"
similar to a king, and his decision may not be questioned. The Alap is the second in
authority. In December of 1998, the Iroijlaplap Murjel Hermios passed-on and his
successor, Iroijlaplap Remios Hermios on May 5, 1999 signed a 50 years master lease and
gave a speech for DOMTV granting sovereignty over Taongi Atoll to the Republic of New Lemuria until the year 2049, similar to the creation of the venue of Hong Kong.
Taongi was occupied for a brief time during
World War II by the Japanese. The government of the Republic of New Lemuria, while not yet
permanently settled, is planning its future capital to be established here. Towards this
end they have made preliminary contacts to construct an off-shore plant producing 1
megawatt of electricity from the rise and fall of wave motion. This, or an alternative
energy source will provide power for the inhabitants and a desalination plant while not
polluting the environment. Tourist facilities will be provided but kept small to protect
the marine areas and breeding grounds.
On the front page of the May 21, 1999 RMI
Journal, the government of the RMI Foreign Affairs Minister is alleged to have
"discouraged all diplomatic and commercial ties with the 'Republic of New Lemuria'"; however, the map surrounding that statement records Republic of New Lemuria as the
political authority over Taongi also know as Bokaak.
The map posted on the RMI's official
web site as of October 31, 2000 concedes
that Taongi is no longer part of the RMI, as it fails to reflect the area wherein Taongi
lies north of its territory, north of Bikar. There is only one reference in the
Constitution of the RMI where it refers to "Bokak" in Article IV Section 2
it reads, "Bokak .... shall ... be included in the electoral district with which it
is most closely associated, (but it is only associated with the Iroijlaplap and not a
district) pursuant to the customary law or any traditional practice." The
customary law and traditional practice of Taongi or Bokak is that the exclusive land
rights including sovereignty belong to the Iroijlaplap. Even if it were argued that this
obscure reference to Bokak placed it under the control of the RMI, a closer inspection of
the signatures on said constitution reveals that the Iroijlaplap of Bokak never sign it,
so the reference would be inapplicable. However, here is another quote from the same
Constitution."Article X Traditional Rights Section 1. Traditional Rights of Land
Tenure Preserved. (1) Nothing in Article II shall be construed to invalidate the customary
law or any traditional practice concerning land tenure or any related matter in any part
of the Marshall Islands, including, where applicable, the rights and obligations of the
Iroijlaplap, ..... (2) Without prejudice to the continued application of the
customary law pursuant to Section 1 of Article XIII, and subject to the customary law or
to any traditional practice in any part of the Marshall Islands, it shall not be lawful or
competent for any person having any right in any land in the Marshall Islands under the
customary law or any traditional practice to make any alienation or disposition of that
land, whether by way of sale, mortgage, lease, licensing or otherwise, without the
approval of the Iroijlaplap, Iroijedrik, where necessary, Alap and the Senior Dri Jerbal
of such land, who shall be deemed to represent all persons having an interest in the
land. In the case of Taongi or Bokak, there is no Senior Dri
Jerbal or Iroijedrik since it is an uninhabited atoll until Republic of New Lemuria begins to develop it; and
both the Iroijlaplap and the Alap also known as "Alab" have signed the master
lease in sovereignty to Republic of New Lemuria under their absolute authority.
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