Marshall Islands seeks US apology and full compensation for damage from its 67 nuclear tests
- Pacific nation’s speaker of parliament who lost his own parents early to cancer testifies about decades of health and environmental impact in country
- House hearing comes as US and China jockey for regional clout and while Biden administration’s enhanced budget stalls amid sharp partisan divide
It was the people of the Pacific nation who played a major role in helping Allied forces capture Japanese invaders in the region during World War II, said Kenneth Kedi, speaker of the country’s parliament, in testimony before an Indo-Pacific task force of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Narrating what he called a brief history of the sacrifices made by the Marshall Islands for the US, Kedi told the panel that, after the wartime fighting ended, it was the Marshallese who “without a choice” found themselves in the middle of the Cold War.
The nuclear tests in question took place across the archipelago between 1946 and 1958, and the US made a “massive display of power” by detonating the bombs on the islands, he said.
Kedi testified that the tests “unfortunately” led to high rates of cancer and extensive environmental damage, explaining that both his parents died prematurely from cancer.