Will Guam go independent?

A Commission on Decolonization held the first of a series of village meetings to discuss Guam’s political status last week.

The Guam Daily Post reports that the island’s “long-delayed plebiscite” has been in discussion since 1998.

The commission meetings serve as an educational campaign on three proposed political options: independence, free association and statehood.

“The plebiscite, which would be a non-binding referendum, was supposed to be included in this November’s general election, as intended by Gov. Eddie Calvo, but was pushed back yet again after the commission decided against the idea, failing to launch an aggressive educational campaign beforehand,” the publication explains.

A task force co-chair, Michael Lujan Bevacqua, likes the idea of decolonization.

“Many people feel that independence means isolation and cutting ourselves off from the world, but in truth, an independent Guam would mean joining the world as a partner,” he said. “Right now we’re a part of the world as a footnote to the United States. Imagine what it would be like if instead of being an American footnote, we got to sit beside other nations, tackling big issues like climate change. Imagine that.”

Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States with strong ties to Hawaii.

Check out Civil Beat’s new series on the build up of U.S. military in the region, Pacific Outpost.