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Posted: Monday, February 20th, 2006 5:25 AM HST

Northern Mariana Gov. Fitial avoids Washington trip

By Associated Press

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) _ Governor Benigno Fitial is refusing to travel to Washington amid concerns about forced prostitution on the islands and connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He will miss the March 1 Senate oversight hearing after an aide to New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman said he is concerned that women from Asia are being used for prostitution. Separately, Fitial recently publicly acknowledged that he considers Abramoff to be his close friend and an advocate for the Northern Mariana Islands. Fitial said the reason he is not traveling to Washington is that the local government does not have enough travel money for him to go. (Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.)