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Principality of New Utopia
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Aceh
ACHEH
Brief History:
In 1942 after the colonial war lasting 69 years, the Dutch withdrew from Acheh. In 1949 The newly created state of Indonesia, based on the island of Java, annexed Acheh with the help of the Netherlands. Since then several million Javanese Indonesians have been transplanted to Acheh with the purpose to integrate all ethnic groups into one nation – Indonesian. In 1976 Acheh declared itself independent and since that time thousands of Achehnese have been killed by the Indonesian regime.
After the fall of Suharto in May 1998, General Wiranto - then the head of the armed forces - ended the military's control over Aceh and publicly apologised for human rights abuses in the province. But the low-level conflict with Gam continued, as the rebels refused to back down from their demands for a separatist state.
Hopes for peace in Aceh were raised when the two sides signed an agreement on 9 December 2002, which offered partial autonomy and free elections in exchange for rebel disarmament. The deal collapsed in May 2003, when both sides failed to fulfil their side of the bargain. The rebels refused to give up their weapons, and the Indonesian military did not withdraw to agreed defensive positions.
On 19 May, Indonesia declared martial law in the province, and launched an all-out military offensive against Gam rebels. During the campaign, security forces claim to have killed around 2,000 members of Gam and arrested another 3,000 - although no senior rebel commanders are thought to have been captured. A year after it was first imposed, the martial law was downgraded to a state of emergency. But Aceh's problems are far from over, and there is still a heavy military presence in the province. A number of Achenese refugees in Malaysia were being threatened with forced repatriation or deportation to Indonesia. The achenese leadership is currently living in exile in Stockholm.
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Ahwaz
AHWAZ
HISTORY:
Ahwaz used to be an autonomous Arab territory that had its own ruler, Shaykh Khazal, until he was deposed in 1925 by Persian General Reza Khan, who went on to become king of Iran. Ahwaz gradually lost its political, economic and cultural independence when it was completely annexed by Reza Shah Pahlavi, who forcefully took over Ahwaz. Before Iran annexed Ahwaz, the Persians referred to the region as Arabistan (signifying the territory's Arab character). After its annexation, the central government changed the territory's name to Khuzestan. Since 1925, Ahwaz, or Khuzestan, is a province that lies in southwest Iran, bordering Iraq, Kuwait and the Persian Gulf. Ahwaz is now the name of the province's capital, used by Persians and Arabs alike. However, Persians refer to the province as Khuzestan, while Arabs still refer to the province as Ahwaz (or Al-Ahwaz in the Arabic language).
Ahwaz is very rich in oil and natural resources. However, the Ahwazi people do not benefit from the riches of their own land. Our people deserve to benefit from the wealth generated by the resources on their own lands. The only "benefits" they receive is a terribly polluted environment resulting from a mismanaged oil industry and the diversion of oil wealth to Tehran.
The quality of the drinking water and irrigation water is poor due to an inadequate sewage system and industrial contamination, primarily from the sugar cane plants. This problem is exacerbated by the diversion of water out of Ahwaz to other parts of Iran and the sale of Ahwaz's water to the Gulf States by the Iranian government.
The confiscation of Arab-owned land by the Iranian government has been an established policy since 1925. The lands are typically given over to non-Arab settlers and used by the government as new construction sites. No matter who is in charge in Tehran, be it Reza Shah, his son, Mohammad Reza Shah, or the heads of the Islamic Republic, the same undemocratic policy has always been pursued toward the national and religious minorities in Iran, and in particular, toward the Arab people of Ahwaz.
In recent years, self-awareness and the growth of the Ahwazi Arab national movement have been on the rise. This is a reality that cannot be ignored when dealing with the issues of freedom and democracy in Iran and the Middle East at large, particularly in the Gulf region. Due to its fertile land, numerous rivers, and vast oil reserves, Ahwaz has the resources to sustain itself and generate significant income from oil and agricultural exports. Bordering Iraq, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf, Ahwaz weighs in heavily in geopolitical balance of the Middle East.
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Assyria
ASSYRIA
History:
The Assyrians are descendants of the ancient Assyrian people who built the empires of Assyria and Babylon in Mesopotamia considered to be the ’ Cradle of Civilization’,. The Assyrian Empire collapsed in 612 BC.
Although living in a predominately Islamic region, the Assyrians are Christians. In the first century they were among the first people to embrace Chritians. Isolated from the Christian world the Assyrians came close to losing their identity as a nation. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that they came into direct contact with the western world and their existence got worldwide attention. Experiencing a cultural renaissance, they built modern schools,colleges and technical institutions in Iran and Iraq during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Assyrians have suffered destructive blows to their existence because of their religion and ethnicity. They fell victim to the wholesale massacres inflicted upon Chritians under the Ottoman Empire. Those who escaped the massacres fled their homeland to join the Assyrians living in Iran.
At the end of World War I, the Assyrians were left without any support and no choice but to retreat from Iran in order to reach the British forces in Baghdad. In this long and costly exodus, the Assyrians lost more than two-thirds of their population. In return for loss of their homeland in Hikkari (Turkey) and in compensation for great losses inflicted on them during World War I, Assyrians were promised by Britain, France and Russia a safe and independent homeland. However, this promise was not fulfilled and Assyrians were again betrayed and left unsupported in a situation that culminated in the massacre of unarmed civilians in Simeil, Iraq in 1933. From this time on, the Assyrian diaspora began and they fled in all directions as refugees to find a safe haven and protect themselves from total elimination.
Prior to the Gulf War more than 400 Assyrian villages were obliterated by the Iraqi government and much of the Assyrian population in the north of Iraq were forcibly transferred to the larger cities such as Bagdad. The 1991 Gulf war further aggravated the situation of the Assyrians and more than 250,000 Assyrians fled Iraq. The incursion of the Turkish army into northern Iraq in an attempt to end PKK armed activities in 1995 also took its toll on the civilian population including the Assyrians. Since 1996 up to now, the continuous internal fighting between the two parties of Kurds, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has led to several armed conflicts and general unrest in the region. From the Gulf war until the latest attack in northern Iraq in 1999, more than fifty Assyrian villages have been at least partially occupied by Kurdish forces at gunpoint to relocated the Assyrian population and replace them with a Kurdish population. Sometimes these land expropriations were carried out on the orders of and to the benefit of the leaders of the major Kurdish ethnic groups and political parties. At no time were any of the illegal land expropriations ever reversed or compensation paid by local Kurdish authorities. In this process, many people were kidnapped, tortured, wounded and killed. Therefore, those people and communities not aligned with either of the two Kurdish groups have lived in fear and intimidation. The Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) became a member of UNPO in 1991.
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Bashkortostan
BASHKORTOSTAN
Brief History:
1921 Bashkortostan was forced to become an official Autonomous Soviet Republic as a part of the Russian Federation.
1937 Bashkortostan accepted the constitution of the USSR, in which the republic was declared a state. This status was a formality due to the absent of sovereign rights. A new constitution was adopted, which reduced the political-legal position of the republic.
1980 A movement for improving the political-legal status for an autonomous Bashkortostan was formed.
1990 Bashkortostan declared its state sovereignty. A treaty of accord was signed between Republic of Bashkortostan and the Russian Federation. Under this treaty, the sovereignty of Bashkortostan was partially recognised by Russia.
On August 3, 1994, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan signed an Agreement entitled "On the Division of Areas of Jurisdiction and Mutual Delegation of Authority between Government Bodies of the Russian Federation and Government Bodies of the Republic of Bashkortostan."
1995 Parliament of the Republic of Bashkortostan was elected.
1996 Bashkortostan became a member of UNPO, represented by the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
A new version of the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan was adopted on November 3, 2000.
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Bougainville
BOUGAINVILLE
Brief History:
Bougainville has been under German, British and Australian control.
1975 Papua New Guinea (PNG) gained its independence and contrary to their wishes Bougainville was placed under PNG authority.
1988 The violence escalated to the point of war. The Bougainvilleans organised into the Bougainville Resistance army (BRA) against the PNG Army.
1990 Bougainville declared its independence and established the Bougainville Interim Government (BIG). PNG Government announced an economic and communications blockade on the island, which clamed about 15,000 lives.
1994 The Cease-fire Agreement and the Implementation Instrument by representatives of the BIG, the BRA and PNG and the Solomon Islands was signed.
1995 The All Bougainville leaders Peace Talks were held in Cairns, Australia, in which UNPO took part.
1996 A new military offensive was launched by the Government of PNG.
1997 The truce was announced in New Zealand between PNG and Bougainville.
1998 A Peace Monitoring Group was deployed to Bougainville to monitor the truce.
2001 The Government of PNG and Bougainville sign a peace accord that leads the way to a referendum on independence and gives Bougainville an autonomous government.
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Buryatia
BURYATIA
Brief History:
The Transbaikal area has been part of the Central Asian historical and cultural region since the depths of antiquity. The region's people have been involved directly or indirectly in the sweeping historical events in this part of the world. The most interesting chapter in the history of Transbaikal region is the Hunnish period from the end of the 3rd century B.C. to the end of the 1st century A.D. The Hunnish state was home to diverse tribes, mainly Proto-Mongolian and to some extent Proto-Tungus and Proto-Iranian tribes. According to historical evidence, the Huns created a powerful nation of Central Asian nomads that lasted for three centuries.
Successive nomad states came and went over a period of millennia until Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire in 1206, uniting all the main Mongolian tribes. As subjects of the empire, the people of Transbaikal took part in the campaigns of conquest of Genghis Khan and his successors.
After the collapse of Genghis Khan's empire, the Mongol state continued to exist, although it was rent by feudal strife. The nomadic tribes of Transbaikal and Predbaikal (the region west of Lake Baikal) remained part of it throughout.
In the 16th century, the Russian Empire began expanding its borders eastward. The great historical events sweeping over Baikal had an impact on the lives of the people inhabiting the region. In 1666, Russian Cossacks built a wooden fortress on a high bank of the Uda River, laying the foundations for the important merchant city of Verkhneudinsk, which later became Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia.
In the 17th century Russian began to invade the region by taking over the most fertile lands and trade routes. Once the Russian boundary was firmly established, the Buryat tribes were isolated from the rest of the Mongolian world. The tsarist government set up its own administrative system in the Transbaikal region, although local government was carried out by Buryat nobles controlled by the East Siberian administration.
In 1917 The Buryat National Committee was formed. The Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed in 1923, and in 1937 was given the official name of Buryatia, or Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
During the 70s it was forbidden to teach the Buryat language in school.
On October 8, 1990, Buryatia proclaimed national sovereignty as the Buryat Soviet Socialist Republic and renounced its status as an autonomous republic. On March 27, 1991, the Parliament of Buryatia removed the designations "Soviet" and "Socialist" from the republic's name and it became known as the Buryat Republic. As a sovereign republic, Buryatia has its own Constitution and legislative and executive bodies. The first president in the history of Buryatia was elected in 1994.
In 1996 the Russian Parliament passed a bill concerning legislation of the State National Policy of the Russian Federation.
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Cabinda
CABINDA
History:
The Enclave of Cabinda originates from the old Kingdoms of Makongo, Mangoyo and Maluangu. These regions were attractive to colonialists and disputes regarding influence and possession arose among European countries such as France, Holland, Germany and Portugal in the 18th and 19th century.
Cabinda was first recognised as a political entity by the 1885 Treaty of Simulambuco, signed between local traditional leaders and the Portuguese Crown. The treaty guaranteed Portuguese protection over the people of the region to counter colonial expansion in the Congo Basin carried out by Belgium's King Leopold II.
Portugal had already established colonial outposts along the coast between the Cunene and Congo Rivers. Following the Berlin Conference of 1885, these outposts were consolidated into the colony of Angola, which eventually grew to encompass the contiguous area that today makes up seventeen of Angola’s eighteen provinces. Cabinda was initially administered separately from Angola, as a protectorate rather than as a colony.
In the 1930s, the Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar sought to exercise tighter control over the country’s overseas possessions. Angola was declared a province of Portugal, and Cabinda was brought under the same administrative structure as Angola.
As other European colonial powers prepared to grant independence to their colonies in the 1960s, Portugal showed no willingness to relinquish control of its African territories. This gave rise to competing armed independence movements such as the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). While these groups competed for influence in the rest of Angola, the Front for the Liberation of the Cabinda Enclave (FLEC) sought independence for Cabinda.
When a change of regime in Lisbon prompted moves toward independence for the Portuguese colonies, the Portuguese government engaged in talks with the FNLA, MPLA, and UNITA, but not with FLEC. The MPLA, which took power on November 11, 1975, soon extended its control to Cabinda.
Since then, Cabinda has been administered as a province of Angola, with government officials appointed directly from Angola's capital, Luanda. The current Angolan constitution does not allow for the election of officials at the provincial and local levels.
Since 1975, FLEC has fought for Cabindan independence, enjoying the support of Mobutu Sese Seko in what was then Zaire. At various times, FLEC has controlled substantial parts of the interior, while Cuban troops acting in alliance with the Angolan government guarded the coastal oil installations. In 1992, FLEC supported a boycott of Angola’s first and only multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections, and most Cabindans stayed away from the polls.
Until the death of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002, the Angolan government was primarily concerned with defeating UNITA’s rebel army. Following Savimbi's death, the government and UNITA reached a peace agreement and an estimated 30,000 troops of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) who had been engaged in combat against Savimbi’s forces in eastern Angola were transferred to Cabinda. Increased military presence and operations in the province unleashed the wave of human rights abuses first documented in the report “Terror in Cabinda,” published in December 2002.
This follow up report indicates that the abuses have continued unabated in 2003. Although the FAA has destroyed much of FLEC’s command structure, pockets of guerrilla resistance remain in the heavily forested regions of the province.
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Eastern Turkestan
EAST TURKESTAN
History: -
The Uyghurs are the native people of Eastern Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang or Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region. The name "Uyghur" is mentioned in the chronicles of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.), Wei Dynasty (265-289 A.D.), Tang Dynasty (618-906 A.D.), and Sung Dynasty (906-960).
The Uyghurs established their first true state in 744, with the city of Karabalgasun, on the banks of the Orkhun River, as its capital. The founder of this Uyghur state was Kutluk Bilge Kul Khagan (King or Ruler). In 747, he was succeeded by his son Moyunchur, a powerful leader who subdued other Turkic clans, consolidated the monarchy, and extended his rule in the north to Lake Baikal, in the east to Gansu and in the southwest to India.
After several conflicts and rebellions in the past, the Kyrgyz attacked the tottering state in 840, killed the Khagan, and took the capital.
This first part of Uyghur political history shows the Uyghurs as the protectors of the Chinese empire for almost a century. On the other hand, the relationship was not really a friendly one. There was abiding resentment on the Chinese side. The reason was that the Middle Kingdom was obliged to be protected by a "barbarian" people. The Uyghurs, for their part, never gave the Chinese the respect which the latter would have liked. After the fall of the first Uyghur empire, a group of Uyghurs emigrated to the west banks of the Yellow River in Kansu (Gansu); a second group emigrated via Yetti Su to the Southern part of Khan Tengri or Tianshan in Eastern Turkestan; the third and the largest group emigrated to the northern part of Khan Tengri where their ancestors are still living.
The Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghur Kingdom:
The Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghur Kingdom, which was established in today's Kansu province of China, in 850, never became a major power, but the Chinese had great respect for it as seen from the Chinese court praise Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghur King when an Uyghur and a Tibetan ambassador visited the Chinese capital in 911. Nevertheless, this kingdom was absorbed in 1228 by the Tankuts who established a state in the area known as Western Hsia.
The Karakhoja Uygur Kingdom:
The Uyghurs living in the northern part of Khan Tengri (Tianshan Mountains) in Eastern Turkestan established the Karakhoja Uyghur Kingdom (Qocho) near the present day city of Turfan (Turpan), in 846. The Chinese recognized this kingdom and sent Wang Yen (Yan) De in 981 to Karakhoja as their ambassador. Wang Yen (Yan) De stayed in Karakhoja for three years.
The Karakhanid Uyghur Kingdom:
The Uyghurs living in the southern part of Khan Tengri, established the Karakhanid Uyghur Kingdom in 840 with the support of other Turkic clans like the Karluks, Turgish and the Basmils, with Kashgar as its capital.
In 934, during the rule of Satuk Bughra Khan, the Karakhanids embraced Islam. Thus, in the territory of Eastern Turkestan two Uyghur kingdoms were set up: the Karakhanid, who were Muslims, and the Karakhojas, who were Buddhists. In 1397 this Islamic and Buddhist Uyghur Kingdoms merged into one state and maintained their independence until 1759.
The Manchus who set up a huge empire in China, invaded the Uyghur Kingdom of Eastern Turkestan in 1759 and dominated it until 1862. During this period the Uyghurs revolted 42 times against the Manchu rule with the purpose of regaining their independence. In the last revolt of 1863, the Uyghurs were successful in expelling the Manchus from their motherland, and founded an independent kingdom in 1864. The kingdom was recognized by the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and Great Britain. But for fear of Tsarist expansion into Eastern Turkestan, Great Britain persuaded the Manchu court to conquer Eastern Turkestan. The money for the Manchu invasion was granted by the British Banks.
Large forces under the overall command of General Zho Zhung Tang attacked Eastern Turkestan in 1876. After this invasion, Eastern Turkestan was given the name Xinjiang which means "new territory" or "New Dominion" and in 1884 it was annexed into the territory of the Manchu empire. In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese, overthrew Manchu rule and established a republic.
The Uyghurs, who also wanted to free themselves from foreign domination, staged several uprisings against the nationalist Chinese rule during this period. Twice, in 1933 and 1944, the Uyghurs were successful in setting up an independent Eastern Turkestan Republic. But these independent republics were overthrown by the military intervention and political intrigues of the Soviet Union. It was in fact the Soviet Union that proved deterrent to the Uyghur independence movement during this period. In 1949 Nationalist Chinese were defeated by the Chinese Communists. After that, Uyghurs fell under Chinese Communist rule.
Since East Turkestan is under Chinese control, the Chinese Administration discriminate the Uyghurs in all walks of life. The Uyghurs have no public representation in their own country. They will be discriminate in employment, population growth, health care, education, literature and economy by the Chinese.
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Gagauzia
GAGAUZIA
Brief History:
1812 The Gagauz settled in southern Bessarabia after Russia´s annexation of Bessarabia.
1856 Territorial changes in the region put Gagauzia under Moldovan/Romanian administration.
W.W.II The territory of Gagauzia was divided between the Moldovian SSR and the Ukraine.
1980 The Gagauz campaign for self-determination began.
1989 A Law on Languages was enacted in Moldova, which was perceived as discriminatory by the Gagauz.
1990 An independent Republic of Gagauzia was proclaimed in several southern districts of Moldovo.
1991 Comrat State University established.
1994 The status of Region of Gagauzia was recognised as an autonomous region within Moldova. Gagauzia officially became an autonomous republic within Moldova. Gagauzia became member of the UNPO.
1995 An end to the five-year conflict between Moldova and Gagauzia was officially declared. The elections for the National Assembly of the Region of Gagauzia were conducted. Several elections have been held for Bashkan of Gagauzia since then.
2003 The amendments to the Moldavian constitution, formalizing the status of Gagauzia, were passed by the Moldavian parliament.
2004 International conference “The ten years of the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia” celebrated the successes of ten years self-determination.
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Ka Lahui Hawaii
KA LAHUI HAWAII
History:
The indigenous Hawaiians are descendants of Polynesians who arrived at the islands in 200 A.D. Throughout the years the people of Hawai’i maintained a distinct culture shared amongst the islands of Nihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii.
Following the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778, numerous missionaries and whalers settled in the region and eventually influenced the indigenous Hawaiians (the Kanaka Maoli). Thus, the traditional state religion of the chiefs, the institutions of mana (spiritual power) and the kapu system (privileges according to mana) ended and a new structure, similar to the British monarchy, was installed. From the middle of the 19th century, pressure from England, France and the U.S. saw to it that laws were changed to facilitate the ownership of land. Foreigners acquired most of the land in just one generation and began cultivating sugar, controlling the government in order to maintain control over their wealth.
1893 The US forcibly overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1900 Hawaii annexed as a territory.
1946 Hawaii was listed as a non-self-governing territory under United Nation.
1991 The Hawaii Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights issued a report documenting 73 years of civil rights violations against Hawaiians.
1993 The US Congress passed Pub Law, ”the Apology Bill”, officially apologising to the Hawaiian People for the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom in 1893. Ka Lahui Hawaii became a member of the UNPO.
1996 The representatives of the US State Department and Departments of Justice and Interior came to Hawaii for a briefing on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but no progress was made towards the implementation of a program for self-determination for Kanako Maoli. The Urban Institute of Washington D.C. reported that the Hawaiians have the worst housing conditions in the US. The UNPO mission to Hawaii reviewed the status and conditions of Native Hawaiians and inquired into the state initiative for a plebiscite.
2000 The US Census recognized Native Hawaiians in their survey of the US population
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Karenni State
KARENNI STATE
Brief History:
1948 Burma became independent from British Empire and the Karenni State was incorporated into Burma. The Karenni people refused to accept Burma’s rule and because of that military administration was imposed on them.
1976 The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) of Burma began to carry out a population transfer program. Karenni villagers have been forcibly moved to designated relocation sites where there are insufficient food and medical supplies.
1988 Demonstrations protesting against 26-year SLORC military rule took place. Thousands of protesters were killed. Limited area has been put under direct military control.
1993 Karenni became a member of the UNPO.
1995 The Karenni National Party agreed to a cease-fire with SLORC to end the armed conflict which had been going on against successive regimes ever since the first invasion of Burma’s troops in Karenni. The cease-fire did not hold for long.
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Komi Republic
KOMI
Brief History:
In 1472 The Komi were conquered by Russia and made part of the Russian Empire.
The republic was initially formed on August 22, 1921, as the Komi (Zyryan) Autonomous Region. In 1929, the region became part a new political unit called the Northern Territory with its capital in Arkhangelsk.
In 1935, the Northern Territory was reorganized into the Northern Region and a separate Komi Autonomous Region. The region was transformed into the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Komi ASSR) on December 5, 1936, into the Komi Soviet Socialist Republic (Komi SSR) in September 1990, and finally into the Komi Republic in June 1992.
The Komi suffered from ”Russification” policies. During the 50's Schools were no longer allowed to teach the native languages, permitting only Russian.
In 1996 An agreement in the area of self-determination was signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Komi. This agreement gave the Komi government the opportunity to further develop the Republic.
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Kumyk
KUMYK
Brief History:
Mentioned as early as the 2nd century A.D. as one of the numerous tribes inhabiting the Caucasian region, the Kumyks’ culture and anthropological features resemble those of the other peoples of Dagestan and North Caucasus. Although the Kumyk people belonged to various kingdoms from the 4th - 13th centuries, from the 1400s to 1867 they were united under the Kumyk Shamkhalat kingdom. This kingdom enjoyed protection from Turkey, Iran and Russia, although wars with the latter were frequent. Russia occupied the North Caucasus in 1867, however, and the Shamkhalat kingdom was divided into two Russian provinces.
During the period between the occupation and the Russian revolution in 1917, the Kumyk national movement was centered mainly in Turkey. Following 1917, the Kumyks joined forces with other North Caucasian peoples in the struggle for a North Caucasian Democratic Republic. However, the victorious Russian communists established an autonomous Dagestan in 1920, and Kumyk autonomy was suppressed. The Bolsheviks ignored Kumyk nationalists and the movement’s leaders were killed or repressed.
Under Soviet occupation, a policy of ethnocide was implemented by which a new “historic community” was to be created: the Soviet people, in particular a singular Dagestan peoples. Toward this end, massive population transfers occurred against the will of the people. Moreover, an unregulated migration of mountain dwellers to the plains led to the subsequent abandonment of numerous mountain villages. Because the new arrivals to the North Caucasus received a large portion of the Kumyk plains, land shortage among the indigenous Kumyks was widespread. The introduction of mono-culture agriculture, the exploitation of the soil and deforestation all contributed to the present situation of economic and ecological crisis in the area. The migrants who moved to the plain in the last 50 years have had privileges such as higher purchase prices on agricultural products, larger private plots of land, easier admittance to Universities and better jobs.
Land shortage and unemployment in rural areas, coupled with the inadequacy of basic social, cultural and economic conditions, aggravate the ever-increasing migration to towns. Since 1979, the percentage of the Kumyk population which lives outside Dagestan, and thus outside traditional Kumyk territory, has increased from 11 to 18 percent. Because there is no single region left which is densely populated by Kumyks, the vast distances between Kumyk people make it increasingly difficult for the Kumyks to maintain their national traditions and language.
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Iraqi Kurdistan
IRAQI KURDISTAN
Brief History:
1920 After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the Kurds were promised their own state, but this never materialised. As a result, the southern part of Kurdistan was incorporated into Iraq.
1980’s Iraqi President Saddam Hussein began a systematic relocation and genocide against the Kurdish population. This campaign led to the disappearance of over 180,000 Kurds.
1991 After being defeated by the allied forces in the Gulf War, the Iraqi armed forces withdrew from most areas of Iraqi Kurdistan. The UN created a safe-haven in the Kurdistan area in order to protect the Kurdish civilian population. Iraqi Kurdistan became a member of UNPO.
1992 The elections for a parliament were held and a coalition parliament was formed dominated by the two largest party, the PUK and the KDP.
1994 Fighting broke out between the PUK and the KDP. The elected representatives of the Iraqi Kurds, the parliament and the regional government lost their power to the party militias.
1996 Renewed fighting between the two parties led to fleeing of thousands of people towards the Iranian border, in an effort to escape the KDP and the Iraqi military. Plundering of houses, executions and arrests of the PUK members and activists of the Iraqi opposition took place in Kurdistan. A new round of peace talks in Ankara between the PUK and the KDP resulted in a statement on the case-fire with a view to make it permanent.The UN and the Iraqi administration reached an agreement on the export of oil, of which the earnings are to be used for the purchase of humanitarian supplies for the people in northern Iraq.
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Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nation
LAKOTA NATION
Brief History:
1851 The US signed the First First Laramie Treaty with several indigenous Nations, which formally recognised the Lakota as being entitled to a huge tract upon their sacred land and that Indians were an independent political community which possess sovereignty. Despite the Treaty, the clash between the Lakota people and the invaders continued.
1868 The Second Fort Laramie Treaty was signed and secured traditional Sioux territories. After that, the Treaty was almost immediately violated and Euro-American exploitation went on in full strength.
1877 US government forced the Chiefs to transfer the Black Hills to white control, and organised the partition of the vast Sioux Territory into a number of small reservations.
1979 The US Court of Claims ruled that the US government had violated the 1868 Treaty and that the Sioux were entitled to US$ 110 million in compensation for the Black Hills. The rule was upheld by the US Supreme Court.
1989 The Sioux were awarded US$ 40 million for losses based on the treaty of 1868, which designed lands to the Lakota. This US$ 40 currently lies in a trust fund in Washington. There is now division in the Sioux nations as to whether to claim the money, and therefore relinquish their rights to the Black Hills forever, or to press for the return of the Black Hills.
1994 The Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nation became a member of UNPO.
1996 The US Budget recommended the elimination of funding for public service employment on all Lakota, Dakota and Nakota reservations. The Lakota band of Hunkpapa, on Standing Rock Reservation, established a cultural reservation office in Fort Yates, North Dakota. The Lakota Nation hosted a ”Prayer Day of Peace”. The ride and ceremony for peace was organised at a time when the need for unity and a common sense of direction is increasingly being felt among Lakota, Nakota and Dakota peoples.
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Mon State
MON
Brief History:
1757 The territory, covering the whole of lower Burma, was wrested from the Mons by the Burmese.
1854 The British conquered Burma and hundreds of thousands of Mons, who had migrated into Thailand, returned to their homeland when it came into the British rule. The British promised Mon their own leadership and recognition after the defeating the Burmese.
1947 The Mon presented a demand to safeguard their rights after independence, but the Prime Minister of Burma rejected it saying that no separate national rights for the Mon should be contemplated. The Mon people will was imposed by force which resulted in a civil war.
1995 A cease-fire agreement was signed between New Mon State Party, the State Law and Order Restoration Council.
1996 The Mon people joined UNPO.
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Nagalim
NAGALIM
History:
The Naga people originally came from Mongolia, migrating to Nagalim in the 10th century BC. They lived their lives very isolated in the hills of Nagalim untill the invasion of the British in the 19th century. With the invasion of the British, the problems for the Nagas began.
1832 The British invaded the Naga region.
1881 Nagaland was declared a British District. The Nagas was not involved in the political movement taking place in British India.
1929 The Nagas submitted a memorandum to the British Simon Commission on constitutional reforms.
1947 India became independent but the Nagas did not want to join the Indian Union. The Naga National Council (NNC) declared independence, but the Indian government did not accept it and the Naga Hills District was considered part of independent India.
1956 In response to the formation of the Federal Republic of Nagaland the Government of India enacted the Armed Forces Act.
1960 An agreement between the Naga People Convention and the Government of India was reached and eventually led to the creation of the state of Nagaland in 1963.
1964 The Nagaland Federal Government continued with its opposition against the India forces.
1975 The NNC-Federal delegation signed the Shillong Accord with India, there the main terms were unconditional acceptance of Indian constitution and surrender of arms.
1980 The National Socialist Council of Nagaland was formed.
1992 The Nagas have been involved in bloody clashes with the Kukis, who inhabit the same territory.
1993 The NSCN became member of UNPO.
1995 The Indians governments declared the state of Nagaland a ”Disturbed Area” empowering the armed forces.
1997 A cease-fire agreement was announced between the NSCN and the government of India.
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Nuxalk Nation
NUXALK
History:
Located on the Northwest Coast of the province of British Columbia, Canada, the Nuxalk Nation has an elaborate social history which developed over thousands of years. When the province of B.C. joined the Dominion of Canada in 1871, the Nuxalk people, Nuxalkmc, along with all the other First Nations people, became wards of the state according to the federal government; however, the Nuxalkmc have never ceded, sold, surrendered or lost their traditional lands through act of war. The federal Indian Act, established in 1876, solidified the reserve system and other restrictive laws including the banning of the potlatch from 1884 to 1951.
The community revived the potlatch in 1978. In 1985 the Nuxalk Nation opened its own school where Nuxalk language and culture are taught. Today, the Nuxalk Nation has seven reserves in the Bella Coola area.
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Sanjak
SANJAK
Brief History:
1878 Sanjak was separated from Bosnia and Herzegovina and existed as an independent political territory.
1912 Sanjak was occupied by Serbia and Montenegro after the Balkan Wars. 23,000 Sanjak people were displaced to Bosnia.
1918 Sanjak lost its legal status, when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established.
1945 The rights to autonomy was rescinded by the communist regime. Sanjak was divided between Serbia and Montenegro against the wish of population. 15,000 Muslims were killed and tortured by Serbs and Montenegrins.
1991 Bosnia’s Muslim citizens formed the Muslim National Council of Sanjak (MNCS).
1993 Sanjak became a member of UNPO.
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Scania
SCANIA
Brief History:
1658 Scania was annexed by Sweden through the Peace Treaty of Roskilde after 400 years wars. The Roskilde Treaty guaranteed self-rule by separate legislature.
1720 Scania lost its political independence. The self-rule clauses in the Roskilde Treaty was unilaterally nullified by Sweden and the parliamentary functions moved to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
1920 Scanians called for the protection of the Scanian language and the promotion of teaching of the history of Scania in schools.
1989 Stiftelsen Skånsk Framtid was founded to promote change in the regional situation of Scania.
1993 SSF became a member of UNPO.
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Shan States
SHAN
Brief History:
16th century The Shan was defeated by the Burmese and fifteen years later by the Chinese, thus bringing an end to the Shan monarchy.
1887 The Shan States became a British protectorate.
1922 The Shan were granted a distinct status and the ”Federated Shan States” were established by the British rules.
1948 The Union between Burma and the Shan was formed, which followed their joint independence from the British.
1962 Burma abolished the union constitution and occupied the Shan States.
1996 An alliance of forces was created by three armed resistance groups under the umbrella organisation ”Shan National Organisation” (SSNO). The Shan Democratic Union (SDU) was founded, which now functions as the Foreign Ministry of the Shanland.
1997 A meeting among ethnic groups adopted the new designation ”United Shan States”, The Shan States became a member of UNPO.
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South Moluccas
Further to Carole's previous post: -
Further to Carole's previous post: -
SOUTH MOLUCCAS
Brief History:
1600s The Netherlands invaded the South Moluccas and incorporated the region into the Dutch East Indies.
1949 The Dutch ceded sovereignty to an independent Federal Republic of Indonesia. The South Moluccas formed part of the state of Eastern Indonesia, one of the member-states of the Federation.
1950 Indonesian President Sukarno intended to change the states character from a federal into a unitarian state and the South Moluccans declared their country independent from the component State of east Indonesia. Since the declaration, the South Moluccas struggle politically world-wide for recognition of their rights to self-determination and independence as a free republic.
1951 Moluccan islands were occupied by Indonesian forces.
1966 The government of the South Moluccas functioned as a government in exile in the Netherlands.
1978 The Dutch parliament decided to regard the case of the South Moluccas being closed, no official contacts have taken place between the two governments.
1991 The South Moluccas became a member of UNPO.
1996 The repression of the Moluccans continues. Many Indonesians have migrated to the region taking the better job opportunities.
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Republic of Tatarstan
TATARSTAN
Brief History:
The first settlements in the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan date back to the Paleolithic period (about 100,000 years ago). In the 8th-9th centuries, the ancient Bulgar tribes, the ancestors of the modern Tatars, began to populate the Volga region. The first state, Volga-Kama Bulgaria, was set up at the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries as the first feudal state in northeastern Europe. In 922, Islam was established as the state religion. The Bulgar mosques and medreses (Muslim clerical schools) spread knowledge and culture in the neighboring regions.
In the 13th century, the territory of Volga-Kama Bulgaria was annexed to the Empire of Genghis Khan and then became part of powerful Golden Horde State. The collapse of the Golden Horde in the 1330-1340s resulted in the formation of a number of new states, including the Kazan Khanate. Kazan became the capital of the newly formed state. The Kazan Khanate ended in October
In 1918 A Tatar-Bashkir Soviet Republic was set up within the Russian federation. The borders of the two republics were drawn arbitrarily, and 75% of the Tatar population were left outside their nominal republic.
In 1990 Tatarstan became the first of the autonomous republics to adopt a declaration of sovereignty. This declaration was not recognised by the Russian Federation.
In 1992 The Tatarstan government organised a referendum on the sovereignty of Tatarstan. 61% voted in favour of state sovereignty and adopted its own republican constitution.
In 1994 The presidents of Russia and Tatarstan signed a bilateral power-sharing treaty on behalf on the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan, respectively. The treaty recognises extensive self-government rights of Tatarstan, apparently beyond those enjoyed under the Russian Constitution, yet it falls short of recognising state sovereignty.
In 1995 The economy of Tatarstan began to improve and the standard of living in Tatarstan is higher than in other parts of the Russian Federation.
In 1996 Over 1 000 companies were privatised which supply about 75% of the consumer production within Tatarstan.
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Tibet
TIBET
Brief History:
13th century The Mongol rules established in Tibet.
1904 British forces invaded Tibet. There they concluded a bilateral treaty with the Tibetan government defining relations between the two countries and opening up the country for trade.
1911 Tibet became a fully independent state.
1949 The People’s Liberation Army of China crossed into Tibet.
June 1949 India agrees to supply arms to Tibet for defence purposes.
8 July 1949 The Kashag (Cabinet) expels the Chinese mission in Lhasa, which had been established in 1940 by the Nationalist (Guomindang) government, fearing that it would provide a stepping stone for the establishment of Communist control in Tibet.
Communist sympathisers are also expelled from Tibet, including Phuntsog Wangyal, a Tibetan intellectual from Bathang in Kham, eastern Tibet (now incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan).
29 September 1949 The National People's Congress unanimously approves the Common Program of Zhu De, the People's Liberation Army Commander in Chief, which called for the "waging of the revolutionary war to the very end and the liberation of all the territory of China, including Formosa [Taiwan], the Pescadores [a group of 64 small islands in the Taiwan strait], Hainan Island [south of China] and Tibet".
1 October 1949 Mao Zedong declares the foundation of the People's Republic of China from the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen) in Beijing.
The Regent of Tibet, Taktra, endorses recommendations of the Tibetan National Assembly (Tsongdu) that the Kashag (cabinet) be reorganised. The Kashag is also given the power to act without consulting the National Assembly.
2 November 1949 The Tibetan government sends a letter to Mao Zedong stating Tibet's independent status and seeking assurances that their territory will not be encroached upon.
The Tibetan Foreign Bureau requests assistance from Britain in a note to the then British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin. A similar request is made to the United States.
3 December 1949 The Kashag sends a telegram to the British government requesting support for the admission of Tibet to the United Nations.
12 January 1950 US Secretary of State Dean Acheson instructs the US Ambassador to India, Loy Henderson, to dissuade the Tibetan government from sending a mission to the United States.
31 January 1950 Lhasa radio, set up as a result of the threat from the PRC, rejects Beijing's claim that Tibet is a part of China. The broadcast declares that Tibet had been "independent since 1912 when the Manchu dynasty had been driven out".
April 1950 Hainan Island, south of China, taken by the Chinese Communist government.
May 1950 On 6 May, Geshe Sherab Gyatso, a respected Tibetan Buddhist scholar from Qinghai Province (Amdo) addresses the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama in a radio broadcast, implicitly warning that the Chinese would use force if necessary to "liberate" Tibet.
At the end of May the first military conflict between the PLA and Tibetans results in the fall of the strategically important town of Dengo (in Kham) to the Chinese.
October 1950 The PRC launches a full-scale military invasion of Tibet, with the aim of taking over Chamdo, a strategically important town in Kham that is now part of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
10 October 1950 The Chinese government makes its first major policy statement on Tibet, which is later to become the basis for the 17-Point Agreement, signed on 23 May 1951. The agreement has since been used by Beijing to legitimise China's control over Tibet.
19 October 1950 The fall of Chamdo. Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, then governor of Chamdo, surrenders to People's Liberation Army troops.
13 November 1950 An urgent appeal for assistance from the Tibetan government reaches the United Nations headquarters in New York.
17 November 1950 The Dalai Lama assumes full religious and political power at the age of 16 during this period of crisis in Lhasa.
1951 An agreement was imposed on the Tibetan government incorporating Tibet into the People’s Republic of China but guaranteeing Tibet’s political and social System including its government.
1959 Repression and resistance culminated in the National Uprising and the flight of Tibet’s leader Dalai Lama and over 100,000 Tibetans into India, Nepal and Bhutan. The PLA regained control over Tibet and intensified its efforts to destroy the distinct Tibetan identity, religion and culture.
1996 Reports of arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances. Custodial deaths, incommunicado detentions and use of torture or inhuman treatment in Tibet continued to reach the world.
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West Papua
WEST PAPUA
History:
The Papuan people and culture existed on the island for thousands of years, until 1546 when the Spanish “discovered” the island and named it Nueva Guinea (New Guinea) because of the resemblance between the indigenous people and the people in Guinea (Africa).
In 1828, with the establishment of Fort du Bus, the western half of the island became a Dutch colony. In 1963, the Indonesians took control of the territory with the understanding that after six years a referendum (known as the Act of free Choice) would be held, in which the West Papuans would decide their own status. The Act of Free Choice took place in July-August 1969 as scheduled, but the election was “stage managed” by the Indonesians, who used a combination of bribery and brute force to persuade the 1,025 local delegates to approve the continuation of the Indonesian occupation of West Papua.
Ignoring the failings of the electoral process, the UN passed a resolution on November 19, 1969 endorsing the Indonesian occupation of West Papua. In 1973, West Papua was renamed Irian Jaya by the Indonesians, and up to this day the indigenous peoples are not allowed to call themselves West Papuans.
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Zanzibar
ZANZIBAR
History:
The original settlers of the islands were Bantu-speaking Africans. From the 10th century Persians arrived. But it was the incomers from Arabia, particularly Omanis, whose influence would be the strongest.
The Arabs established trading colonies and in 1832 the Omani sultan moved his capital from Muscat to Zanzibar, by now a major centre for the slave trade. Zanzibar later become an independent sultanate.
The slave trade was abolished in 1873 and, in 1890, the British declared Zanzibar a protectorate. In 1963 the islands regained independence, but upheaval lay around the corner.
In January 1964, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) overthrew the coalition government of the Zanzibar Nationalist Party and Pemba Peoples Party. It proclaimed the Peoples Republic of Zanzibar and consolidated ties with the mainland. A republic was established, and in April the presidents of Zanzibar and Tanganyika signed an act of union, uniting the two states into the present United Republic of Tanzania. All political parties were subsequently banned and the ASP merged with Tanganyika’s only political party to form Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
During the planned general and presidential elections of 1990, Zanzibar launched a campaign to boycott the elections, in an effort to show the international community that the Zanzibari demand for a referendum to express the will of the people of Zanzibar, with regard to the union with Tanganyika, was backed by the majority of the people.
Under international pressure, Zanzibar for the first time held elections in 1995 in which the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party came to power. UNPO was invited to monitor the elections in Zanzibar. The UNPO mission found that a number of serious irregularities occurred with respect to the election process and the counting of the votes, especially in relation to the Zanzibar presidential election. The unexplained delay of four days in announcing the results of the vote for the Zanzibar president - an alleged victory for the incumbent President Salmin Amour of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) by a margin of 0.4 percent - and the serious discrepancies found by international observers in the counting and compilation of the votes, lends support to the opposition parties’ denunciation of the process and of the declared result. Following these elections, arrests and unlawful detentions repressed many people who voted for the opposition CUF.
The CCM won further elections in 2000. The main opposition party Civic United Front did not recognize the result and reported on gross human rights violations and repressive measures against the opposition by Zanzibar police during the pre-election campaign.
In January 2001, the Zanzibar population protested peacefully against the results of the elections, when the police used massive force to oppress the demonstration. The European Union urged for a dialogue and warned for religious extremism on May 10. The UNHCR, Kenya and Tanzania are in a dialogue to discuss the return of the Zanzibar refugees in Kenya to their homeland.
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To make perusing this thread a little easier, I've added an alphabetical list of links to the bottom of my opening post, which I'll strive to maintain as it grows...
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Kingdom of Prester John
Further to Mr. RING's previous post: -
Further to Mr. RING's previous post: -
The Kingdom of Prester John
The beginning of the legend
In the 1130s, under the leadership of Imad ad-din Zengi, Turkish power became a serious threat to the Crusader kingdoms in the Holy Land. This caused these kingdoms to seek aid from Western Europe, and around 1145, Hugh, Bishop of Jabala, was sent to meet Pope Eugenius to ask for help. Otto von Freisingen, Bishop of Freising, recorded in his Historia de Duabus Civitatibus (1158) that Hugh told the Pope about Prester John, a Christian priest and king whose kingdom was in the extreme Orient, beyond Persia and Armenia. Prester John was supposed to be a descendent of the Magi and a possessor of great wealth. It appears that Hugh talked to the Pope about Prester John because rumors had been circulating in Europe that he was going to come to the rescue of the Crusader kingdoms and Hugh wasn't to emphasize that this would not happen as Prester John was cut off from the Middle East by the Tigris River.
In 1165, a (forged) letter allegedly from Prester John was delivered to Emperor Manuel Comnenus of Byzantium. Manuel forwarded the letter to Emperor Frederic Babarous of the Holy Roman Empire. The forgery was quite clever, for the forger had obviously read Otto von Freisingen's report and he repeated many of the same stores and further played upon the hopes and fears of the Europeans vis-à-vis the infidel Turks. The letter caused a sensation and not only were copies circulated widely, but excepts were even put to song.
Excerpts from letter
"...I, Prester john, who reign supreme, surpass in virtue, riches and power all creatures under heaven. Seventy kings are our tributaries. I am a zealous Christian and universally protect the Christians of our empire, supporting them by our alms. We have determined to visit the sepulchre of our Lord with a very large army, in accordance with the glory of our majesty to humble and chastise the enemies of the cross of Christ and to exalt his blessed name."
"For gold, silver, precious stones, animals of every kind and the number of our people, we believe there is not our equal under heaven."
"If again thou askest how it is that the Creator of all having made us the most superpotential and most glorious over all mortals-does not give us a higher dignity or more excellent name than that of Priest (Prester), let not thy wisdom be surprised on this account, for this is the reason. We have many ecclesiastics in our retinue of more dignified name and office in the Church, and of more considerable standing than ours in the divine service. For our house-steward is a patriarch and king; our cup-bearer is an archbishop and king; our chamberlain is a bishop and king; our archimandrite, that is chief pastor or master of the horse, is a king and abbot. Whereof our highness has not seen it repugnant to call himself by the same name and to distinguish himself by the order of which our court is full. And if we have chosen to be called by a lower name and inferior rank, it springs from humility."
The only official response to the letter was that Pole Alexander III sent out a Papal emissary in 1177 with a letter for Prester John, carried by his physician, Magister Philippos, but nothing was ever heard of what became of him. Years later, in the mid-thirteenth century when Asia was opened again to Europeans by the ascendancy of the Tartars, the great search began to find this Prester John, a search which was very important opening up Asia and re-establishing ties with China. Though he was never found, his legend continued throughout the middle ages, with Kings and Popes sending off letters at different times seeking his help and dreams of his riches filling the heads of many.
Historical basis to the legend
The Khitai were a tribe that had ruled much of China in the late 10th century as the Liao Dynasty. As their dynasty collapsed, in 1124, a body of the imperial family escaped to Central Asia, where they established a new empire over the Turkish tribes, called Kara-Khitai (or "Black Cathay"--Black being a term of honor at the time). In 1141, in their expansion to the west, they met the eastward reaching kingdom of the Seljuk Turks of Persia. In a battle fought Sept. 8-9, 1141, at Qatawan (Katvan), near Samarkand, Yeh-lü Ta-Shih (or Yeliutashi), ruler of the empire of Kara-Khitai, defeated Sultan Sanjar, the Seljuk Turk ruler of Persia.
Reports of this great victory over the Turks reached the Crusader kingdoms soon thereafter and included was the rumor that Yeliutashi was a Christian. This appears to be somewhat unlikely, with the Kara-Khitai perhaps being confused with the Keraits, a Christian-Nestorian tribe from central Asia.
Prester John's move to Africa
By the 14th century, all searches for Prester John and his kingdom in Asia had turned up empty. Rather than give up on this hopeful and glamorous legend, however, Europeans decided that they must have been looking in the wrong region and they turned their eyes on the interior of Africa. This was spurred by the fact that there was an actual Christian kingdom there, the Nestorian kingdom of Abyssinia or Ethiopia. Mysterious Abyssinian pilgrims sometimes visited the Holy Land, though their kingdom was rumored to be bordered by inaccessible mountains. What better place to put the Kingdom of Prester John? Eastern Africa was sometimes conflated in European thinking with the "Indies," and so here must be that great Christian King in the East. The Portuguese sent several expeditions to make contact with this kingdom and the reports which came back further confirmed the belief that finally Prester John had been found. Thus the venerable legend moved to a new continent, and it was in Africa that Prester John's Kingdom was thought to lie when the earliest printed maps made their appearance. The legend eventually passed from common belief, but not before leaving a few maps illustrating this wonderful myth.
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Conch Republic
Further to Darrensix's previous post: -
Further to Darrensix's previous post: -
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CONCH REPUBLIC
The Conch Republic was established by secession of the Florida Keys from the United States of America, on April 23rd, 1982 in response to a United States Border Patrol Blockade setup on highway U.S.1 at Florida City just to the north of the Florida Keys. This heinous act effectively isolated Keys Citizens from the U.S. mainland since the blockade was on our only land artery to and from the mainland. This roadblock portrayed Keys residents as non-U.S. citizens who had to prove their citizenship in order to drive onto the Florida mainland! Hardly an American thing to do!
We protested! A totally American thing to do! Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlow along with a few other 'key' Conchs, went to Federal court in Miami to seek an injunction to stop the federal blockade, but to no avail. Upon leaving the Federal Court House , on the court house steps , Mayor Wardlow announced to the world, by way of the assembled TV crews and reporters, that ; "Tomorrow at noon the Florida Keys will secede from the Union!"
At noon, on the day of secession, at Mallory Square in Key West Florida, Mayor Wardlow read the proclamation of secession and proclaimed aloud that the Conch Republic was an independent nation separate from the U.S. and then symbolically began the Conch Republic's Civil Rebellion by breaking a loaf of stale Cuban bread over the head of a man dressed in a U.S. Navy uniform. After one minute of rebellion, the now, Prime Minister Wardlow turned to the Admiral in charge of the Navy Base at Key West, and surrendered to the Union Forces, and demanded 1 Billion dollars in foreign aid and War Relief to rebuild our nation after the long Federal siege!
Thus began our Conch Republic journey which still continues today! We are both Conchs and we are Americans and we are proud to be both. By act of Congress we hold dual citizenship as Conchs and as Americans and will fight for the right to be both!
Contrary to recent reports, the name "Conch Republic" refers to "all"of the Florida Keys, or, that geographic apportionment of land that falls within the legally defined boundaries of Monroe County Florida, northward to "Skeeter's Last Chance Saloon" in Florida City , Dade County Florida, with Key West as the Nation's Capitol and all territories north of Key West being referred to as "The Northern Territories". Be it known that these boundaries were established by the U.S. Government when they set up "THE" Border Patrol blockade in front of "Skeeter's Last Chance Saloon", in April of 1982, thereby establishing a new United States border!
To enforce the validity of our secession, the Monroe County Commission, in 1994, by unanimous vote, did pass a County Resolution recognizing Mayor Wardlow's actions, on the 23rd of April in 1982, as by, of and for the people of the Florida Keys.
We celebrate our Independence every year with a week long celebration.
In the quest for recognition, the Honorable Peter Anderson, Secretary General of the Conch Republic has created "Official Conch Republic Passports" . The Secretary General has extensively traveled our surrounding Caribbean Nations with nothing more than his Diplomatic Passport and has been well received by many as a Diplomat and as a Government Official of the Conch Republic and even had his passport endorsed by nearly all! Officially, our passports, Diplomats and Citizens, have been well received by 13 Caribbean Nations as well as Germany, Sweden, Havana, Mexico, France, Spain, Ireland, and Russia.
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