Here you'll find links to movements and articles that support or give information on
creating new nations out of old (sometimes old nations out of new); getting independence or recognition
for a certain group of people in a nation.
As some of these are in languages other than English, you may find this
Bougainville
The Bougainville
Freedom Movement wants independence of this Melanesian island from
Papua New Guinea. There are interim governments for Bougainville based
in Australia and the Solomon Islands.
Hawai'i 100 years ago, in 1898, Hawai'i was
illegally annexed by the United States. Today there are some that want
independence again. The Hawai'ian
Independence Homepage has a lot of information. Here are two sites
wanting to restore the Kingdom of Hawai'i. 1. Kingdom
of Hawai'i 2. Kingdom of Hawai'i.
Kanak Nation Here
is a declaration of sovereignty and recognition of culture of the native
people of New Caledonia. New Caledonia is presently ruled from France.
Here is a statement
on New Caledonia by Eloi Machoro.
Loro Sae Loro Sae or East Timor, was invaded
by Indonesia in 1975. Since then 200,000-300,000 East Timorese people have
been killed or starved by the occupying army. Many more have been tortured.
See the East Timor Freedom Page, Loro
Sae - Timor Home Page, East
Timor International Support Centre and the East
Timor Information Pages for more information.
Maluku Republik Maluku's objective is to regain
independence from Indonesia for the Moluccan Islands. There has been a
government in exile in the Netherlands since 1992. See article here
for information about the Republic of the Moluccas. More information about
the Moluccas is in this
article. Here is Maluku
Online in Dutch.
Polynesia Tahiti's main independence party,
Tavini Huiraatira (Polynesian Liberation Front), wants
independence for French Polynesia from France. The party has made huge
gains because of
France refusing to halt nuclear tests in French Polynesian waters.
West Papua The Free Papua Movement (OPM) wants
independence for this western half of New Guinea from Indonesia. Here
is a statement by OPM of the self-determination of the people of West Papua.
Here
is a statement to the United Nations by OPM.
Karen The Karen National Union wants self-determination
and autonomy (not independence) for the people of the Karen province of
Myanmar. See the article from the KNU here.
Okinawa This area was taken by Japan and became
a prefecture in 1879. However, Okinawa is not part of Japan, and could
possibly be set up with other islands as the Republic of the Ryukyus. This
web site has information on that fact.
Southern Mongolia This area was taken over by
the People's Republic of China in 1947 and its independence is promoted
by the Southern Mongolian Freedom Federation, found on the Free
Inner Mongolia Page.
Tibet China invaded Tibet in 1950, killed many
people and destroyed many things of Tibetan culture. There are many movements
to free Tibet, one of the most well known and popular independence movements.
Here is one from CACCP,
here is the International Tibet Independence
Movement, and here is the official
web page of the Tibetan government in exile.
Uyghuristan (Eastern Turkistan) (Xinjiang) This
is a region in the northwest of China forcibly taken over by the People's
Republic. A web page for its freedom is Free
Eastern Turkestan. There was a CNN
News article on 12 January, 1998 on Uyghur fighters.
Abkhazia was placed under Georgian
control by the Soviet Union. However, Georgia declared all Soviet laws
invalid, and the Abkhazians wanted independence, declaring in on July 23,
1992. To regain control, Georgia invaded. The Abkhazians won the war but
still have not been recognized by Georgia or any other nation. Here is
more information at the Abkhazia Homepage.
Chechnya This is the official web site of the
Chechen Republic. Chechnya seceded
from Russia in 1992. After a several year war of independence, and a Russian
withdrawal, still no one has recognized Chechnya. In its last elections,
Chechnya elected a pro independence government.
Dniestr Moldovan Republic Moldova is a Romanian
majority nation. Some there want to join Romania. Some Slavic people in
the east though have established a Dniestr Republic based in Tiraspol.
They see it possibly as joining the Russo-Belorussian union in the future.
Here is an article
on the Dniestr president and an article
about separatism in Moldova.
Ausonia Lega
Sud wants the independence of the southern part of Italy from the north,
which they believe is draining the nation's economic resources. They
want an independent south, with some autonomy for the member regions (Abruzzi,
Molìse, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia, Sardegna)
of Ausonia.
Açores [Azores (EN)] This island group
in the Atlantic Ocean has an independence group called the Azores Liberation
Front that wishes the islands to be independent from the Portuguese Republic.
Stephane Dowet's Information
on Açores
Aragón This northern Spanish region has
a regionalist/independence movement called the Aragonese
Party. Stephane Dowet's Information
on Aragón
Asturias This region on the northern coast of
Spain has a regionalist web page called Andecha
Astur. If you can read the Asturian/Spanish/Whatever It Is, then visit
it. Here
is a similar page on Asturias that is on a server in Spain. Stephane
Dowet's Information on Asturias
Bayern [Bavaria (EN)] The separatist Bavaria
Party is seeking sovereignty and eventual independence for the Southern
German state of Bavaria, the largest German State. Bavarian politicians
believe that the trend in Europe is shifting governmental power to regional
and local levels as national borders are erased while the economy of Europe
becomes united.
Breizh [Bretagne (FR), Brittany (EN)] This French
region has an independence organization called Parti
pour l'Organisation d'une Bretagne Libre. Stephane Dowet's Information
on Breizh
Catalunya [Catalonia (EN)] The
Convèrgencia Democràtica Catalunya (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia)
promotes the direct participation of Catalunya in the building of a Europe
of peoples. Joves d'Esquerra Nacionalista
is for the independence of Catalunya from Spain.
Cornwall Mebyon
Kernow wants self-government for Cornwall within the United Kingdom
and European Union with decisions made as locally as possible.
Corsica the Corsican National Liberation Front
is a violent group wanting independence from France. There is another group
with a web site called Corsica-Nazione.
Euskadi (Basque Country) The land of the Basque
has several separatist movements including ETA and the Basque National
Party. Learn about Euskadi by visiting the Euskal
Herria Journal, and Euskadi.net
Galicia The Galician Nationalist Coalition wants
independence for the northwesternmost region of Spain. Stephane Dowet's
Information on Galicia
Gymru [Wales (EN)] The Plaid
Cymru want independence for Wales, and membership in the European Union
and in the United Nations.
León Conceyu
Xoven (Young Council) wants self-government for León from Spain
and recognition of Leónese language.
Occitania Parti Nacional Occitan wants independence
of the southern Provençal-speaking part of France, including Aquitaine,
Midi-Pyrenees, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur, and parts
of Rhone-Alpes, Auvergne, and Limousin. Stephane Dowet's Information
on Occitania
Padania Lega
Nord wants independence of the northern part of Italy from the southern
part, which they believe is draining the North's economic superiority and
sending all the money into the hands of Southern bureaucrats.
Savoie The Savoisian
League wants independence for the Savoy area, with the borders of Lake
Geneva to the North, the highest points of the Alps (Mont-Blanc) to the
East, the Dauphiné region to the South, and the rivers Rhône
and Guiers to the West. This sovereign area was annexed by France
following the treaty of Turin in 1860.
Scotland The Scottish
National Party is campaigning for eventual Scottish independence within
the EU. They have succeded in gaining a parliament in Edinburgh in
which they will most likely hold a large amount of the seats.
Ulster Ulster-Nation
believes that Northern Ireland should be its own nation, independent of
both the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Vlaanderen [Flanders (EN)] Vlaams-Blok
wants Belgium to be separated into Flanders and Wallonia, respectively
Dutch and French speaking.
Wallonie [Wallonia (EN)] Information
on Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. Also found here is
an idea for the division of Belgium and what is to be done about Brussels.
Alaska The Alaskan
Independence Party wants a referendum for Alaska like the one that
they were entitled to in 1958. This time the referendum would have
the option of Alaska becoming an independent nation. The party wants
independence for the U.S. state of Alaska under a minimal government.
Algonquin Nation This
article says if Québec secedes from Canada, the Algonquin Nation
has the right to secede from Québec either staying with Canada or
forming an independent nation.
Nevis In the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and
Nevis, the Island of Nevis is renewing its call for secession. Attempts
by the Premier of Nevis in 1990 to forge ahead with secession was derailed.
If successful this time, Nevis would become the smallest nation on earth
at just 35 square miles (100 square km).
New England The movement started by Paul Eno's
web page is growing. The concept of a transition to eventual independence
of the six New England states has a surprising amount of support.
The New
England Confederation now has chapters in three states.
Northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota The North Star Republic
site advocates secession of this area from the United States.
Nuevo León This
site advocates creation of the independent Republic of Nuevo León
from Mexico with its capital at Monterrey.
Ontario This
site believes that Ontario will be its own nation after the secession
of Québec, Western Canada, and the Maritimes, so we might as well
think about independence now.
Republic of Pampas Secession of the southernmost
states from Brazil (article
in bottom right of page in Portuguese).
Puerto Rico This
newspaper advocates independence of Puerto Rico from the United States.
Québec Parti
de Québécois proposes an independent Québec from
Canada.
Southern United States The Southern
League wants peaceful secession of the southern United States. It is
not a racist movement as far as I know.
Texas This site
advocates the creation of a free, small-government Republic of Texas (not
associated with Richard McLaren's militia group in 1997 news).
Western Canada the Western
Canada Concept advocates secession of the western four provinces of
Canada and the northern territories.
Kashmir
- independence of Muslim Kashmir from Indiia.
Khalistan
- a Sikh homeland in Punjab, formed out of India.
North-Eastern
India - CNN article about separatism in this region by dozens of ethnic
groups.
Kurdistan
- a homeland for the Kurds now living in IIraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria
Palestine
- Palestinian National Authority
Tamil
Eelam - Tamil homeland in northern Sri Lanka
Anjouan In the Islamic Republic of The Comoros,
off the southeastern coast of Africa, the island of Anjouan declared its
independence on August 3, 1997, after months of protests and clashes with
security forces. On October 25, 1997, a referrendum on the island overwhelmingly
approved secession, but the government refuses to recognize it. Unemployment
on Anjouan is nearly 90%.
Boer Nation BoereData
has information on a Boer-Afrikaner republic in South Africa.
Puntland CNN article
containing idea of secession of Puntland, the relatively prosperous northeast
region of Somalia.
Sahrawi Republic Western
Sahara has been occupied by Morocco for 23 years and will finally hold
a referendum on its independence in 1998.
Saya
de Malha - an independent atoll in the Indian Ocean
European Federation
- Stephane Dowet's iidea of a Federal Europe.
Khilafah
- one state for all Muslims, end of seculaar and separate Islamic nations,
based on Quran scripture.
Stalking the Wild
Taboo: Secession and the Modern State
Fourth World Documentation Project
Ethnologue: Languages of the World
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
I do not necessarily support all of these, as some advocate violence, but most are peaceful separatist movements.
It translates pages from French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Indonesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
East Asia
Former Soviet Union
Western and Central Europe
Americas
Middle East and South Asia
Africa and Indian Ocean
Unification Movements
Other sites and essays about the future of the nation-state
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