| This website is a work of fiction, part of the collaborative constructed world of Ill Bethisad. It is not intended to reflect reality or the creator's opinions on current issues. |
| Spnsored by the Tourism Advisorate, Council of Te Pito O Te Henua, in cooperation with the Commission for Offshore Preservation, Ecotopic Republic of Oregon. |
| Henua News Archive: 2007 |
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| Last updated 18 February 2008 by Ben Karnell |
| henua.tk |
| Oregon's Environmental Expeditionary Team has been charged by the Ecotopic Republic and King Nga'ara of Henua with teaching and disseminating information about Henua culture and ecology. To that end, the Team has partnered with Ill Bethisad Associated Presse to provide the world with reports on news from the island nation. IBAP has no reporters stationed on Henua, so the Expeditionary Team plays an important role in keeping the publc informed on the gongs-on in this remote corner of the world. The Team are not IBAP employees, receiving only a modest stipend for their press releases. |
| News from 2007 |
| 12 December 2007 Riu clan returns victorious; King faces double embarassment Seven canoes filled with sailing teams representing each of Henua's clans have returned from the annual race to the islet of Motu Motiro Hiva. The Riu clan returned victorious to a party that will likely last for days; the other six returned with the quiet aura of defeat, none more so than the leader of the Ra'a clan, Henua's King Nga'ara III. The two weeks of the race spelled defeat not only for Nga'ara's canoe, but also for the policy shift that he has been fighting for since early October: the establishment of an Ecotopic Land Reserve with aid from the Republic of Oregon. Four days ago, Council members hostile to Nga'ara's project expelled most of Oregon's research team from the island. As the sailors disembarked from their ships, which were towed from Motiro Hiva by modern craft because of unfavorable winds, Nga'ara gave a requisite good-natured concession speech to the crowds gathered to welcome the outriggers. He then traveled by car immediately to the Council chambers in Hanga Roa to express his displeasure with the Council's actions during his absence, actions which he described as "cowardly" and "dishonest". The eight members of the Environmental Expeditionary Team still on Henua will focus on smaller-scale projects such as recycling, conservation, foreign language instruction, and maintenence on Henua's wind power generators, which Oregon donated in 2000. The Riu clan's chief, Ariki Tatarara, gave a victory speech which Nga'ara missed, in which he thanked his clan's sun deity, Tangaroa, and congratulated the bravery of his competitors. 8 December 2007 Oregon expedition expelled from Easter Island Just days before King Nga'ara's expected return from a traditional outrigger voyage, the Council of the Kingdom of Henua have expelled most of the members of Oregon's environmental research expedition. The team, who have been investigating the possibility of creating an Ecotopic Reserve at the king's invitation, have faced opposition from many council members since their arrival early in October. Clan members have objected to perceived threats against clan control of land and freshwater resources, Oregonian influence in Henua affairs, and Nga'ara's initiation of this policy withoug consulting the Council. A skeleton crew of Oregonian scientists will remain as an "ecological diplomatic mission" on the island. The team will focus on more modest goals such as conservation, recycling, and instruction in foreign languages, in addition to continuing to function as an outpost of IBAP. Team leader Dmitri Rodgers refuses to concede, however, that work toward an ecotopic park is finished. "Damn it, we're talking about a coordinated ecological project-- reforestation, water management, soil rehabilitation-- the Henua wouldn't throw it all away forever over a silly power game, would they? The team's leaving, but they'll be back." Officials in Oregon have issued a statement echoing Rodgers, saying, "While the decision of the Henua Council distresses the Ecotopic Republic, we are confident that in due time they will join with Ecotopianns around the planet in the grand march toward a more harmonious and sustainable future." 24 November 2007 Epic Voyage to Motu Motiro Hiva The entire island seems to be gathered at this beach. All is in motion: the crowds, the sailors, the birds, the sails and flags and feathered capes fluttering frantically in the strong east wind-- all except the moai, whose coral eyes gaze indifferently over our heads. They have, after al, seen this hundreds of times. On the ground, however, the people are more excited. The sailing voyage to Motu Motiro Hiva is one of Henua's most exciting annual events, and today could not be a better day for its beginning. Motu Motiro Hiva is the Henua kingdom's "other" island. 260 miles to the east and much to small for regular habitation, it is however incredibly rich in birds, fish, turtles, and sea mammals. It is accessible by traditional sail-driven outrigger canoes for only a short while in the early summer, when the wind blows in the right direction. And for some centuries, the Ariki Henua, King of the Land, has led a line of canoes to the islet with as much pomp and hype as the island kingdom can muster. There are seven enormous outriggers off Anakena, one for each of Henua's mata, or clans. For this custom, as in many other areas of life, the Henua are fierce competitors. The voyage is a seven-way race, and the winning clan will have bragging rights for an entire year. The Ariki Henua himself, Nga'ara III, climbs atop the massibe ahu platform to address the crowds. He will be on the journey, sailing alongside members of his own Ra'a clan. He chants a prayer for safety and bravery-- and for victory for his own canoe. Even the king feels the urge to compete. His majesty climbs down the ahu and is escorted to his ship. A crack of gunfire, and the race is on. I can't help but feel a touch of jealousy as I watch the seven ships grow smaller and listen to the cheering die down. Members of our research team, myself included, were proised spots on those canoes by the king. The Council, however, blocked his decision. We were lucky to be allowed to work on Henua at all, they declared. The least we could do was butt out of one of their sacred ceremonies. I will be able to go out to Motiro Hiva later, after the race. It will be in a motorized outrigger made of modern materials, but it can still stir the imagination. When I'm standing on the fiberglass deck looking at the gyrocompass, I can reflect on the bravery of the ancient Henua navigators who had only the stars and the wind to rely on. This race commemorates the brave heritage of the Tangata Henua, and my hope for our expedition is to preserve the ecological heritage for their descendants. 26 October 2007 Henua congratulates newly independent Tokelau The King, Council, and Chiefs of the kingdom of Henua have jointly issued a statement congratulating the people of the Tokelau Islands, who just today voted to withdraw from Fijian Polynesia and become an independent republic in free association with Fiji. "The people of Te Pito O Te Henua warmly welcome the Tokelauans to our family of Pacific nations," reads a part of the statement, which King Nga'ara read in a formal gathering in the ceremonial capital of Orongo. Henua has historically been a strong supporter of decolonization movements throughout the Pacific, including the Kingdom of Tahiti's independence from Kemr last year. Three Henua delegates have been in Tokelau for some weeks as part of the Austronesian League's supervision of the referendum. "The people of Tokelau represent the very finest in a long tradition of self-determination throughout our vast ocean," continued Nga'ara. "I look forward to many years of friendship between our two nations." 19 October 2007 Japanese Minister speaks to Council, supports expedition Shimizu Tsubaki, Japanese Minister Resident in Henua, has testified before the kingdom's Council of Advisors that Oregon's relations with the kingdom "would not violate the terms of the treaty between Te Pito O Te Henua and the Empire of Japan," even if Oregon were to assist in creating an Ecotopic Park on the island. Minister Shimizu's testimony effectively does away with many Advisors' legal objections to the work of the Oregonian researchers currently on the island. The Environmental Expeditionary Team (EET) is investigating the possibility of settinf aside clan-controlled forestland to create an International Park under partial Oregonian management, similar to the one established in Hispaniola in the Caribbean in 2004. The treaty in question dates to 1919. It ended Henua's term as a Japanese protectorate, but forbade the island kingdom from ever becoming a protectorate of any other country. Some advisors, including Chief Advisor Rano'ika Pa'oa, have contended that an Oregon-managed land reserve would amount to a protectorate relationship and violate the treaty. With this legal obsticle removed, Henua King Nga'ara is one step closer to getting his wish of a centrally-managed program of conservation and reforestation of Easter Island's woods, swamps, and freshwater sources. Dmitri Rodgers, the 60-year-old veteran forester and ecologist who leads the EET, said, "Now hopefully we can get on with our work. We're just trying to help out, for God's sake." Minister Shimizu was asked to appear before the Council over a week ago, but her plans were delayed due to prolonged talks elsewhere. She is Japan's Minister to several Pacific states, including Tahiti and the Castilian and French Polynesian territories. 8 October 2007 Oregonian expedition gets to work on Easter Island The work week began for Oregon's Environmental Expeditionary Team with a quick tour of Henua's forests and freshwater lakes. The team's early work will focus on assessing the health and biodiversity of these key ecosystems. Although dozens of research teams have spent time on the island in recent decades, the EET has raised more concern here than any of the archaeologists, climatologists, paleobotanists, and other scientists that have come before it. Many Henua consider the new project to be a sign of Oregon's determination to meddle in the island's local affairs. Expeditionary Team leader Dmitri Rodgers is hopeful that his team can meet the challenges of the coming weeks. "Most of the forests are on clan land, so we will be depending on the chiefs' cooperation for this project," says the grizzled ecologist through his ever-present haze of pipe smoke. "We're going to a Council hearing at the end of the week, where we hopefully can convince them that this is no different from any other scientific research." 5 October 2007 Oregonian Expeditionary Team arrives on Henua amid controversy Henua King Nga'ara III returned to his island realm today after concluding talks with various Oregonian leaders about extending the principles of Ecotopism to the king's remote island nation. The king was accompanied not only by the officials who had traveled with him, but also by the first of what may be a steady stream of environmental ambassadors from the Ecotopic Republic. However, their welcome was far from warm. During his two-and-a-half-week stay in Oregon, Nga'ara discussed many issues of interest to both nations, including the practices of whaling and porpoising, reforestation projects, and the possibility of setting aside clan-controlled lands to create a nature reserve. Many members of Henua's 21-member legislature, called 'Atua Hatu or Advisors, are very critical of Nga'ara's diplomacy. While there is technically no law against a king going on a trip like this, Nga'ara's predecessors have rarely handled foreign policies themselves, assuming a more ceremonial role. Furthermore, the current King's open support of Ecotopism, an ideology many regard as foreign and therefore barbaric, is utterly unprecedented. "It is distressing that the Ariki Henua has made these negotiations against the express disapproval of the Council," said Chief Advisor Rano'ika Pa'oa during a brief interview today. "We were a protectorate of Japan for forty years, and I fear that we may soon face a similar situation with Oregon." Henua was under Japanese protection between 1876 and 1919. A member of Nga'ara's household responded with claims that Advisor Rano'ika was merely upset that other advisors were chosen over her to accompany the king on the trip, which included a long rail tour of Oregon, several very public appearances, and a side trip to the coronation of Juan Carlos of Tejas. The Oregonian personnel who have come to Henua comprise a new Environmental Expeditionary Team to explore possibilities for creating new land reserves on the island. One of the team's tasks is to increase global public awareness of Henua ecology and culture, which will include occasional press releases to the Ill Bethisad Associated Presse. |