Separatism in the Faichuk Islands

The leaders of the Faichuk Islands attempted to establish lasting contacts with the United States, with the aim of seeking independence.

[4][6] As part of the gradual formation of the Federated States of Micronesia towards independence, the granting of statehood to Kosrae in 1977,[7] for no other reason than to ensure ratification of the future country's constitution in a referendum on July 12, 1978, reinforced the idea of autonomy.

[12] The aim of the leaders of the Faichuk Islands, which represented a quarter of the population of the state of Chuuk,[4] was to gain access to a significant share of the national budget, essentially divided into four equal shares allocated to each of the four states, which would guarantee funding for major projects such as hospitals, airports, power stations, water supply systems, port facilities and roads.

Their densely-populated, widely-dispersed islands, with access to extremely limited resources, struggled with the high costs of imports and exports.

For all these reasons, and others linked to a social and political environment that placed a high priority on individual freedom, the phenomenon of migration to the United States, enabled by the Compact of Free Association, was reinforced.

[12] On October 23, 1981, after extensive consultations, Tosiwo Nakayama finally refused to promulgate the law,[6][12] arguing that it was absolutely necessary to create the unity of the nation as a prerequisite for the establishment and maintenance of a genuine domestic regime.

[12] Despite this disavowal of his electoral base, which could have cost him his political future, Tosiwo Nakayama was re-elected Senator by the people of Faichuk, then President by his peers in May 1983 for a second term.

[16][17] But on November 28, 2000, a Faichuk constitution explicitly declaring independence was voted on by plebiscite, and approved by 91.1% of the 6,167 eligible voters – residents of the district and expatriates from Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

[19] In August, the commission chaired by former Chuuk governor Erhart Aten invited the US armed forces to settle in the region.

[2] In the course of 2001, the Faichuk State Commission sent Alan Short, chief American negotiator, a social and economic program based on the claims of the Declaration, with an infrastructure budget.

[2][19] Valued at US$288 million, it included a power plant, a coastal road on each island, water and wastewater treatment facilities, an administrative complex, educational facilities, health services, an airport, a port, telecommunications networks, housing construction and the establishment of a revolving fund to finance economic activities.

[9] In December the Chuuk State Legislative Assembly passed a resolution supporting the granting of autonomous status to the islanders, so that they could enjoy the same rights as all other citizens.

It encouraged Leo Falcam, President of the Federated States of Micronesia, and Congress to support the will of the people of the Faichuk Islands by submitting bills and voting for statehood.

However, many Faichuk leaders were actively implementing the demands of the 2000 declaration, as requests for talks had never received a response from the federal government.

At the same time, Pohnpei Senator Dohsis Halbert, Chairman of the Congressional Ways and Means Committee, expressed surprise at the disappearance of millions of dollars earmarked by the federal government for the Faichuk Islands.

[2] In an article published in 2011 Pohnpei journalist Bill Jaynes questioned the motivations of the separatists and wondered whether they were the work of a few determined men who acted according to their desires rather than those of the locals.

[2] The situation prompted caution on the part of President Emanuel Mori, who doubted the legality of the commission and questioned Kachutosy Paulus's choice of where to live.