On 22 July the UN will be hearing a plea for independence by the council of elders of Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island; a Polynesian possession of Chile's that lies 3,750 kilometres off the South American country's coast, and has a population of 3,200.
The most vocal of the pro-independence elders is Raúl Teao, who claims descent from the island's last king. Their main argument is that the document of cession signed by the Rapa Nui elders in 1888 with Chilean Lieutenant-Commander Policarpo Toro (after he had paid off all those claiming to own the place), had never been ratified by Chile.
Behind the independence drive is the islander's indignation at the 'syphoning' of most of the Ch$140bn (US$198m) the island earns annually from tourism by the Chilean government, which only allocates it a budget of Ch$1bn (US$1.4m). This situation also underlies the efforts of thrice-elected Rapa Nui mayor Petero Edmund Paoa to obtain administrative autonomy for the island.
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