The small Pacific island nation of Nauru will hold a referendum on the government’s decision to change its official name.
The Nauruan parliament on Tuesday passed a constitutional amendment to change the country’s name to New Zealand broadcaster “Naoro”. RNZ The government seeks to abandon what it sees as vestiges of the small nation’s colonial past.
A referendum is necessary to validate constitutional change.
President David Adiang first introduced the proposal in January.
Why is Nauru’s name being changed?
The native language of Nauru is “Dorin Naoro”, which the majority of its approximately 10,000 citizens speak along with English.
The government said the island came to be called Nauru because “foreign languages” distorted the native language.
“Nauru arose because Naoro could not be pronounced properly in foreign languages and it was changed not by our choice, but for convenience,” the government said in a statement.
Adiang said Tuesday night that the name change would “more sincerely respect” the country’s heritage, language and identity.
Colonial history of Nauru
Nauru is the world’s smallest island republic, measuring just 20 square kilometers (7.7 sq mi).
From the late 1880s until World War I, Nauru was claimed by Germany as a protectorate.
The South Pacific island was then occupied by Australian troops and was jointly administered by Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand before gaining independence in 1968.
The colonial powers exploited Nauru’s unusually pure phosphate reserves to use as fertilizer. Continued phosphate mining created an economic boom after independence but reserves have since dried up, leaving the center of the island barren and uninhabited.
Edited by: Zack Crellin