Background and political role

Isaako is from Atafu

Atafu

Atafu, formerly known as the Duke of York Group is a group of 42 coral islets within Tokelau in the south Pacific Ocean, 500 km north of Samoa. Covering 2.5 km², it is the smallest of the three islands that constitute Tokelau, and is composed of an atoll surrounding a central lagoon,...

. He was the head of government

Heads of government of Tokelau

The office of head of government of Tokelau , often simply called the Ulu, rotates yearly between the faipule of Tokelau's three atolls.-List:...

 of Tokelau

Tokelau

Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400...

 (Ulu o Tokelau) from February 2004 to February 2005.

Issues

In May 2004, the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 Special Committee on Decolonialization held a seminar to discuss independence for Tokelau from New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Isaako opposed the idea, mainly because Tokelau may be too small and undeveloped to function on its own.

External links

• Tokelau Wonders, "What Have We Done Wrong?"