Editing History of Vanuatu (section)

== "Coconut War" ==
{{main|Coconut War}}
[[File:Flag of Vemerana.svg|thumb|[[Nagriamel]] flag]]

Beginning in June 1980, [[Jimmy Stevens (politician)|Jimmy Stevens]], head of the [[Nagriamel|Nagriamel movement]], led an uprising against the colonial officials and the plans for independence.<ref name=twsSEPxvzq01/><ref name="twsSEPxvzq02">{{cite news
| title = South Pacific Rebel Seized
| publisher = The New York Times via Reuters
| date = 14 September 1982
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/14/world/south-pacific-rebel-seized.html
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref><ref name="twsSEPxvzq04">{{cite news
| title = Pacific Islands in Election Battle
| work = The New York Times
| date = 1 November 1983
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/01/world/pacific-island-in-election-battle.html
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref><ref name="twsSEPxvzq05">{{cite news
| author = William Borders
| title = British Answering New Hebrides Call; Company of Marines Being Sent 'to Provide Stability' French Antiriot Police Arrive Threat to Independence One Killed on 2d Island 55 French Riot Police Land 
| work = The New York Times
| date = 12 June 1980
| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70A14F83B5C12728DDDAB0994DE405B8084F1D3
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref> The uprising lasted about 12 weeks. The rebels blockaded [[Santo-Pekoa International Airport]], destroyed two bridges, and declared the independence of [[Espiritu Santo]] island as the "[[State of Vemerana]]". Stevens was supported by [[French language|French-speaking]] landowners and by the [[Phoenix Foundation]], an American business foundation that supported the establishment of a [[libertarianism|libertarian]] [[tax haven]] in the New Hebrides.<ref name="twsSEPxvzq09">{{cite news
| title = U.S. Land Developer Aids New Hebrides Dissidents
| work = The New York Times
| date = 7 June 1980
| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B10F8395F12728DDDAE0894DE405B8084F1D3
| access-date = 18 September 2009
| first=Joseph B.
| last=Treaster
}}</ref>

On 8 June 1980, the New Hebrides government asked Britain and France to send troops to put down a rebellion on the island of Espiritu Santo.<ref name="twsSEPxvzq08">{{cite news
| title = New Hebrides Asks for Aid in Revolt; Plea Might Go to U.N. 
| work = The New York Times
| date = 8 June 1980
| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D10F73A5A12728DDDA10894DE405B8084F1D3
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref> France refused to allow the United Kingdom to deploy troops to defuse the crisis, and French soldiers stationed on Espiritu Santo took no action. As independence day neared, the [[Prime Minister of Vanuatu|Prime Minister-elect]], [[Walter Lini]],<ref name="twsSEPxvzq03">{{cite news
| author = Bernard D. Nossiter
| title = Vanuatu, New Pacific Nation, Moving Toward Seat at U.N.
| work = The New York Times
| date = 9 July 1981
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/09/world/vanuatu-new-pacific-nation-moving-toward-seat-at-un.html
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref> asked [[Papua New Guinea]] if it would send troops to intervene.<ref name="twsSEPxvzq01">{{cite news
| author =  Michael T. Kaufman
| title = Walter Lini, 57, Clergyman Who Led Nation of Vanuatu
| work = The New York Times
| date = 23 February 1999
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/23/world/walter-lini-57-clergyman-who-led-nation-of-vanuatu.html
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref> As Papua New Guinean soldiers began arriving in Espiritu Santo,<ref name="twsSEPzzx03">{{cite news
| author = Graeme Dobell
| title = Alexander Downer announces moves toward a new foreign policy – Transcript
| publisher = PM
| date =  26 June 2003
| url = http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2003/s889152.htm
| access-date = 17 September 2009
}}</ref> the foreign press began referring to the ongoing events as the "Coconut War".

However, the "war" was brief and unconventional. The residents of Espiritu Santo generally welcomed the Papua New Guineans as fellow [[Melanesian people|Melanesians]]. Stevens' followers were armed with only [[bow and arrow|bows and arrows]], rocks, and slings. There were few casualties, and the war came to a sudden end: when a vehicle carrying Stevens' son burst through a Papua New Guinean roadblock in late August 1980, the soldiers opened fire on the vehicle, killing Stevens' son. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy Stevens surrendered, stating that he had never intended that anyone be harmed.<ref name="twsSEPxvzq07">{{cite news
| title = New Hebrides Rebel Urges Peace; Willing to Fight British and French One British Officer Injured 
| work = The New York Times
| date = 9 June 1980
| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F14FA3B5C12728DDDA00894DE405B8084F1D3
| access-date = 18 September 2009
}}</ref>

At Stevens' trial, the support of the Phoenix Foundation to the Nagriamel movement was revealed. It was also revealed that the French government had secretly supported Stevens in his efforts. Stevens was sentenced<ref name=twsSEPxvzq02/> to 14 years' imprisonment; he remained in prison until 1991.