A constituional amendment has
been tabled in Nauru to change the country’s
name.
President David Adeang tabled the bill,
proposing to amend Nauru’s Constitution to replace all
references to ‘Nauru’ with ‘Naoero’.
He said while the
name ‘Nauru’ has been recognised internationally since
independence, the proposed change seeks to more faithfully
honour the nation’s heritage, language, and
identity.
In a statement on Thursday, the government
said Nauru emerged because Naoero could not be properly
pronounced by foreign tongues.
“[It] was changed not
by our choice, but for convenience,” the statement
said.
“Other nations have also changed their country
names to better reflect and honour their cultures and
languages, and bring their people together, such as
Eswatini, Türkiye, and closer to home – Chuuk.”
It
said the change would be reflected across the country, from
the renaming of the national aircraft and ships, to official
identity regionally and internationally, including at the
United Nations, and across national official records and
symbols.
The amendment, tabled in late January, will
be laid over for 90 days as per the law, then be returned to
the order paper for debate on the second reading.
To
be passed by parliament, it would require a two-thirds
majority of MPs to vote in favour, after which it would go
to a national referendum.
The government said a
referendum date will be set once it has passed
parliament.
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