Word: tromelin
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...Tromelin scarcely seems worth the effort. For one thing, there are no permanent residents. Other Indian Ocean islands can boast of native Maldivians, Seychellois, Mauritians or Malagasy. The only permanent Tromelinians are sea turtles and terns and the larger frigate sea birds, whose droppings until 1956 were harvested as the island's principal resource, guano for fertilizer. A small, transient French colony operating meteorological instruments and a radio transmitter is stationed there to forecast weather conditions for larger islands as well as for commercial airliners passing overhead...
...French live a bleak life together in a buried bunker on the island. Even drinking water must be flown in, along with food and supplies. For sanity's sake the men are rotated frequently to larger French islands. But while they are on Tromelin, they undoubtedly dream about the island's one famous resident: an 18th century female Robinson Crusoe who was washed ashore as the lone survivor of a shipwreck. She subsisted on food that floated in from the wreck, until a passing schooner spotted the bright yellow dress she had hoisted as a distress flag...
France has claimed the island for 200 years (it is named for a chevalier who first set foot on Tromelin in 1776) and has maintained the weather service since 1953. Yet vigorous dissent to the French claim has been registered by Mauritius. 300 miles to the southeast. Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, 77, insists that Tromelin "is part and parcel of our territory, and always has been.'' In fact, Mauritius' claim -dates back only to 1959. nine years before the nation won independence from Britain. Last year, after learning that France intended to cultivate the Tromelin turtles...
...rival and more recent claim has been instituted by Madagascar, 260 miles to the west. Madagascar's President Didier Ratsiraka last month announced that his Marxist republic is the rightful owner not only of Tromelin but of three other small French islands: Europa, Juan de Nova and Glorieuses. It is said that Ratsiraka wants Tromelin in order to establish a Soviet base there. That seems unlikely: because of the coral reefs, large ships could never venture inshore, and Tromelin is so small that a large airplane would run out of island before it could brake to a stop...
...Although Tromelin is not even listed in France's principal gazetteers, the French reject the rival claims and insist on retaining possession of the island. Explains a Foreign Ministry spokesman: "It is French territory. There is no reason to give it up." But there is a reason to keep it. France, like most coastal nations, has begun to claim 200-mile economic zones in territorial waters off both the mainland and its remaining overseas possessions. If these are recognized internationally, tiny Tromelin would provide France with a lucrative stake in whatever wealth lies beneath that area of the Indian...