Issue and Opponent: In 1982, the Marshall Islands government signed with the United States a renewal of the lease agreement for the Kwajalein Missile Range as the center of operation for missile and nuclear testing, an accord that has been in force since 1978. From the beginning, the natives protested the installation of the testing site. The conditions of the renovation increased their annoyance, mainly due to the sheer number of years of the extension (50 years) and the lack of compensation for being removed from the lands that belonged to them.
Dilemma Action: On June 19, 1982, natives started Operation Homecoming, where 800 – 1,000 landowners re-occupied their home islands, setting up camps on Kwajalein, Roi-Namur, and the islands of the Mid-Corridor. As the numbers increased, they began a return to traditional patterns of living and working, as before the lease agreement and their displacement. While they peacefully occupied and seized the land that once belonged to them, the U.S. government reacted with escalations in economic and social pressures, later resorting to forcible removal and threats of violence.
Outcome: Although military and nuclear tests continued to be carried out, under pressure from the islanders, the contract time was reduced from 50 to 30 years and the landowners received the profits from the lease and higher compensation for having been displaced.