monarchy in court. His claims were not recognised by France. On 28 May 2009, Joinville Pomare, an adopted member of the Pomare family, declared himself King Pomare XI, during a ceremony attended by descendants of leading chiefs but spurned by members of his own family. Other members of the family recognise his uncle, Léopold Pomare, as heir to the throne. Another claimant, Athanase Teiri, claims descent from Pomare V and sovereignty over French Polynesian sea, land, and airspace. He and his associates had received some attention in politics in the Tuamotu beforehand. He and associates assembled 100 people for a declaration of an independent Moorea, and claim to have 50,000 signatures supporting Moorea's independence. (Although Moorea has only 16,000 people, the 50,000 signature figure is not necessarily untrue because it could imply that Hau Pakumotu received signatures from people both on Moorea and in other parts of French Polynesia.) He declared an independent Pakomotu Sovereign Republic State on 25 June 2010 and has called French Polynesia a "mistake". Athanase Teiri was arrested in early June 2010 for illegally issuing ID cards for his republic. He is currently being held at the Papeete police station for attempted murder of a policeman, armed rebellion, forming of a militia and illegal possession of a weapon. He had previously received a six-month jail sentence for intimidating and threatening senior officials. Family tree See also Kingdom of Tahiti List of monarchs of Tahiti List of consorts of Tahiti Hawaii–Tahiti relations References External links The Tahitian Royal Family Pomare Dynasty Adoptions French Polynesia-related lists