NOUMEA, New Caledonia, July 17 (IPS) – It has been 26 years since a peace accord, the Noumea Accord, was signed after conflict broke out in the 1980s between Kanak islanders and French forces in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.
But the eruption of turbulent protests and unrest two months ago has shown that political discord between indigenous people and the French state remains deeply rooted in this group of islands east of Australia in the south-west Pacific Ocean.
The centre of New Caledonia’s capital, Noumea, a popular holiday destination in the Pacific Islands, usually buzzes with tourists visiting the terraces. But many of the streets, now patrolled by French police, are deserted and eerily quiet.
The protests, which began in mid-May, escalated into armed clashes between activists and French security forces, leaving ten people dead. And the destruction of homes, public buildings and looting of shops and businesses have had a devastating impact on the small island community. Damage is estimated at more than $1 billion; at least 7,000 people have lost their jobs and incomes, and the territory’s economy has suffered a major downturn.
The unrest has exposed the huge divide between France’s determination to retain control of the territory and the indigenous Kanak islanders, who are angry at the lack of progress in their calls for self-determination.
“We protested in the streets. We wanted to tell the French state to respect the Kanaks, because France voted for the reforms without our consent,” Jacques (his name has been changed), a Kanak activist in Noumea, told IPS.
He was referring to the introduction of electoral law changes in New Caledonia by the French parliament that would make electoral rolls accessible to tens of thousands of recent migrants who have settled here, most of whom come from Europe.
About 41 percent of New Caledonia’s population is indigenous and many believe this has led to a diminishing influence of their vote on the rising numbers of Loyalists in future elections and referendums. The changing demographic balance between Kanaks and non-Kanaks is a long-standing complaint.
The uprising in the 1980s was fueled by grievances over land dispossession, poverty, inequality, lack of civil and political rights, and French policies to promote migration from France to New Caledonia.
While French President Emmanuel Macron electoral reforms By mid-June, many supporters of the independence movement are still not satisfied.
Jacques is one of the Kanak activists who have set up a campaign spot next to a main road on the outskirts of the capital. They sit around a table under an awning, surrounded by flags and banners.
“We want our country to be decolonized, as stated in the Noumea Agreement. The French state is only interested in dominating the population here. If the French state stays here, we will have more violence,” Jacques claims.
In 1998, the French government agreed to the Noumea Accords, which gave New Caledonia greater administrative powers, recognition of Kanak culture and the right to consultation. It also imposed restrictions on the local electoral roll, so that only Kanaks and permanent residents could vote. Referendums were also held on the future political status of the country.
But in 2021, three referendums were held, all with a majority result, to remain part of France. There was a 43.33 percent vote for independence in the first referendum in 2018, which increased to 46.74 percent in the second in 2020. But Kanaks, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, boycotted the third referendum in 2021. The overwhelming Loyalist vote of 96.5 percent has never been accepted by pro-independence political parties, such as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS).
“We support the call of FLNKS to the UN to annul the result of the third referendum due to the non-participation of the people of Kanaky. The turnout was below 50 percent of registered voters; therefore, it cannot be considered the legitimate wish of the silent majority,” the sub-regional intergovernmental organization, the Melanesian Spearhead Group, stated in 2021.
The Kanak separatists’ determination to keep their aspirations alive, even as options to change the political status quo through referendums have been exhausted, has led to an increasingly polarised political landscape. Some established loyalists believe the French state “should take over the government of New Caledonia because of all the political problems we have”, Catherine Ris, president of the University of New Caledonia in Noumea, told IPS. And “on the pro-independence side, we don’t hear the moderates anymore.”
The recent mobilisation of the Field Action Coordinating Cell (CCAT) by the Pro-Independence Caledonian Union party was a sign of the belief among some Kanaks that their demands will not be met through the political process. The core group of activists has been a major force behind the recent protests and the Cell’s leader, Christian Tein, is currently in prison in France on charges of unrest. Likewise, the large presence of young people on the streets in May is evidence that a new generation has lost faith in the pace of social and political change.
“The younger people want the change now, because they have experienced and seen a lot of adversity in their lives: the persecution of the Kanak people, the difficulties in finding a job,” Jacques stressed. It is estimated that 45 percent of the people in New Caledonia who do not have a high school diploma are indigenous, and the Kanak unemployment rate is said to be as high as 38 percent.
Yet Kanak representation in the territory’s government and politics has steadily increased over the past two decades. The number of seats held by pro-independence politicians in New Caledonia’s 54-seat Congress rose from 18 to 25 between 2004 and 2014, while the number of loyalists fell from 36 to 29 seats, reports Australia’s Lowy Institute for International Policy.
In 2021, Louis Mapou, the government’s first pro-independence Kanak president, was elected. And following France’s national elections this month, Emmanuel Tjibaou, a Kanak leader from rural North Province, was elected as one of New Caledonia’s two members of the National Assembly in Paris.
In the wider region, New Caledonia’s self-determination movement has the international support of other Pacific island states, particularly those with indigenous Melanesian populations, such as Papua New Guinea and Fiji, but also Azerbaijan and Russia. And the French overseas territory has been on the United Nations Decolonization List since 1986.
However, there are New Caledonians who are concerned about the viability of a New Caledonian state. The territory is heavily dependent on The budget of France aid, which amounts to 20 percent of local gross domestic product (GDP) and pays for public services, local economic development programs and civil servant salaries.
“We have a good economy here,” Marcieux, a Frenchman who has lived in New Caledonia for 30 years, told IPS in Noumea. “It’s easy to talk about independence, but in reality it’s very difficult. You need a way to create independence.”
But until the deep political divisions exposed by the events of May are addressed, it will be difficult for New Caledonia’s leaders to show a common will to President Macron and the French parliament, which is more than 10,000 miles away.
Tjibaou, the new member of the French National Assembly, is however the focus of hope that a meaningful dialogue can emerge from the recent conflict. He told local media shortly after his election this month that “we all have to provide a framework for the resumption of discussions between the three partners, namely France, the FLNKS and the Loyalists… we have to play on this.”
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
