<
https://theconversation.com/deja-vu-in-new-caledonia-why-decades-of-political-failure-will-make-this-uprising-hard-to-contain-230397>
"With an air force plane on its way to rescue New Zealanders stranded by the
violent uprising in New Caledonia, many familiar with the island’s history are
experiencing an unwelcome sense of déjà vu.
When I first visited the island territory in 1983, I interviewed Eloi Machoro,
general secretary of the largest pro-independence party, L'Union Calédonienne.
It was a position he had held since his predecessor, Pierre Declerq, was
assassinated less than two years earlier.
Machoro was angry and frustrated with the socialist government in France, which
had promised independence while in opposition, but was prevaricating after
coming to power.
Tension was building, and within 18 months Machoro himself was killed by a
French military sniper after leading a campaign to disrupt a vote on France’s
plans for the territory.
I was in New Caledonia again last December, 40 years after my first visit, and
Kanak anger and frustration seemed even more intense. On the anniversary of the
1984 Hienghène massacre, in which ten Kanak activists were killed in an ambush
by armed settlers, there was a big demonstration in Nouméa.
Staged by a new activist group, the Coordination Unit for Actions on the Ground
(CCAT), it focused on the visit of French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu,
who was hosting a meeting of South Pacific defence ministers.
This followed the declaration by French president Emmanuel Macron, during a
visit in July 2023, that the process set out in the 1998 Nouméa Accords had
been concluded: independence was no longer an option because the people of New
Caledonia had voted against it.
The sense of betrayal felt by the independence movement and many Kanak people
was boiling over again. The endgame at this stage is unclear, and a lot will
ride on talks in Paris later this month."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
