A Kanak political commentator in Aotearoa New Zealand says calls to separate New Caledonia into pro- and anti-independence provinces would worsen racial inequality in the Pacific territory.
Unrest continues in the capital Nouméa, with the nephew of New Caledonia Congress pro-independence president shot and killed at Saint Louis, and more armoured vehicles arriving from France.
Calls to divide the territory’s provinces are being pushed by loyalist and the French territory’s Southern Province President Sonia Backes.
Speaking at the weekend, Backes said the project of a New Caledonia institutionally united and based on living together with each other was “over”.
AFP news agency reported Backes had said that when two opposing forces were convinced they were legitimately defending their values, they were faced with a choice of fighting each other to the death or separating so they could live.
Political uncertainty in Paris is delaying the possibility of any kind of resolution in the troubled territory, which is also fraught with internal divisions among both the pro- and anti-independence camps.
Pockets of inequality
Auckland lawyer Joseph Xulue told RNZ Pacific “separatist ideology” would create pockets of inequality.
“The support in the region, particularly, support in respect of economic resources, administrative resources would almost certainly be pumped into the Southern Province if this were to eventuate because France would understand that those are the people who are loyal to them,” he said.
Xulue said Backes’ ideas went against the spirit of the Nouméa Accord.
Joseph Xulue is the first person of Kanak heritage to graduate from Harvard Law School . . . a loyalist “separatist” proposal is against the spirit of the Nouméa Accord. Image: Joseph Xulue/RNZ Pacific
“It was agreed to and formed on the basis that we would not have this kind of separatist ideology. It helps to assent the actual Accord’s document . . . [there’s a] stipulation that this would not happen.
“If Kanaky New Caledonia is going to advance beyond the actual Accord’s process.”
He added that Backes’ ideas would only worsen racial inequality in the archipelago.
‘Political reverberations’ Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan, who has been covering the French territory for decades, told RNZ Pacific the area where the latest death had been recorded had a long colonial history.
Maclellan said that in 1878 there was a revolt in the north and centre of the country, then in the 19th century, as the French military moved in attacking villages, many people fled to the outskirts of the capital.
He said nowadays Saint Louis was one of the areas where survivors from past conflicts had fled too.
“It has always been a hotspot, there has always been a level of criminal activity around people of St Louis. It is a strong community, largely Kanak,” he said.
“Police reports which is still under investigations suggest that a group of Kanaks were firing at a police drone. There was a exchange of gunfire between the Kanak activist and the members of the GIGN paramilitary unit and in that case a GIGN police officer shot and killed Rock [Victorin] Wamytan.”
Maclellan said the name of the dead man was symbolic in New Caledonia.
“[He] is nephew of Rock Wamytan, the current President of the Congress of New Caledonia who is a high chief of Saint Louis. So, beyond the allegations of criminal activity by this, this group of activists, it has also got political reverberations.”
French snap elections unhelpful He said the French snap elections results both in mainland France and New Caledonia would continue to reverberate in months to come.
While the polls were predicting that the extreme right led by Marine Le Pen would win the largest bloc, and possibly a majority in the government, those polls turned out to be wrong.
Instead, a left alliance, known as the New Popular Front — an alliance of parties including the Greens, the Socialists, the Communist Party, and a large group led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, France Unbowed, (LFI), have got the largest bloc.
However, Maclellan said no one had the absolute majority required to have the ruling numbers in the 577-seat French legislature in Paris.
“All in all, it is very complex, a fast-moving situation in Paris. We will see what happens.
“But the real problem for the Pacific is this level of uncertainty creates ongoing political, cultural, economic chaos that cannot be helpful at a time when New Caledonia’s economy has been very badly damaged by weeks of rioting and clashes between police and protesters,” he added.
New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has said the Pacific as a whole should be concerned about ongoing unrest in New Caledonia.
Peters said he hoped a plan was in place ahead of the Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Nuku’alofa next month.
“The long term Pacific future is all of our business. We have to hope that before we get to Tonga that there has been some sort of guideline of how we might go forward,” he said.
“Our view is that we have to ensure that there is a solution where we can help — help to rebuild if we can.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Many platitudes about media freedom and democracy laced last week’s Pacific International Media Conference in the Fijian capital of Suva. There was a mood of euphoria at the impressive event, especially from politicians who talked about journalism being the “oxygen of democracy”.
The dumping of the draconian and widely hated Fiji Media Industry Development Act that had started life as a military decree in 2010, four years after former military commander Voreqe Bainimarama seized power, and was then enacted in the first post-coup elections in 2014, was seen as having restored media freedom for the first time in almost two decades.
As a result, Fiji had bounced back 45 places to 44th on this year’s Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index – by far the biggest climb of any nation in Oceania, where most countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have been sliding downhill.
One of Fiji’s three deputy Prime Ministers, Professor Biman Prasad, a former University of the South Pacific economist and long a champion of academic and media freedom, told the conference the new Coalition government headed by the original 1987 coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka had reintroduced media self-regulation and “we can actually feel the freedom everywhere, including in Parliament”.
The same theme had been offered at the conference opening ceremony by another deputy PM, Manoa Kamikamica, who declared:
“We pride ourselves on a government that tries to listen, and hopefully we can try and chart a way forward in terms of media freedom and journalism in the Pacific, and most importantly, Fiji.
“They say that journalism is the oxygen of democracy, and that could be no truer than in the case of Fiji.”
Happy over media law repeal
Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Information and Communication Technology Timothy Masiu echoed the theme. Speaking at the conference launch of a new book, Waves of Change: Media, Peace, and Development in the Pacific (co-edited by Professor Prasad, conference chair Associate Professor Shailendra Singh and Dr Amit Sarwal), he said: “We support and are happy with this government of Fiji for repealing the media laws that went against media freedom in Fiji in the recent past.”
Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica . . . speaking about the “oxygen of democracy” at the opening of the Pacific International Media Conference in Suva on 4 July 2024. Image: Asia Pacific Media Network
But therein lies an irony. While Masiu supports the repeal of a dictatorial media law in Fiji, he is a at the centre of controversy back home over a draft media law (now in its fifth version) that he is spearheading that many believe will severely curtail the traditional PNG media freedom guaranteed under the constitution.
He defends his policies, saying that in PNG, “given our very diverse society with over 1000 tribes and over 800 languages and huge geography, correct and factful information is also very, very critical.”
Masiu says that what drives him is a “pertinent question”:
“How is the media being developed and used as a tool to protect and preserve our Pacific identity?”
PNG Minister for Information and Communications Technology Timothy Masiu (third from right) at the conference pre-dinner book launchings at Holiday Inn, Suva, on July 4. The celebrants are holding the 30th anniversary edition of Pacific Journalism Review. Image: Wansolwara
Another issue over the conference was the hypocrisy over debating media freedom in downtown Suva while a few streets away Fijian freedom of speech advocates and political activists were being gagged about speaking out on critical decolonisation and human rights issues such as Kanaky, Palestine and West Papua freedom.
In the front garden of the Gordon Street compound of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC), the independence flags of Kanaky, Palestine and West Papua flutter in the breeze. Placards and signs daub the walls of the centre declaring messages such as “Stop the genocide”, “Resistance is justified! When people are occupied!”, “Free Kanaky – Justice for Kanaky”, “Ceasefire, stop genocide”, “Palestine is a moral litmus test for the world” and “We need rainbows not Rambos”.
The West Papuan Morning Star and Palestinian flags for decolonisation fluttering high in downtown Suva. Image: APMN
‘Thursdays in Black’
While most of the 100 conference participants from 11 countries were gathered at the venue to launch the peace journalism book Waves of Change and the 30th anniversary edition of Pacific Journalism Review, about 30 activists were gathered at the same time on July 4 in the centre’s carpark for their weekly “Thursdays in Black” protest.
But they were barred from stepping onto the footpath in public or risk arrest. Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly Fiji-style.
Protesters at the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre compound in downtown Suva in the weekly “Thursdays in Black” solidarity rally with Kanaky, Palestine and West Papua on July 4. Image: APMN
Surprisingly, the protest organisers were informed on the same day that they could stage a “pre-Bastllle Day” protest about Kanaky and West Papua on July 12, but were banned from raising Israeli’s genocidal war on Palestine.
The protest march was staged on Friday but in spite of the Palestine ban some placards surfaced and also Palestinian symbols such as keffiyehs and watermelons.
The “pre-Bastille Day” march in Suva in solidarity for decolonisation. Image: FWCC
The Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji and their allies have been hosting vigils at FWCC compound for Palestine, West Papua and Kanaky every Thursday over the last eight months, calling on the Fiji government and Pacific leaders to support the ceasefire in Gaza, and protect the rights of Palestinians, West Papuans and Kanaks.
“The struggles of Palestinians are no different to West Papua, Kanaky New Caledonia — these are struggles of self-determination, and their human rights must be upheld,” said FWCC coordinator and the NGO coalition chair Shamima Ali.
Solidarity for Kanaky in the “pre-Bastille Day” march in Suva on Friday. Image: FWCC
Media silence noticed
Outside the conference, Pacific commentators also noticed the media hypocrisy and the extraordinary silence.
Canberra-based West Papuan diplomacy-trained activist and musician Ronny Kareni complained in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “While media personnel, journos and academia in journalism gathered [in Suva] to talk about media freedom, media network and media as the oxygen of democracy etc., why Papuan journos can’t attend, yet Indon[esian] ambassador to Fiji @SimamoraDupito can??? Just curious.”
Ronny Kareni’s X post about the Indonesian Ambassador to Fiji Dupito D. Simamora. Image: @ronnykareni X screenshot APR
At the conference itself, some speakers did raise the Palestine and decolonisation issue.
Speaker Khairiah A Rahman (from left) of the Asia Pacific Media Network and colleagues Pacific Journalism Review designer Del Abcede, PJR editor Dr Philip Cass, Dr Adam Brown, PJR founder Dr David Robie, and Rach Mario (Whānau Community Hub). Image: APMN
Khairiah A. Rahman, of the Asia Pacific Media Network, one of the partner organisers along with the host University of the South Pacific and Pacific Islands News Association, spoke on the “Media, Community, Social Cohesion and Conflict Prevention” panel following Hong Kong Professor Cherian George’s compelling keynote address about “Cracks in the Mirror: When Media Representations Sharpen Social Divisions”.
She raised the Palestine crisis as a critical global issue and also a media challenge.
“Palestine is a moral litmus test for the world” poster at the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre compound. Image: APMN
In his keynote address, “Frontline Media Faultlines: How Critical Journalism Can Survive Against the Odds”, Professor David Robie, also of APMN, spoke of the common decolonisation threads between Kanaky, Palestine and West Papua.
He also critiquing declining trust in mainstream media – that left some “feeling anxious and powerless” — and how they were being fragmented by independent start-ups that were perceived by many people as addressing universal truths such as the genocide in Palestine.
“Gaza has become not just a metaphor for a terrible state of dystopia in parts of the world, it has also become an existential test for journalists – do we stand up for peace and justice and the right of people to survive under the threat of ethnic cleansing and against genocide, or do we do nothing and remain silent in the face of genocide being carried out with impunity in front of our very eyes?
“The answer is simple surely . . .
“And it is about saving journalism, our credibility, and our humanity as journalists.”
Professor David Robie’s keynote speech at Pacific Media 2023. Video: The Australia Today
At the end of his address, Dr Robie called for a minute’s silence in a tribute to the 158 Palestinian journalists who had been killed so far in the ninth-month war on Gaza. The Gazan journalists were awarded this year’s UNESCO Guillermo Cano Media Freedom Prize for their “courage and commitment to freedom of expression”.
Undoubtedly the two most popular panels in the conference were the “Pacific Editors’ Forum” when eight editors from around the region “spoke their minds”, and a panel on sexual harassment on the media workplace and on the job.
Little or no action
According to speakers in “Gender and Media in the Pacific: Examining violence that women Face” panel introduced and moderated by Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) executive director Nalini Singh, female journalists continue to experience inequalities and harassment in their workplaces and on assignment — with little or no action taken against their perpetrators.
Fiji journalist Lice Movono speaking on a panel discussion about “Prevalence and Impact of sexual harassment on female journalists” at the Pacific International Media Conference in Fiji. Image: Stefan Armbruster/Benar News
The speakers included FWRM programme director Laisa Bulatale, experienced Pacific journalists Lice Movono and Georgina Kekea, strategic communications specialist Jacqui Berell and USP’s Dr Shailendra Singh, associate professor and the conference chair.
“As 18 and 19 year old (journalists), what we experienced 25 years ago in the industry is still the same situation — and maybe even worse now for young female journalists,” Movono said.
She shared “unfortunate and horrifying” accounts of experiences of sexual harassment by local journalists and the lack of space to discuss these issues.
These accounts included online bullying coupled with threats against journalists and their loved ones and families. stalking of female journalists, always being told to “suck it up” by bosses and other colleagues, the fear and stigma of reporting sexual harassment experiences, feeling as if no one would listen or care, the lack of capacity/urgency to provide psychological social support and many more examples.
“They do the work and they go home, but they take home with them, trauma,” Movono said.
And Kekea added: “Women journalists hardly engage in spaces to have their issues heard, they are often always called upon to take pictures and ‘cover’.”
Technology harassment
Berell talked about Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence (TFGBV) — a grab bag term to cover the many forms of harassment of women through online violence and bullying.
The FWRM also shared statistics on the combined research with USP’s School of Journalism on the “Prevalence and Impact of Sexual Harassment on Female Journalists” and data on sexual harassment in the workplace undertaken by the team.
Speaking from the floor, New Zealand Pacific investigative television journalist Indira Stewart also rounded off the panel with some shocking examples from Aotearoa New Zealand.
In spite of the criticisms over hypocrisy and silence over global media freedom and decolonisation challenges, participants generally concluded this was the best Pacific media conference in many years.
Asia Pacific Media Network’s Nik Naidu (right) with Maggie Boyle and Professor Emily Drew. Image: Del Abcede/APMN
Two widows and their children were among other Papua New Guinean squatters who had to dismantle their homes as the eviction exercise started at portion 2157 at Nine-Mile’s Bush Wara this week.
Agnes Kamak, 52, from Jiwaka’s South Waghi, and Jen Emeke, from Enga’s Wapenamanda, said they had lived and raised their children in the area for the past 10 years since the death of their husbands.
Kamak, who was employed as a cleaner with the Health Department, said she did not know where her family would go to seek refuge and rebuild their lives after they were evicted on Thursday.
“My two sons, daughter and I slept in the open last night [Wednesday] after we dismantled our home because we did not want the earthmoving machines to destroy our housing materials today [Thursday],” she said.
Kamak said she saved the money while working as a cleaner in various companies and bought a piece of land for K10,000 (NZ$4200) in 2013 from a man claiming to be from Koiari and a customary landowner.
“My late husband and I bought this piece of land with the little savings I earned as a cleaner,” she said.
“My second son is currently doing Grade 12 at Gerehu Secondary School and I do not want this situation to disrupt his studies.”
12 years in Bush Wara
She said she could not bring her family back home to Jiwaka as she had lived and built her life in Bush Wara for almost 12 years.
Emeke, who also worked as a cleaner, said she bought the piece of land for K10,000 and has lived with her two children in the area since 2016.
“After my husband passed away, my two children and I moved here and build our home,” Emeke said.
On March 12, the National Court granted leave to Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) to issue writs of possession to all illegal settlers residing within portions 2156, 2157 and 2159 at 9-Mile’s Bush Wara.
At the same time, it granted a 120-day grace period for the settlers to voluntarily vacate the land portions.
Most squatters had moved out during the 120-day grace period granted by the National Court for the settlers to voluntarily vacate the land.
The National witnessed the remaining squatters voluntarily pulling down the remaining structures of their homes and properties as earthmoving machines started clearing the area yesterday.
5400 squatters
It is understood that a survey conducted two years ago revealed that the total population squatting on the NSL land was about 5400 with 900 houses.
Acting commander of NCD and Central Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Guinness said he was pleased with both the police and squatters who worked together to see that the first day of eviction went smoothly.
He said there was no confrontation and the first day of eviction was carried out peacefully.
Assistant Commissioner Guinness said settlers who were still removing their properties were given time to do so while the machines moved to other locations.
“I want to thank my police officers and also the sheriff officers for a well-coordinated awareness programme that led to a peaceful first day of eviction.
“The public must understand that police presence on-site during the awareness and actual eviction was to execute the court order now in place.
“We have families there, too, but we have no choice but to execute our mandated duties.
“The 120-day grace period was enough time for everyone to move out as per the court order,” Guinness said.
Awareness for the eviction exercise started three years ago.
Kelvin Joe and Gynnie Keroare reporters for PNG’s The National. Republished with permission.
The fire-fighting trucks will be delivered to the local Civil Security department.
“This is to pursue efforts to secure [New Caledonia] . . . It will be used to renew or replace equipment that has been damaged, including trucks and armoured vehicles,” French High Commissioner in New Caledonia Louis Le Franc said during a media briefing.
The 10 new armoured vehicles, known as Centaur, will be added to six others that were already deployed in New Caledonia since last month.
On board the same vessel, another batch of light armoured vehicles, dedicated to “exploration”, are described as bearing “reinforced windows” to protect passengers against bullets.
While efforts are ongoing to remove the numerous roadblocks in Nouméa and its suburbs, in the Northern Province, three French gendarmes have been injured and sustained bone fractures after their car was targeted and hit by a vehicle used by rioters, the French High Commission said.
New vehicles for New Caledonia firefighters. Image: French High Commission
One of the gendarmes has since been medically evacuated.
The incident took place in Houaïlou, in the north of the main island of Grande Terre.
Earlier incidents, especially in urban areas, involved home-made Viet Minh-like traps such as manhole covers being removed and dissimulated under branches, while sharp iron rods had been sealed inside the hole.
Several gendarmes who were tricked and fell into the hidden hole suffered serious injuries to the legs.
In other instances, especially on the roadblocks where French security forces are still trying to clear traffic access, gas bottles have been converted into explosive devices after being fitted with homemade remote-controlled detonators.
Saint Louis church presbytery destroyed by fire Over the past few days, another hot point has been the village of Saint Louis, in the township of Mont-Dore (near Nouméa), where one rioter was killed earlier this week after firing gunshots to the gendarmes, who later retorted.
The death toll from the unrest is now 10.
On Thursday night, Saint Louis’s Catholic Mission, which had been set up in 1860 by the Marists, was set on fire and the presbytery (which had been occupied by rioters for the past few days) has been completely destroyed.
The Marist Brothers and Sisters had earlier been evacuated by French security forces.
Violent unrest has been ongoing in New Caledonia since mid-May, when riots, looting, arson, broke out.
This was initially in protest against a French government project to amend the Constitution and modify the rules of eligibility for local elections, a change perceived by the pro-independence movement as a bid to dilute the political strength of indigenous Kanak voters.
The riots, the worst since a quasi civil war erupted during the second half of the 1980s, have since caused the deaths of eight civilians and two French gendarmes.
Several hundred businesses and private residences were also set on fire and destroyed, for a total cost of some 2.2 billion euros (NZ$3.9 billion), according to the latest estimates.
As a result, several thousand employees have lost their jobs.
Two indicted women released – in home detention
Indicted Frédérique Muliava walked out of jail last Wednesday in Riom, France. Image: NC la 1ère/Quentin Menu
Last month, a group of pro-independence activists was indicted and flown to metropolitan France, where they are now serving pre-trial detention in several jails.
They are facing a range of charges, revolving around allegations of “organised crime”.
The arrests prompted a fresh upsurge in violence.
Last Wednesday, the only two women in the group, Frédérique Muliava (chief-of-staff of pro-independence figure and New Caledonia Congress President Roch Wamytan) and Brenda Wanabo (described as communications officer of the controversial pro-independence “CCAT” – field actions coordination cell) have been allowed to leave their jail, located respectively in Riom (near Clermont-Ferrand) and Dijon (eastern France).
Pending their trial before a French court, the two will however remain under home detention in the same cities and wearing electronic monitoring bracelets.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
When the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department in California wanted to purchase new firearms, it sold its used ones to help cover the cost. The old guns went to a distributor, which then turned around and sold them to the public. One of those guns—a Glock pistol—found its way to Indianapolis.
That Glock was involved in the killing of Maria Leslie’s grandson, and the fact that it once belonged to law enforcement makes her loss sting even more.
“My grandson was in his own apartment complex. He lived there,” Leslie said. “He should not have been murdered there, especially with a gun that traces back all the way to the California police department’s coffers.”
Across the nation, it’s common practice for police departments to trade in their old weapons rather than destroy them. Tens of thousands of old cop guns are ending up in the hands of criminals. This week, in a collaboration with The Trace and CBS News, reporter Alain Stephens traces the journey of some of those guns from the police departments that sold them to the crime scenes where they ended up.
Then Stephens brings us reporting from The Gun Machine podcast series from WBUR and The Trace. He explores the reasons why police and other law enforcement agencies have greatly expanded their arsenals over recent decades.
The voters in the second round of France’s national elections last weekend staved off an expected shift to the far-right. But the result in the Pacific territory Kanaky New Caledonia was also in many ways historic.
Of the two assembly representatives decided, a position fell on either side of the deep polarisation evident in the territory — one for loyalists, one for supporters of independence. But it is the independence side that will take the most from the result.
Turnout in the vote was remarkable, not only because of the violence in New Caledonia over recent months, which has curbed movement and public transport across the territory, but also because national elections have been seen particularly by independence parties as less relevant locally.
Voting was generally peaceful, although a blockade prevented voting in one Kanak commune during the first round.
After winning the first round, a hardline loyalist and independence candidate faced off in each constituency. The second round therefore presented a binary choice, effectively becoming a barometer of views around independence.
Sobering results for loyalists
While clearly not a referendum, it was the first chance to measure sentiment in this manner since the boycotted referendum in 2021, which had followed two independence votes narrowly favouring staying with France.
The resulting impasse about the future of the territory had erupted into violent protests in May this year, when President Emmanuel Macron sought unilaterally to broaden voter eligibility to the detriment of indigenous representation. Only Macron then called snap national elections.
These are sobering results for loyalists.
So the contest, as it unfolded in New Caledonia, represented high stakes for both sides.
In the event, loyalist Nicolas Metzdorf won 52.4 percent in the first constituency (Noumea and islands) over the independence candidate’s 47.6 percent. Independence candidate Emmanuel Tjibaou won 57.4 percent to the loyalist’s 42.6 percent in the second (Northern Province and outer suburbs of Noumea).
The results, a surprise even to independence leaders, were significant.
It is notable that in these national elections, all citizens are eligible to vote. Only local assembly elections apply the controversial voter eligibility provisions which provoked the current violence, provisions that advantage longstanding residents and thus indigenous independence supporters.
Even in the constituency won by the loyalist, the independence candidate, daughter-in-law of early independence fighter Nidoïsh Naisseline, won 47 percent of the vote.
These are sobering results for loyalists.
Jean-Marie Tjibaou, founding father of the independence movement in Kanaky New Caledonia, 1985. Image: David Robie/Café Pacific
Independence party candidate Emmanuel Tjibaou, 48, carried particular symbolism. The son of the assassinated founding father of the independence movement Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Emmanuel had eschewed politics to this point, instead taking on cultural roles including as head of the Kanak cultural development agency.
He is a galvanising figure for independence supporters.
Emmanuel Tjibaou is now the first independence assembly representative in 38 years. He won notwithstanding France redesigning the two constituencies in 1988 specifically to prevent an independence representative win by including part of mainly loyalist Noumea in each.
A loyalist stronghold has been broken.
Further strain on both sides While both a loyalist and independence parliamentarian will now sit in Paris and represent their different perspectives, the result will further strain the two sides.
Pro-independence supporters will be energised by the strong performance and this will increase expectations, especially among the young. The responsibility on elders is heavy. Tjibaou described the vote as “a call for help, a cry of hope”. He has urged a return to the path of dialogue.
At the same time, loyalists will be concerned by independence party success. Insecurity and fear, already sharpened by recent violence, may intensify. While he referred to the need for dialogue, Nicolas Metzdorf is known for his tough uncompromising line.
Paradoxically the ongoing violence means an increased reliance on France for the reconstruction that will be a vital underpinning for talks. Estimates for rebuilding have exceeded 2 billion euros (NZ$3.6 billion), with more than 800 businesses, countless schools and houses attacked, many destroyed.
Yet France itself is reeling after the snap elections returned no clear winner. Three blocs are vying for power, and are divided within their own ranks over how government should be formed. While French presidents have had to “cohabit” with an assembly majority of the opposite persuasion three times before, never has a president faced no clear majority.
It will take time, perhaps months, for a workable solution to emerge, during which New Caledonia is hardly likely to take precedence.
As New Caledonia’s neighbours prepare to meet for the annual Pacific Islands Forum summit next month, all will be hoping that the main parties can soon overcome their deep differences and find a peaceful local way forward.
Denise Fisher is a visiting fellow at ANU’s Centre for European Studies. She was an Australian diplomat for 30 years, serving in Australian diplomatic missions as a political and economic policy analyst in many capitals. The Australian Consul-General in Noumea, New Caledonia (2001-2004), she is the author of France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics (2013).
Riots in Kanaky New Caledonia claimed their 10th victim yesterday.
The death took place as a result of an exchange of fire between a group of rioters in the village of Saint Louis (near the capital Nouméa) and French gendarmes, local news media reported.
Nouméa Public Prosecutor Yves Dupas yesterday confirmed the incident and the fatality, saying the victim had opened fire on the French gendarmes, who then returned fire.
Gunfire exchanges had also been reported on the previous day, since French security forces had arrived on site.
A group of armed snipers were reported to have entered the Church of Saint Louis, including the victim who was reported to have opened fire, aiming at the gendarmes from that location.
The victim is described as the nephew of prominent pro-independence politician and local territorial Congress president Roch Wamytan.
Wamytan is also the Great Chief of Saint Louis and a prominent figure of the hard-line pro-independence party Union Calédonienne (UC).
On Sunday, during an election night live broadcast, he told public television NC la 1ère that “as the High Chief of Saint Louis and as President of the Congress, I find what is going on in Saint Louis really regrettable”.
“We will try to address the situation in the coming days,” he said.
On Sunday night, French gendarmes had to evacuate two resident religious sisters from the Saint Louis Marist Mission after armed rioters threatened them at gunpoint and ordered them to leave.
French security forces had launched an operation in Saint Louis on Tuesday in a bid to restore law and order and dismantle several roadblocks and barricades erected by rioters in this area, known to be a pro-independence stronghold.
Car jacking Several other incidents of car jacking had also been reported near the Saint Louis mission over the past few days on this portion of the strategic road leading to the capital Nouméa.
The incidents have been described by victims as the stealing of vehicles, threats at gunpoint, humiliation of drivers and passengers, and — in some cases — burning the vehicles.
Some of the victims later declared they had been ordered to take off their clothes.
A maritime ferry was set ablaze in Nouméa’s Port Moselle on Tuesday. Image: FB/RNZ
Nearby Mont-Dore Mayor Eddie Lecourieux strongly condemned the actions as “unspeakable” and “unjustifiable”.
On Tuesday evening, another incident involved the burning of one of the maritime ferries – used by many as an alternate means to reach Nouméa.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed an order requiring journalist Rahul Pandita to pay INR7.5 million (US$89,800) in defamation compensation to senior paramilitary officer Harpreet Singh Sidhu, according to newsreports. This stay will remain in effect until the next hearing, scheduled for October 21.
On March 5, an appellate court ordered Pandita, an independent journalist and author, to pay the original ask of INR5 million (US$59,900) plus 6% interest, totaling INR7.5 million, from the date of the suit’s filing. This compensation was for Sidhu’s alleged “loss of reputation and goodwill, mental agony, and hardship due to unfounded derogatory remarks.”
On May 28, the high court stayed the appellate court’s decision after it was revealed that Pandita was not even aware of the trial proceedings against him and had no opportunity to defend himself, according to CPJ’s review of the court ruling.
The order stemmed from a December 13, 2014, report by Pandita, who worked with The Hindu newspaper as an opinion and special stories editor at the time, that has since been withdrawn but was reviewed by CPJ. While it is not clear why the publication withdrew the story, The Hindu initially defended Pandita’s report in a response to Sidhu’s legal notice to the publication as fair comment, according to the Mumbai Press Club.
The report accused Sidhu of negligence in his duties as Inspector general of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) operations in Chhattisgarh. The original defamation suit filed by Sidhu was dismissed by a lower court in Mohali on September 16, 2017, but Sidhu challenged this judgment, leading to the appellate court’s recent decision.
The report claimed that Sidhu did not perform his duties properly during a Maoist attack on December 1, 2013, which resulted in the deaths of 14 people. Pandita alleged that Sidhu took nearly four hours to reach the location despite being only 400 meters (440 yards) away. Sidhu contested these allegations, which were summarized in a statement published by The Hindu, asserting that he was the first to reach the troops and provided proper leadership.
In his defense, Pandita’s lawyers argued that the report was not personal, did not invade Sidhu’s privacy, and was written with due care and caution, according to a news report reviewed by CPJ. They emphasized that the articles were published as part of Pandita’s journalistic duties and were based on eyewitness accounts and responses from CRPF officials.
“The articles were published in relation to the conduct of a public servant, in exercise of public duties, and thus the respondent being a public servant cannot question foul play,” Pandita’s legal team argued. Pandita also maintains that he reached out to Sidhu’s superiors for their right to reply, and that their responses were included in the story.
Pandita declined to respond to CPJ’s request for comment, and Sidhu has not yet replied to CPJ’s text message.
New Delhi, July 10, 2024 –The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on police in Uttar Pradesh state to drop their investigation into a claim that independent journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Wasim Akram Tyagi incited religious enmity through “malicious” posts on social media platform X alleging that a Muslim resident of Shamli district was killed in a July 4 “mob lynching.”
“The criminal investigation against journalists Zakir Ali Tyagi and Wasim Akram Tyagi for highlighting potential police misconduct and sectarian tensions are an alarming misuse of the legal system,” said CPJ India Representative Kunal Majumder. “The authorities should drop this investigation and focus on addressing the issues raised by these journalists rather than punishing them for their work.”
Police opened the investigation into the journalists and three others on July 6 following a complaint by Manendra Kumar, a police sub-inspector at Thana Bhawan police station in the area, according to a First Information Report (FIR) reviewed by CPJ.
Zakir had reported the death and that police were investigating charges of culpable homicide via X on July 5. He and Waseem, who are not related, suggested authorities were trying to help the alleged killers by not classifying the death as a murder.
Kumar’s complaint claims that the posts by Zakir and Wasim violate two sections of the new penal code – section 196 for promoting enmity between groups which is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine, or both, and section 353 for statements causing public mischief which is punishable up to three years in prison with or without a fine.
Shamli police superintendent Abhisekh, who goes by one name, did not respond to CPJ’s email requesting comment on the investigation.
Authorities across China are targeting dissidents and petitioners ahead of next week’s key meeting of the ruling Communist Party, placing them under house arrest or escorting them out of town on enforced “vacations,” Radio Free Asia has learned.
The meeting is scheduled to start Monday at the Jingxi Hotel in Beijing in a bid to boost the struggling economy.
“I can name several people in Beijing who have been notified by state security police of house arrest or [enforced] travel, including Gao Yu, Zha Jianguo … Pu Zhiqiang and many other rights activists,” the person said. “Some have already left Beijing.”
Anti-Beijing protesters hold picture of veteran Chinese journalist Gao Yu during a rally outside Chinese central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Nov. 27, 2015. (Kin Cheung/AP)
The operation is part of China’s “stability maintenance” system, which kicks into high gear targeting those the authorities see as potential troublemakers ahead of top-level meetings and politically sensitive dates in the calendar.
Activists in Wuhan reported similar arrangements, with one participant in last year’s “silver protests” among those targeted.
“Tong Menglan has been taken to Kunming by state security police for a few days,” a Wuhan-based activist who gave only the surname Liu for fear of reprisals told RFA Mandarin on Tuesday.
“Several dissidents have been getting calls from police nearly every day, telling them to stay home and to share their cell phone locations with police, so they can be sure they’ve stayed home,” he said.
Keeping them quiet
The “stability maintenance” system typically targets independent journalists, rights activists and lawyers, anyone with a grievance against the government, people who complain about or petition the authorities, and anyone with a track record of posting online content that the government doesn’t like.
Meanwhile, an army of internet censors, many of whom work for private service providers, keeps a list of metaphors, code words, homophones and other workarounds to help them block and delete unwanted content.
Petitioners stand in a line to enter the State Bureau For Petitions and Visits, which handles applications from petitioners from all over China, in Beijing, China, March 4, 2016. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
Fellow Wuhan-based rights activist who gave only the surname Sun for fear of reprisals said he is currently under house arrest. “One reason is the July 1 Communist Party anniversary, and another is the upcoming third plenum of the Central Committee,” he said.
“Anyone who tries to go to Beijing will be put under house arrest,” he said. “Even if you just say you are going to Beijing in a group chat, they will target you. They get paid to maintain stability.”
Government-backed censors are also blocking any groups on WeChat that typically discuss politics and current affairs, according to a Hunan-based dissident who gave only the surname Tian for fear of reprisals.
“Two of the groups I’m in for politically sensitive dissidents or political prisoners have been shut down two or three days ahead of [the plenum],” Tian said.
Unusually strict
Several dissidents told RFA Mandarin that controls are unusually strict this year.
“Firstly, this year’s third plenum was delayed for so long, and secondly, two defense ministers have been arrested just beforehand,” Tian said.
Pu Zhiqiang recalls his experience near a photo which showed him taking part in the 1989 pro-democracy protest near a banner which reads “Hunger strike for democracy” during an interview in Beijing, May 22, 2019. (Ng Han Guan/AP)
“They’re under a lot of pressure due to the situation at home and internationally, and due to the economy,” he said. “They’re a little nervous.”
Tian said he hasn’t been put under house arrest — yet.
A leaked directive from a county-level Stability Maintenance and Security Command Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan that was circulating on social media on Tuesday ordered staff to target any petitioners from the county who are still in Beijing, and bring them back home under escort by July 12.
China’s army of petitioners, who flood the Communist Party’s official complaints departments daily, frequently report being held in unofficial detention centers known as “black jails,” beaten, or otherwise harassed if they persist in a complaint beyond its initial rejection at the local level, even if they follow legal channels.
A petitioner holds a placard with the image of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam outside her office in Hong Kong, China August 13, 2019. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)
A petitioner who gave only the surname Li for fear of reprisals told RFA Mandarin that she had just been brought back to Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu by interceptors.
“Third plenums of the Central Committee are closely bound up with petitioners,” Li said, adding that some people she knows are already under house arrest.
But she said it was “normal” for petitioners to go to Beijing to complain about problems.
“They shouldn’t restrict and suppress petitioners just because there’s a meeting on, when the government itself hasn’t done anything to resolve these issues,” she said.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Qian Lang for RFA Mandarin.
On June 11, police officers in Kaduna, the capital city of Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State, arrested Gabriel Idibia, a correspondent and freelancer with the privately owned Daily Times and Daybreak Nigeria news sites, while he was taking photos of the officers guiding a large group of cattle across a road, according mediareports, Idibia and Daybreak Nigeria publisher Austin Maho, who both spoke to CPJ.
Idibia said he was driving to work around 8:30 a.m. when he noticed an unusual number of cows causing a traffic jam on a highway in Sabo, a town within Kaduna. The road was divided in two lanes, and the cows were being escorted in one lane by armed police officers driving in two official vans.
With plans to report on the movement of the cows, Idibia said he approached two officers separately to inquire about what was happening, but they did not respond to his inquiries. When Idibia took the photograph, one of the officers seized his phone, and another officer collected Idibia’s media ID card, he told CPJ.
Idibia said the officers ordered him to enter their van, and they drove him to the police station where one of the officers chastised him for asking questions about their police work and punched Idibia in his left eye, causing the journalist to fall on the floor.
Idibia said the officers compelled him to write a statement saying that he disrupted their work, instructed the journalist to unlock his phone and delete the photo he had taken of the cows before returning his device and ID card and releasing him around 6 p.m. that day.
Immediately after his release, Idibia went to the office of the state police spokesperson, Mansur Hassan, and reported how he had been treated, according to Idibia and Maho. Hassan told Idibia that his claims would be investigated.
Idibia told CPJ that he received medical care at a local hospital, was using medication to treat his eye, and could not see clearly.
CPJ contacted Hassan by phone, and he requested questions via text message but did not reply to those questions after they were sent.
Miami, July 9, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cuban authorities to allow the media to report freely on July 11 demonstrations, following threats made against independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada to deter him from covering the anniversary of the massive 2021 protests.
Tan Estrada said on Facebook that he was in a park in the central Cuban city of Camagüey on July 5 when a police officer briefly detained him and warned him that he risked imprisonment if he went to public places on July 11 or published anything to commemorate the demonstrations, the biggest seen in Cuba in decades.
“We are concerned that Cuban authorities’ detention of journalist José Luis Tan Estrada and threats to prevent him reporting on the anniversary of the 2021 protests is a worrying sign that the media may be stopped from covering events on July 11,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “It is vital that journalists across Cuba be allowed to report freely on matters of public importance, including demonstrations against the government.”
Following the 2021 protests over a lack of food and electricity and restrictions on rights, more than 1,400 people were detained and hundreds were prosecuted.
In April 2024, Tan Estrada, a former journalism professor, was arrested in the capital Havana, detained for a week and fined for 4,000 pesos (US$12) for alleged “criminal intent” to disrupt May 1 Worker’s Day celebrations.
“CPJ welcomes the Kenyan High Court’s ruling that the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was unlawful,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “While the verdict marks an important step towards ending impunity in this case, Kenyan authorities should ensure that genuine justice is achieved by prosecuting those responsible for Arshad’s fatal shooting.”
Sharif was shot and killed by police on the night of October 23, 2022, in a remote area outside the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in what police claimed was a case of mistaken identity. Sharif’s wife, Javeria Siddique, who sued the Kenyan government, believes her husband was targeted for his journalism. Sharif had sought safety in Kenya after fleeing Pakistan in August 2022 following death threats over his reporting on corruption.
The Kajiado County High Court awarded damages to Sharif’s family of 10 million Kenyan shillings (US $78,000) but suspended the payment for 30 days to allow the government to appeal the decision.
Siddique’s lawyer, Dudley Ochiel, told CPJ that the court’s decision was a “great precedent for police accountability” and the “timing could not be better.”
CPJ’s requests for comment, sent via messaging app to Kenya’s Attorney General Justin Muturi, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the Kenyan police, and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), did not receive an immediate response.
Editor’s note: This statement has been updated to clarify the police explanation for the shooting of Sharif.
On an important Muslim holiday last month, police and security officials in China’s far-western region of Xinjiang set up camps to keep an eye on Uyghurs, took Uyghurs to see communist-themed films, and visited Uyghur homes to make sure they weren’t practicing Muslim religious activities.
The moves around the Qurban Eid, also known as Eid al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, which fell on June 17 this year in Xinjiang — one of two official Muslim holidays in China — appeared to be attempts to undermine the observation of the Muslim holy day, outside experts said.
Chinese authorities are trying to weaken Uyghurs’ ethnic and religious identity and forge their loyalty to the Chinese state and the Communist Party, while maintaining security, the experts said.
“It looks like they are trying to Sinicize Eid,” said Erkin Ekrem, a professor at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, and vice president of the World Uyghur Congress.
“The Chinese government is trying to change the Eid customs, prayers and traditions [by] making Uyghurs consume food along with Chinese people [and] adding Chinese elements to the Eid festivals, thereby removing the Muslim Eid elements,” he added.
Before 2017, when the Chinese government started cracking down on religious activities in the predominantly Muslim region, men would observe the holiday by visiting mosques for special prayers, cooking meals, spending time with relatives and welcoming guests to their homes.
Since then, authorities have also forbidden Islamic dress for women, beards for men, and Muslim names for children. They have also prevented Uyghurs from fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and encouraged the consumption of pork and alcohol, which Islam forbids.
Chinese national consciousness
On the eve of Eid, Ma Xingrui, Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang, visited communities in Urumqi, the region’s capital, and asked residents to strengthen Chinese national consciousness and insist on the Sinicization of Islam.
Public security officers celebrated the holiday with Uyghurs and other ethnicities in Xinjiang and promoted “the common consciousness of the Chinese nation,” the Xinjiang Daily reported on June 19.
A screen displays Chinese President Xi Jinping near a mosque in Kashgar, northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, June 4, 2019. (AFPTV)
The Keriye County Public Security Bureau in Hotan invited teachers at area primary schools, students and parents on June 16 to participate in social activities at a police camp to “build strong Chinese national consciousness and celebrate Eid,” the report said.
On the same day, police in Qitai county in the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture invited Uyghur “relatives” with whom they had been paired up under a previous monitoring program to visit a museum to watch communist-themed films.
On June 17, members of the Public Security Bureau in the prefecture’s Manas county visited Uyghur homes and danced with residents, who had no choice but to join in, the news report said.
“The police showed their concern for the public by their actions and also planted the seeds of national unity deep in everyone’s hearts,” it said.
Assimilation policies
Henryk Szadziewski, director of research at the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said public security agents interfere in Muslim holidays like Eid al-Adha to push assimilationist policies in Xinjiang.
Uyghur identification with Turkic culture along with a belief in Islam and related social and political values are considered a threat because they are outside the control of the Chinese state, he told Radio Free Asia.
Attendees watch video of a Muslim praying during a government reception held for the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Beijing, China, May 13, 2021. (Ng Han Guan/AP)
“China’s policies are intended to weaken those kinds of affinities outside which are beyond the borders of China and to ensure Uyghurs allegiances are pinned to the Chinese state and, of course, the Chinese Communist Party,” Szadziewski said.
But the Chinese government separates Islam in China from Islam in the rest of the world, Erkin Ekrem of the World Uyghur Congress said.
“In China, the Sinicization of Islam is being carried out vigorously,” he told RFA. “They are trying to create a nation away from Islamic beliefs and customs.”
“Deemphasizing the religion adding in this secular Chinese national consciousness [is] meant to delink Eid al-Adha from its religious origin,” he said. “That is one of the aims here.”
Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Uyghar for RFA Uyghur.
French Pacific results for the first round of French national snap elections yesterday showed a firm radicalisation, especially in the case of New Caledonia.
In both of New Caledonia’s constituencies, the second round will look like a showdown between pro-independence and pro-France contestants.
The French Pacific entity has been gripped by ongoing riots, arson and destruction since mid-May 2024.
Local outcomes of the national polls have confirmed a block-to-block, confrontational logic, between the most radical components of the opposing camps, the pro-independence and the pro-France (loyalists).
Pro-France leader Nicolas Metzdorf, who is a staunch advocate of the still-unimplemented controversial constitutional reform that is perceived to marginalise indigenous Kanaks’ vote and therefore sparked the current unrest in the French Pacific territory, obtained 39.81 percent of the votes in New Caledonia’s 1st constituency.
In the capital Nouméa, which has been suffering massive damage from the riots, he even received the support of 53.64 percent of the voters.
Also vying for the seat in the French National Assembly, the other candidate qualifying for the second round of vote (on Sunday 7 July) is pro-independence Omayra Naisseline, who belongs to Union Calédonienne, perceived as a hard-line component of the pro-independence platform FLNKS.
She obtained 36.34 percent of the votes.
Outgoing MP Philippe Dunoyer, a moderate pro-France politician, is now out of the race after collecting only 10.33 percent of the votes.
For New Caledonia’s second constituency, pro-independence Emmanuel Tjibaou topped the poll with an impressive 44.06 percent of the votes.
Île-des-Pins voting on pollng day yesterday in the first round of the French snap elections. Image: NC la 1ère TV screenshot/RNZ
Tjibaou is the son of emblematic Kanak pro-independence leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a dominant figure who signed the Matignon-Oudinot Accord in 1988 with pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur, ending half a decade of civil war over the Kanak pro-independence cause.
In 1989, Tjibaou was assassinated by a hard-line member of his own movement.
Second to Tjibaou is Alcide Ponga, also an indigenous Kanak who was recently elected president of the pro-France Rassemblement-Les républicains party (36.18 percent).
Another candidate from the Eveil Océanien (mostly supported by the Wallisian community in New Caledonia), Milakulo Tukumuli, came third with 11.92 percent but does not qualify to contest in the second round.
In New Caledonia, polling on Sunday took place under heavy security and at least one incident was reported in Houaïlou, where car wrecks were placed in front of the polling stations, barring access to voters.
However, participation was very high on Sunday: 60.02 percent of the registered voters turned out, which is almost twice as much as the recorded rate at the previous general elections in 2022 (32.51 percent).
New Caledonia’s four remaining contestants for the run-off round of French snap elections next Sunday, July 7 are Nicolas Metzdorf (clockwise from top left), Emmanuel Tjibaou, Omayra Naisseline and Alcide Ponga. Image: NC la 1ère TV
New Caledonia’s four remaining contestants for the run-off round of French snap elections next Sunday, July 7 are Nicolas Metzdorf (clockwise from top left), Emmanuel Tjibaou, Omayra Naisseline and Alcide Ponga. Image: NC la 1ère TV
French Polynesia In French Polynesia (three constituencies), the stakes were quite different — all three sitting MPs were pro-independence after the previous French general elections in 2022.
Candidates for the ruling Tavini Huiraatira, for this first round of polls, managed to make it to the second round, like Steve Chailloux (second constituency, 41.61 percent) or Mereana Reid-Arbelot (third constituency, 42.71 percent) who will still have to fight in the second round to retain her seat in the French National Assembly against pro-autonomy Pascale Haiti (41.08 percent), who is the wife of long-time pro-France former president Gaston Flosse).
Chailloux, however, did not fare so well as his direct opponent, pro-autonomy platform and A Here ia Porinetia leader Nicole Sanquer, who collected 49.62 percent of the votes.
But those parties opposing independence, locally known as the “pro-autonomy”, had fielded their candidates under a common platform.
This is the case for Moerani Frébault, from the Marquesas Islands, who managed to secure 53.90 percent of the votes and is therefore declared winner without having to contest the second round.
His victory ejected the pro-independence outgoing MP Tematai Le Gayic (Tavini party, 1st constituency), even though he had collected 36.3 percent of the votes.
Wallis and Futuna Incumbent MP Mikaele Seo (Renaissance, French President Macron’s party) breezes through against the other three contestants and obtained 61 percent of the votes and therefore is directly elected as a result of the first round for the seat at the Paris National Assembly.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
French Pacific results for the first round of French national snap elections yesterday showed a firm radicalisation, especially in the case of New Caledonia.
In both of New Caledonia’s constituencies, the second round will look like a showdown between pro-independence and pro-France contestants.
The French Pacific entity has been gripped by ongoing riots, arson and destruction since mid-May 2024.
Local outcomes of the national polls have confirmed a block-to-block, confrontational logic, between the most radical components of the opposing camps, the pro-independence and the pro-France (loyalists).
Pro-France leader Nicolas Metzdorf, who is a staunch advocate of the still-unimplemented controversial constitutional reform that is perceived to marginalise indigenous Kanaks’ vote and therefore sparked the current unrest in the French Pacific territory, obtained 39.81 percent of the votes in New Caledonia’s 1st constituency.
In the capital Nouméa, which has been suffering massive damage from the riots, he even received the support of 53.64 percent of the voters.
Also vying for the seat in the French National Assembly, the other candidate qualifying for the second round of vote (on Sunday 7 July) is pro-independence Omayra Naisseline, who belongs to Union Calédonienne, perceived as a hard-line component of the pro-independence platform FLNKS.
She obtained 36.34 percent of the votes.
Outgoing MP Philippe Dunoyer, a moderate pro-France politician, is now out of the race after collecting only 10.33 percent of the votes.
For New Caledonia’s second constituency, pro-independence Emmanuel Tjibaou topped the poll with an impressive 44.06 percent of the votes.
Île-des-Pins voting on pollng day yesterday in the first round of the French snap elections. Image: NC la 1ère TV screenshot/RNZ
Tjibaou is the son of emblematic Kanak pro-independence leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a dominant figure who signed the Matignon-Oudinot Accord in 1988 with pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur, ending half a decade of civil war over the Kanak pro-independence cause.
In 1989, Tjibaou was assassinated by a hard-line member of his own movement.
Second to Tjibaou is Alcide Ponga, also an indigenous Kanak who was recently elected president of the pro-France Rassemblement-Les républicains party (36.18 percent).
Another candidate from the Eveil Océanien (mostly supported by the Wallisian community in New Caledonia), Milakulo Tukumuli, came third with 11.92 percent but does not qualify to contest in the second round.
In New Caledonia, polling on Sunday took place under heavy security and at least one incident was reported in Houaïlou, where car wrecks were placed in front of the polling stations, barring access to voters.
However, participation was very high on Sunday: 60.02 percent of the registered voters turned out, which is almost twice as much as the recorded rate at the previous general elections in 2022 (32.51 percent).
New Caledonia’s four remaining contestants for the run-off round of French snap elections next Sunday, July 7 are Nicolas Metzdorf (clockwise from top left), Emmanuel Tjibaou, Omayra Naisseline and Alcide Ponga. Image: NC la 1ère TV
New Caledonia’s four remaining contestants for the run-off round of French snap elections next Sunday, July 7 are Nicolas Metzdorf (clockwise from top left), Emmanuel Tjibaou, Omayra Naisseline and Alcide Ponga. Image: NC la 1ère TV
French Polynesia In French Polynesia (three constituencies), the stakes were quite different — all three sitting MPs were pro-independence after the previous French general elections in 2022.
Candidates for the ruling Tavini Huiraatira, for this first round of polls, managed to make it to the second round, like Steve Chailloux (second constituency, 41.61 percent) or Mereana Reid-Arbelot (third constituency, 42.71 percent) who will still have to fight in the second round to retain her seat in the French National Assembly against pro-autonomy Pascale Haiti (41.08 percent), who is the wife of long-time pro-France former president Gaston Flosse).
Chailloux, however, did not fare so well as his direct opponent, pro-autonomy platform and A Here ia Porinetia leader Nicole Sanquer, who collected 49.62 percent of the votes.
But those parties opposing independence, locally known as the “pro-autonomy”, had fielded their candidates under a common platform.
This is the case for Moerani Frébault, from the Marquesas Islands, who managed to secure 53.90 percent of the votes and is therefore declared winner without having to contest the second round.
His victory ejected the pro-independence outgoing MP Tematai Le Gayic (Tavini party, 1st constituency), even though he had collected 36.3 percent of the votes.
Wallis and Futuna Incumbent MP Mikaele Seo (Renaissance, French President Macron’s party) breezes through against the other three contestants and obtained 61 percent of the votes and therefore is directly elected as a result of the first round for the seat at the Paris National Assembly.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Voters in New Caledonia will go to the polls this weekend under tight security, almost eight weeks after destructive and violent unrest broke out in the French Pacific archipelago.
The first round of voting takes place tomorrow and the second one next Sunday, July 7.
Since early May, the unrest has caused nine direct fatalities and the closure, looting and vandalism of several hundred companies and homes. More than 3500 security forces have been dispatched, with the damage now estimated at 1.5 billion euros (NZ$2.64 billion).
Earlier this month, 86.5 percent of New Caledonian voters abstained during the European Parliament elections.
It is anticipated that for these elections, the participation rate could be high.
Both incumbents are on the pro-France (loyalist) side.
On the pro-independence side, internal divisions have resulted in only the hard-line party (part of the FLNKS umbrella, which also includes other moderate parties) managing to field their candidates.
French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc . . . not taking chances. Image: FB screenshot/RNZ
Public meetings and gatherings banned French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told media he did not want to take chances, even though no party or municipality had openly called for a boycott or any action hostile to the vote.
He said all public meetings would be banned, on top of a dusk-to-dawn curfew and a ban on the sale and transport of firearms, ammunition and alcohol.
“There are 222,900 registered voters for the legislative elections; the voting habits in New Caledonia are that it happens mostly in the morning. So, the peak hours are between 9 am and noon,” Le Franc said.
He said during those peak hours, queues could be expected outside the polling stations, especially in the Greater Nouméa area (including the neighbouring towns of Païta, Dumbéa and Mont-Dore).
“Provision has been made to ensure that voters who go there are not bothered by collective or individual elements who would like to disrupt the exercise of this democratic right.”
Lennon’s ‘Give Peace a Chance’ in class This week, more public buildings, including schools and fire stations, have been burnt to the ground, and several schools have closed in the wake of the violence.
However, in Dumbéa, Apogoti High School and 13 other schools partly reopened on Friday, with teachers focusing on workshops.
“We met with all the teachers and we decided to mix several subjects,” music teacher Nicolas Le Yannou told public broadcaster NC la 1ère TV.
“We chose a song from John Lennon (‘Give Peace a Chance’) which calls for peace and then we translated the lyrics into Spanish, French and the local Drehu language.
“That allowed everyone to express themselves without having to brood over the difficult situation we have gone through. For us, music was our way to escape,” Le Yannou said.
Psychological assistance and counselling were also provided to students and teachers when required.
Païta emergency intervention centre was burnt down before its official opening. Image: Union des Pompiers de Calédonie/RNZ
On Thursday, a new fire station under construction near Nouméa-La Tontouta Airport, which was scheduled to be opened later this year, was burnt down.
Pro-independence leader’s house destroyed The home of one moderate pro-independence leader, Victor Tutugoro (president of the Union Progressiste en Mélanésie, PALIKA), was burnt down by rioters on Wednesday morning.
This prompted condemnation from Le France and New Caledonia’s local government, as well as from the president of New Caledonia’s Northern Province, Paul Néaoutyine.
Néaoutyine, who belongs to the Kanak Liberation Party, said several other politicians from the moderate fringe of FLNKS had also been targeted and threatened over the past few weeks.
Moderate pro-independence leader Victor Tutugoro . . . . house burnt down, other moderate leaders threatened. Image: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony
PALIKA’s political bureau also condemned the attacks and destruction of Tutugoro’s residence.
PALIKA spokesman Charles Washetine called for calm and for all remaining roadblocks to be lifted.
“The right to vote is the fruit of a painful common history which commands us to fight for independence through the ballots and through the belief in intelligence which we have all inherited,” the party said.
The elections coincide with the 36th anniversary of the signing of the Matignon-Oudinot Accord between Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur, who were the leaders, respectively, of the pro-independence FLNKS and pro-France RPCR parties.
This year, there was no official commemoration ceremony.
After intense talks with then French Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard, they both shook hands on 26 June 1988 to mark the end of half a decade of quasi-civil war in New Caledonia.
One year later, Tjibaou and his deputy, Yéwéné Yéwéné, were gunned down by a member of the radical fringe of the pro-independence movement.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Anti-government protests in Kenya are continuing after President William Ruto made a dramatic reversal Wednesday, announcing he would not sign the finance bill that sparked a nationwide uprising, and would instead send the bill back to Parliament. At least 23 people were killed and dozens more injured when police fired live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters who stormed Kenya’s Parliament building. We speak to a writer and activist based in Nairobi who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for her safety. She says many in the youth-led movement have been “abducted” during the police crackdown on demonstrations, which are now calling for Parliament to be dissolved and new elections to be held. We also hear from Mamka Anyona, a Kenyan international finance and development expert, who breaks down the financial crisis that led to the mass unrest. The contested finance bill deploys a tax hike in an attempt to repay $80 billion in foreign loans, largely from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But critics say mismanagement and corruption have led to high inflation and unemployment, and characterize both the bill and the loans themselves as undemocratic decisions reached without constituent approval. ”It has all ended up creating this tinderbox,” Anyona says.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Alleged drug runners in northwest Laos shot at police and fled on foot into dense jungle leaving behind two vans packed with meth and heroin, a police social media post said.
At about 9 p.m. on June 21, officers noticed that the two vehicles did not have license plates and ordered them to pull over for inspection. The occupants of the vehicles allegedly shot at the police and abandoned the vehicles, fleeing into the forest, the Bokeo province police department said on its Facebook page.
After inspecting the vehicles, they found around 5.8 million meth pills and 225 kilograms (almost 500 pounds) of heroin.
It’s the latest incident in Laos’ struggle to eradicate drugs from proliferating inside the country.
Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone reported on June 10 to the Lao National Assembly that cracking down on drugs remains a national priority and in the first half of this year, the government was able to arrest 2,616 drug suspects.
“Most of the drugs are from either Myanmar or China because they can’t be produced here in our country,” an officer of the Bokeo Police Department, who like all unnamed sources in this report requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA Lao.
He said that part of Laos is prone to drug smuggling, and that by law, samples of the seized drugs would be sent to a lab to verify that they are indeed meth and heroin. The rest will be destroyed.
The officer explained that they did not pursue the suspects because they were armed and it was very dark in the forest, so they didn’t want to take unnecessary risk.
A resident who lives near where the incident occurred told RFA he heard gunshots at around 9 a.m.
“It was at night and nobody at my house had gone to bed yet,” he said, “The next morning, I found out that there was a clash between police and drug smugglers.”
He said he and his neighbors were disappointed that the suspects were not apprehended.
Another resident said that he wished the police would have brought the suspects in because it is likely they are smuggling drugs in from other countries.
There is a large market for drugs in Laos, particularly among younger people, an employee of a rehab center in the province said.
“Many Laotians, especially youths aged 15 or 16 have become addicted to drugs and are admitted to the rehab center. Sometimes, the center has up to 30 of them,” she said.
“Drugs, particularly meth, are available anywhere in our village and region,” she said. “Drugs destroy people’s lives. If the government can’t stop this, many more people will be affected.”
Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Lao.
Political unrest in Kenya erupted into violence Tuesday as authorities opened fire on protesters in Nairobi who oppose President William Ruto’s controversial tax bill. Hundreds of people stormed the legislature and burned part of the building. Meanwhile, inside, lawmakers voted to pass the tax measure, which will raise the cost of many everyday items to pay down government debt. The new taxes have sparked weeks of youth-led demonstrations as many call for Ruto to resign, and the president responded to Tuesday’s events by deploying the military to crack down on the protests. At least 22 people have been killed and dozens more injured in the nationwide protests. We speak with Faith Odhiambo, president of the Law Society of Kenya, who describes how high unemployment and disinvestment in social services led to the mass unrest, and to activist Auma Obama, sister of former U.S. President Barack Obama. “The Kenyan people are struggling, especially the young people,” says Obama, who was tear-gassed by police Tuesday. “The debt is irresponsible, and it is a pattern that has repeated again and again on the continent.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer to Vanuatu has hit back at criticism about French policy over Kanaky New Caledonia with an op-ed article published in the Vanuatu Daily Post.
His article addresses key concerns regarding New Caledonia’s indigenous recognition, the decolonisation process, discrimination, military operations, and calls for independence in response to a protest petition delivered by the president of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs (MCC), Chief Paul Robert Ravun, earlier this month.
At least nine people, including two gendarmes, have died in the unrest and rioting that followed protests against French constitutional changes starting on May 13 that critics say will further marginalise the indigenous people of the territory.
Damage from the rioting and arson is estimated to be 1 billion euros (about NZ$1.8 billion).
Eight arrested pro-independence leaders and charged over the riots were transferred to prisons in mainland France last weekend to await trial in a move heavily criticised across the Pacific.
Key points made by Ambassador Vilmer in his article in the Vanuatu Daily Post today were:
Recognition of indigenous people Ambassador Vilmer reaffirmed France’s commitment to recognising the Kanak people as indigenous, emphasising their unique identity and cultural heritage, “the French government formally acknowledges the Kanaky people as indigenous, recognising their unique identity and cultural heritage”.
Highlighting the 1998 Nouméa Accord, Vilmer noted its acknowledgment of the dual legitimacy of both the Kanak people and other communities that have contributed to New Caledonia’s development, initiatives such as the inclusion of Kanak languages in the education system and the establishment of the Tjibaou Cultural Centre that underscores French support for promoting and defending Kanak culture.
Denouncing discrimination Vilmer stressed France’s rejection of discrimination, saying “the French government denounces all forms of discrimination and is committed to promoting peace, justice, democracy, and respect for human rights”.
Measures aimed at improving access to employment, education, and public services for the Kanak population had been implemented, although Vilmer acknowledged that challenges remained and more work was needed to reduce inequalities and foster harmonious relations among all communities in New Caledonia.
Decolonisation of Kanaky Regarding the decolonisation process, Vilmer highlighted France’s support for New Caledonia’s path towards self-determination, which began in 1988, “the process of decolonisation in New Caledonia has been ongoing since 1988, with the French government supporting a path towards self-determination”.
The Nouméa Accord of 1998, providing for substantial autonomy and the gradual transfer of powers to local authorities, had been praised by the United Nations Decolonisation Committee, despite three referendums in which a majority chose to remain part of France.
Vilmer underscored France’s commitment to ongoing dialogue and cooperation with regional partners to build a shared future.
Immediate cessation of military operations Vilmer addressed concerns about military operations, clarifying that none were currently underway in New Caledonia, “there are no military operations currently taking place in New Caledonia”.
Law enforcement activities were being conducted by police and the gendarmerie to maintain public order and protect residents and infrastructure, adhering to the principle of proportionate use of force. The French government remained committed to ensuring safety and security while addressing unrest through dialogue and peaceful means.
Independent international investigations On the issue of independent international investigations, Vilmer said there was “no necessity” for such measures as law enforcement actions were being supervised by independent courts following due legal process, “there is no need for independent international investigations”.
Reinforcements deployed by the French state were deemed necessary to prevent further violence and socioeconomic damage. Vilmer emphasised the government’s “transparency and openness” to dialogue concerning law enforcement operations.
Support for Kanaky independence In response to calls for Kanak independence, Vilmer highlighted France’s engagement with regional partners and the structured process of self-determination provided by the Nouméa Accord, “the French government continues to engage with regional partners to support dialogue and cooperation”.
The Accord had facilitated multiple opportunities for the Kanak people and all New Caledonians to express their will.
Ambassador Vilmer reiterated France’s dedication to advancing an “inclusive and peaceful future” for New Caledonia through continued dialogue and partnership with regional partners.
Nicholas Mwaiis a Vanuatu Daily Post reporter. This article is republished with permission.
The reported plea bargain between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the United States government brings to a close one of the darkest periods in the history of media freedom, says the union for Australian journalists.
While the details of the deal are still to be confirmed, MEAA welcomed the release of Assange, a Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance member, after five years of relentless campaigning by journalists, unions, and press freedom advocates around the world.
MEAA remains concerned what the deal will mean for media freedom around the world.
The work of WikiLeaks at the centre of this case — which exposed war crimes and other wrongdoing by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan — was strong, public interest journalism.
MEAA fears the deal will embolden the US and other governments around the world to continue to pursue and prosecute journalists who disclose to the public information they would rather keep suppressed.
MEAA media federal president Karen Percy welcomed the news that Julian Assange has already been released from Belmarsh Prison, where he has been held as his case has wound its way through UK courts.
“We wish Julian all the best as he is reunited with his wife, young sons and other relatives who have fought tirelessly for his freedom,” she said.
‘Relentless battle against this injustice’
“We commend Julian for his courage over this long period, and his legal team and supporters for their relentless battle against this injustice.
“We’ve been extremely concerned about the impact on his physical and mental wellbeing during Julian’s long period of imprisonment and respect the decision to bring an end to the ordeal for all involved.
Julian Assange boards flight at London Stansted Airport at 5PM (BST) Monday June 24th. This is for everyone who worked for his freedom: thank you.#FreedJulianAssangepic.twitter.com/Pqp5pBAhSQ
“The deal reported today does not in any way mean that the struggle for media freedom has been futile; quite the opposite, it places governments on notice that a global movement will be mobilised whenever they blatantly threaten journalism in a similar way.
Percy said the espionage charges laid against Assange were a “grotesque overreach by the US government” and an attack on journalism and media freedom.
“The pursuit of Julian Assange has set a dangerous precedent that will have a potential chilling effect on investigative journalism,” she said.
“The stories published by WikiLeaks and other outlets more than a decade ago were clearly in the public interest. The charges by the US sought to curtail free speech, criminalise journalism and send a clear message to future whistleblowers and publishers that they too will be punished.”
Percy said was clearly in the public interest and it had “always been an outrage” that the US government sought to prosecute him for espionage for reporting that was published in collaboration with some of the world’s leading media organisations.
Julian Assange has been an MEAA member since 2007 and in 2011 WikiLeaks won the Outstanding Contribution to Journalism Walkley award, one of Australia’s most coveted journalism awards.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange boarding his flight at Stansted airport on the first stage of his journey to Guam. Image: WikiLeaks
While the state-recognized Hoa Hao Buddhist Church has been allowed to celebrate its 85th anniversary, followers of two independent Hoa Hao Buddhist groups say police in An Giang province stopped them gathering.
On Sunday, the Central Executive Committee of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church held a ceremony in An Giang to commemorate the religion’s founding by Huynh Phu So, the Tuoi Tre online newspaper reported. It said Nguyen Anh Chuc, deputy head of the government Committee for Religious Affairs, attended along with community leaders.
However, at the Quang Minh Tu temple, about 20 km (12.4 miles) away, only a few followers made it past police surrounding the pagoda for a ceremony.
The pagoda’s abbot, Vo Van Thanh Liem, told Radio Free Asia that Hoa Hao believers who don’t follow the state-approved church have been victimized for nearly four decades with their treatment in recent years being particularly harsh.
“For the last two years, during the three days of the teacher’s holiday [the police] blocked people from coming to the temple,” he said.
“This time, they also beat people and snatched their phones. The police used rocks to attack, and forced people to sign a pledge not to come again.”
He said on June 19, police beat a man who was coming out of the temple leaving him with head injuries.
On June 21 and 22, police arrested two groups of followers, held them for several hours and forced them to sign letters promising not to visit the pagoda again, he said.
While hundreds or even thousands of believers come to the temple to pray on full moon days, only about a dozen people attended Sunday’s ceremony at Quang Minh Tu, the abbot said.
RFA Vietnamese called the commune police to verify the abbot’s account but no one answered the telephone.
Vietnam’s constitution allows religious freedom but religious groups that do not register with authorities often say they are not free to worship and that in fact the government frequently oppresses them.
‘Just words’
Followers of the Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist Church also say they have been harassed by police.
The church’s chief secretary, Le Quang Hien, told RFA that 10 days before a ceremony on June 23, police stopped people visiting the church headquarters in Long Giang commune to hang a banner there.
“Vietnam says it respects human rights, freedom of movement, and freedom of religion, but that’s just words,” he said.
“In reality, incidents happen to the Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist Church and other independent religions. There is no freedom of religion in Vietnam except when religions are recognized by the state and members of the Fatherland Front,” which oversees groups aligned with the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Ha Van Duy Ho, head of the Pure Hoa Hoa Buddhist Association of An Giang province, said police waited outside his home and kept tabs on him when he went out because he organizes the group’s religious holidays.
He said the police allow the group to hang banners that don’t include the word “pure” whereas in other provinces followers can put up banners saying “Pure Hoa Hao Buddhist Church,” and are allowed to gather to celebrate the group’s founding.
RFA Vietnamese called the director of An Giang provincial police department, the chief of Cho Moi district police, and the security team leader of the district police to verify the information Hien provided, but no one answered the telephone.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Vietnamese.
Fresh violence has erupted in several parts of New Caledonia over the past three days, with more burning and destruction and at least one death connected to unrest.
The amendment, which is now suspended, purported to change voter eligibility in New Caledonia’s local elections by opening the vote to French citizens having resided there for an uninterrupted ten years.
French security forces vehicle burnt down in the south of Dumbéa, New Caledonia, yesterday. Image: NC la 1ère/RNZ
The pro-independence movement strongly opposed this change, saying it would marginalise the indigenous Kanak vote.
Because of the dissolution of the French National Assembly (Lower House) in view of a snap general election (due to be held on June 30 and 7 July 7), the Constitutional Bill however did not conclude its legislative path due to the inability of the French Congress (a joint sitting of both Upper and Lower Houses) to convene for a final vote on the controversial text.
At the weekend, of the 11 CCAT officials who were heard by investigating judges after their arrest on June 19, seven — including CCAT leader Christian Téin– were indicted and later transferred to several prisons to serve their pre-trial period in mainland France.
Since then, roadblocks and clashes with security forces have regained intensity in the capital Nouméa and its surroundings, as well as New Caledonia’s outer islands of Îles des Pins, Lifou and Maré, forcing domestic flights to be severely disrupted.
In Maré, a group of rioters attempted to storm the building housing the local gendarmerie.
In Dumbéa, a small town north of Nouméa, the municipal police headquarters and a primary school were burnt down.
Other clashes between French security forces and pro-independence rioters took place in Bourail, on the west coast of the main island.
Several other fires have been extinguished by local firefighters, especially in the Nouméa neighbourhoods of Magenta and the industrial zone of Ducos, French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the media on Monday.
Fire-fighters and their vehicles were targeted by rioters yesterday. Image: Union des Pompiers Calédoniens/FB/RNZ
But on many occasions firefighters and their vehicles were targeted by rioters.
Many schools that were preparing to reopen on Monday after six weeks of unrest have also remained closed.
More roadblocks were erected by rioters on the main highway linking Nouméa to its international airport of La Tontouta, hampering international air traffic and forcing the reactivation of air transfers from domestic Nouméa-Magenta airport.
In the face of the upsurge in violence, a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been maintained and the possession, sale and transportation of firearms, ammunition and alcohol, remain banned until further notice.
The fresh unrest has also caused at least one death in the past two days: a 23-year-old man died of “respiratory distress” in Nouméa’s Kaméré neighbourhood because emergency services arrived too late, due to roadblocks.
Another fatality was reported on Monday in Dumbéa, where a motorist died after attempting to use the express road on the wrong side and hit an oncoming vehicle coming from the opposite direction.
Le Franc said just for yesterday, June 24, a total of 38 people had been arrested by police and gendarmes.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
