By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist
France is “checking” whether a high-level mission to New Caledonia will be possible prior to or after the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Summit in Tonga at the end of the month.
Forum leaders have written to French President Emmanuel Macron requesting to send a Forum Ministerial Committee to Nouméa to gather information from all sides involved in the ongoing crisis.
The French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, will be in Suva on Friday for the Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting to “continue the dialogue . . . and explain the facts”.
She told RNZ Pacific that sending a mission to New Caledonia was a request and it was up to the PIF to decide if “anything is realistic”.
“Paris is checking whether it can be before the summit or after. We still need information,” she said.
Asked if France was open to the idea of such a visit by Pacific leaders, Roger-Lacan said: “Paris is always open for dialogue.”
On Monday, the incoming PIF chair and Tonga’s Prime Minister, Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, confirmed he was still waiting to “receive any notification from Paris”.
“It’s very important for the Pacific Islands Forum to visit New Caledonia before the leaders meeting,” he said.
But Roger-Lacan said it is up to Paris to decide.
“New Caledonia is French territory and it is the State which decides on who enters the French territory and when and how.”
It has been almost three months now since violent unrest broke out in Nouméa after an amendment to the French constitution that would voter eligibility in New Caledonia’s local elections, which the pro-independence groups said would marginalise the indigenous Kanaks.
French security forces are still working on removing roadblocks, mainly in the capital Nouméa and its outskirts.
The death toll stands at 10 — eight civilians and two gendarmes. Senior pro-independence leaders who were charged for instigating the civil unrest are in jail in mainland France awaiting trial.
It is estimated over 800 buildings and businesses have been looted and burnt down by rioters.
There have been reports that people were leaving the territory for good in the aftermath of the unrest.
‘Hear all the points of view’
But Roger-Lacan dismissed such claims, saying those who were leaving were “mostly expatriates” and that “migration is a basis of humanity”.
“There are lots of industries that have closed because of the burning and of the riots, and maybe those people are not sure that anything will reopen.
“When there is a place which is not worth investing anymore people change places. It’s normal life.”
She slammed the Pacific media for “not being very balanced” with their reports on the New Caledonia situation.
“Apparently, there have been people in the Pacific briefed by one side, not by all the sides, and they have to hear all the points of view.”
Saint-Louis still not under control
She said security was now “almost back”.
“There is one last pocket of of instability, which is the Saint-Louis community and there are 16,000 New Caledonian people who still cannot move freely within that area because there is so many unrest.
“But otherwise, security has been brought back,” she added.
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.
APR editor | Radio Free (2024-08-08T05:58:31+00:00) France ‘decides who enters’ New Caledonia: French diplomat on Pacific leaders request. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2024/08/08/france-decides-who-enters-new-caledonia-french-diplomat-on-pacific-leaders-request/
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