Maintaining the date of December 12 for the referendum on the independence of the French archipelago of New Caledonia "is
akin to a real declaration of war against the Kanak people
," said Palika-FLNKS, one of the leaders. two main branches of the independence party FLNKS, which calls for a postponement due to the Covid-19 epidemic.
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“
This iniquitous decision is a political provocation.
It brings us back to square one before the Matignon (1988) and Nouméa (1998) agreements and undermines any possibility of dialogue on the future of the country
”, declared in a
press
release the Political Bureau of Palika ( Kanak Liberation Party).
"
The stubbornness of the State (...) could generate a situation of dangerous tension for civil peace
," warned the Palika, whose leader, Paul Néaoutyine, is a signatory of the Nouméa agreement and president of the northern province.
"Only the health criterion" will be taken into account to maintain or not the vote
The High Commissioner of the Republic in New Caledonia, Patrice Faure, announced Friday during an official trip to a village managed by the separatists, that the government had taken the decision to maintain the third and last referendum of the agreement from Nouméa to December 12.
He highlighted “
the controlled health situation
” with well-oriented indicators, after Sébastien Lecornu, the Minister of Overseas Territories, insisted on the fact that “
only the health criterion
” would be taken into account in the choice to maintain or not the vote.
To read also "Referendum in New Caledonia: once again, the perilous unknown of the day after"
Loyalist parties are demanding that it be held on the scheduled date of December 12. On the other hand, the FLNKS has let it be known since October 20 that it will not participate in this referendum, the result of which it will not recognize, arguing the impossibility of "
leading a fair campaign
" and a Kanak population plunged into the mourning - over 50% of the 272 dead are of Kanak origin. The independence party accuses the State "
of having failed on numerous occasions to the required neutrality
" and "
chosen to stand up for the colonial right
". The Palika finally affirms in this text that it "
will seize the international body of decolonization of the United Nations to denounce the absurdity of a consultation ofself-determination without the colonized people
".
As part of the decolonization process of the Nouméa Accord (1998) which provides for the holding of three referendums, two took place in 2018 and 2020, resulting in a rejection of independence by a majority of 56.7% then 53.3%.
