New Caledonia leaders in Paris for Noumea Accord talks

Transcript

WALTER ZWEIFEL: This will be the second meeting of the so-called Noumea Accord signatories this year and it takes places amid growing urgency. Next year, there is unlikely to be much room on the French political agenda to deal with New Caledonian issues because there will be French presidential elections plus parliamentary elections. Yet it is still unclear what the referendum question will be; it is unclear what voters can expect after the referendum - whether it will be a country associated with France or outright independence. The current French government is adamant a vote will be held within two years but sections of the anti-independence side don't want it. For them it is too divisive and therefore they would like a follow-up accord. The pro-independence side is the one that insists on the letter of the accord and wants the vote to go ahead.

DON WISEMAN: Who will be allowed to vote?

WZ: This is also a contentious issue. The roll is restricted to long-term residents, that is citizens who have been registered since 1998 and their children. However, the indigenous Kanaks with their customary status have not all enrolled which has prompted calls now to automatically allow all Kanaks to take part in the referendum. Last week, thousands of Kanaks marched in Noumea to demand this inscription. On top there is persistent clamour of fraud, alleging the French authorities allowed late arrivals to enrol despite not being eligible.

DW: There was unrest in New Caledonia last weekend. Is that a topic of discussion?

WZ: It's a great worry for many - the French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has called a meeting with the New Caledonian politicians before they meet the French prime minister just to discuss last weekend's clashes. On Sunday, disaffected and armed young Kanaks south of Noumea shot and wounded five police officers, forcing the security forces to retreat and avoid more violence. This explosion of violence came a day after police shot dead a 23-year-old Kanak who had escaped from jail last year and was driving a stolen vehicle. The Kanaks burnt several dozen stolen cars and blocked the main road south for three days. North of Noumea, the main road was also briefly closed at night with burning cars and gunmen firing. Nobody has been arrested over the attacks or the damage caused. New Caledonia's politicians are stunned and seem at a loss of how to cope with such violence. With the French elections coming up, one hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy has said he would introduce compulsory military service for New Caledonians not in training or in work.