Transcript
WALTER ZWEIFEL: This is the most important meeting in years, mainly because the clock is running. As every year, the pro- and anti-independence politicians are in Paris for a formal meeting of the so-called signatories of the Noumea Accord. The talks are chaired by the prime minister and follow a history of French prime ministers overseeing crucial New Caledonia talks.
JAMIE TAHANA: So, what are the pressing issues that are left?
WZ: A key aspiration is to organise a referendum that has maximum buy-in so that the outcome will be accepted by all sides. An independence referendum in 1987 was boycotted by the pro-independence side and as a result, the loyalists won with more than 98 percent favouring the status quo with France. Now a major stumbling block is the very basic question of who is allowed to vote. Since 1998 this has not been conclusively resolved.
JT: So what is the problem?
WZ: French law requires for any voter to be registered on a general roll. The Noumea Accord restricts voting in the referendum to long-term residents but it also says all indigenous Kanaks are allowed to take part. Now the problem is that the Kanaks demand to be automatically enrolled for the referendum as stated in the Accord without first going on the general roll.
JT: How big an obstacle is that?
WZ: The suggestion is that more than 22000, or about a quarter of all possible Kanak voters, are at risk of being left out. The low number of registrations is in part due to the territory's history as for the first century of French colonisation, Kanaks had no voting rights. So many, for a raft of reasons, still don't bother to take part in the electoral process. And here the issue of legitimacy comes in as there are fears that after the vote the outcome can be viewed as unfair and therefore be rejected. And after the 1987 flop nobody wants a repeat.
JT: What can the upcoming Paris meeting achieve in this regard?
WZ: It could find a way out of this apparent deadlock. A new court opinion suggests that a law change could be pushed through which would all people born in New Caledonia to be automatically on the general roll. This way all Kanaks would be registered for the referendum vote. However, non-Kanaks would need to prove their attachment to New Caledonia.
JT: And what is the referendum question?
WZ: That has not been determined either. There is talk of yet another signatories' meeting next year to finalise that very point. But in the meantime, huge challenges remain. There is no agreement on what a possibly independent New Caledonia could look like. There are many questions. Ideas for a possible post-referendum New Caledonia that have been floated include creating a state associated with France or even a federation between New Caledonia and France.
