Voting is under way in New Caledonia today in the last of three referendums on independence from France.

The pro-independence parties said they will not take part in today’s vote and will not recognise its result because Paris repeatedly refused to postpone the plebiscite to next year.

They argued that the pandemic with its lockdown and continuing restrictions did not allow them to conduct a fair campaign and therefore they asked their supporters not to vote.

In last year’s second referendum, just over 53 percent voted against independence while turnout was almost 86 percent.

Irrespective of the outcome of today’s vote, France is keen to work towards a new statute for New Caledonia, with the French Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu at hand in Noumea in the days ahead, but pro-independence parties said the visit is unwelcome and just another “provocation”.

While the minister said he would outline details of the 18-month transition phase following the vote in upcoming talks, the pro-independence parties ruled out meeting him and said any negotiations would have to wait until after the French presidential election in April.

The customary Kanak Senate, which is a forum of traditional leaders, has now declared today as a day of mourning for the victims of the pandemic and called on Kanaks not to vote.

Its president Yvon Kona also appealed for calm so as there is no trouble on polling day.

An extra 2000 police and military personnel were flown in from France to provide security across the territory.

Complaint that Lecornu flouted covid-19 rules
A small pro-independence party lodged a formal complaint against Lecornu in France after reports that the minister flouted covid-19 restrictions during his previous New Caledonia visit in October.

The news site Mediapart reported that Lecornu went for drinks at a meeting with New Caledonian politicians.

The complaint alleges that by breaking the rules he endangered the health of others.

The ministry said the event was a work-related multilateral exchange.

It said in turn it intends to lodge a complaint against the party for defamation.

France without New Caledonia ‘less beautiful’, says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron said that whatever the outcome of today’s referendum, there would be a life together.

He said the day after the referendum, they would be together to build the aftermath, in particular given the geopolitical reality of the region.

Macron said the role of the French government was not to be in either camp.

However, he said a France without New Caledonia would be “less beautiful”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

When tomorrow’s referendum on independence for New Caledonia goes ahead, it won’t have my vote.

I am a young Kanak woman, a pro-independence and decolonial feminist who wants to stop the injustice and humiliation of my people, colonised for more than a century by France.

But this referendum is undemocratic, and should be postponed.

For more than 30 years, New Caledonia has undergone a unique process of decolonisation. After the Matignon (1988) and Nouméa (1998) agreements, the indigenous Kanak people and the various communities on the archipelago have worked to build a common society.

A process driven by constant dialogue, the spoken word, and recognition of the Kanak culture, which had long been ignored.

This was done under the watchful and “neutral” eye of the French state. The spoken word refers to a Melanesian way of navigating the world — it determines actions and assures the perpetuity of the collective existence of the group.

It is sacred, with a moral and spiritual commitment, and cannot be betrayed.

Three referendums on independence
The Nouméa agreements included up to three referendums, asking New Caledonians to vote on the sovereignty and independence of the islands.

The first took place in November 2018. The “No” vote, which “loyalists” had initially predicted would win by 70 per cent, ended up with only 56.7 per cent, while 43.3 per cent said “Yes” to independence.

In October 2020, the second referendum was held, in which 53.3 per cent voted “No” and 46.7 per cent voted “Yes”. There were only 10,000 votes between the two camps.

We felt that we were touching independence with our fingertips; the momentum was in our favour.

For this third and final referendum, the state initially announced that the consultation could not be held between September this year and August 2022, because of French presidential campaigns and elections taking place until April. It later contradicted itself by setting the date for December 12.

As the referendum campaign was about to begin, New Caledonia, which until then had been covid-free, recorded its first local cases on September 6.

The pandemic rapidly spread: 276 people have died since, and a light lockdown has been put in place. Despite this crisis, the state is maintaining the referendum date, and the pro-independence movement has called on its supporters not to vote.

And I wouldn’t vote. The future of New Caledonia cannot be built without its indigenous people. The Kanak voice is the cornerstone of New Caledonia’s common destiny.

Campaign conditions are not met
With covid-19 health restrictions, it is impossible to create the democratic conditions for a normal and fair election campaign. Large rallies are now impossible, and many pro-independence Kanak tribes do not have easy access to the internet.

The digital divide is real, and the idea of a “fair” online campaign is an illusion. Beyond this, the virus is likely to demobilise voters.

Time of mourning
This is a time for traditional Kanak mourning. More than 50 percent of the people who have died from the virus are Kanak. The Customary Senate, the representative body of the Kanak people, has declared a period of mourning of one year.

Yet the state has dismissed this issue. We felt this was a sign of contempt. I have the impression that my culture is being ignored, that my Kanak identity is being denied, and that we are being set back more than 30 years. To a time when our voice did not count. As if I and we didn’t exist.

Betrayal of the spoken word
The spoken word is of considerable importance in Kanak culture. Sunday’s vote will be perfectly “legal”, even if half the electorate does not participate. But what political and moral legitimacy can be given to an independence referendum without the participation of the colonised people?

The French state, with the support of local loyalists, is undermining 30 years of negotiations. It risks taking us back to the violence of the 1980s. The state’s failure to keep its word is bringing us closer to the shadows of the past.

As a young Kanak woman, my voice is often silenced, but I want to remind the world that we are here, we are standing, and we are acting for our future. The state’s spoken word may die tomorrow, but our right to recognition and self-determination never will.

Marylou Mahe is a decolonial feminist artist and student in English studies, in France. She was born in Houaïlou, in the Kanak country of Ajë-Arhö, of mixed Kanak and French descent. She is currently finishing her master’s thesis on Hawai’ian feminism. This article is published via the Pacific Cooperation Foundation and was previously published by Stuff.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The French High Commissioner in New Caledonia, Patrice Faure, has confirmed the December 12 date for the independence referendum, fuelling tension over the ballot.

Kanaky New Caledonia’s pro-independence parties had called on Paris to postpone the vote to the second half of 2022 because of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak, which has claimed more than 270 lives, mostly Melanesian.

The pro-independence parties said they would not respect the result of the independence referendum if France retained December 12 as the date of the vote, reports RNZ Pacific.

The parties said that with a Kanak population in mourning, the conditions were not conducive to run a proper referendum campaign.

However, the latest announcement by the French High Commissioner has been welcomed by the anti-independence parties.

The anti-independence camp want the December date to be maintained, saying that New Caledonia needs “clarity”.

Two previous referendums, in 2018 and 2020, were won narrowly by anti-independence supporters, but the pro-independence parties increased their vote and were gaining momentum before the covid-19 pandemic.

Social media threats
In a media release, Daniel Goa, president of the pro-independence Caledonian Union (UC), has condemned a campaign of “degagism” — a political “clean out” approach designed to manipulate the youth, reports The Nouvelles Calédoniennes.

The UC announced its support for the mayor of Poindimié and President of the Northern Province, Paul Néaoutyine, who had been the target of verbal attacks and threats.

Police a now investigating a video broadcast by the Facebook page ERSK TV which allegedly carried the threats.

The UC criticised the “discourse of degagism … taking hold in the country and in popular movements”.

It said the bad atmosphere risked creating a rift between the the youth and elders, “who remain the guarantors of our political and social struggle.”

Goa called called on citizens not to be “caught up” by “manipulative and deceptive” speeches seeking to create “instability”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz