The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), which Fiji is a part of, has shown its support for the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) which is opposing France’s Constitutional Bill that is leading to several changes in the New Caledonian electoral process.
In a statement, MSG chairman and Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas said the MSG stood by the FLNKS and called for calm amid the ongoing violence and tension between French military forces and the indigenous Kanak community.
Mr Tabimasmas said the indiscriminate destruction of property would affect New Caledonia’s economy in a very big way and that it would have a debilitating cascading effect on the welfare and lives of all New Caledonians including the Kanaks.
“These events could have been avoided if the French Government had listened and not proceeded to bulldoze the Constitutional Bill aimed at unfreezing the electoral roll, modifying the citizen’s electorate, and changing the distribution of seats in Congress,” said Mr Tabimasmas.
“There is need for the French Government to return to the spirit of the Noumea Accord in its dealings relating to New Caledonia.
“That spirit ensured mutual respect and cooperation between all parties and ensured peace in New Caledonia.”
He added there was an urgent need now for France to agree to the proposal by the FLNKS to establish a dialogue and mediation mission to be led by a mutually agreed high-personality, to amongst other things, discuss a way forward so that normalcy could be restored quickly and an enduring peace could prevail in New Caledonia.
