Their Caledonia!

ES of “Vive la nation caledo nienne” and “Long live OUR Caledonia” marked a senes of nent speeches in July when the in of Caledonian Youth (UJC) its second public meeting m nea. They have since organised try meetings. lis new youth movement, formed lay, is led by local autonomist ps such as the Union Caledo ie the largely-Melanesian Union iraciale and the Mouvement ilaire Caledonien.

Jdressing more than 400 young le, about 20 speakers condemned present French Administration s nialist policy with economic ex ation of the locals to the ad age of Paris. Speakers also ►unced the elimination of Cale ans from responsible positions the suppression of local aspira j particularly through the display rmed force. embers also traced the support ;h the Caledonian Youth Union given to recent protest movements Caledonian farmers and mine kers, complaining of the poor nent made to the farmer and the of work by the latter, jeakers included a local company ager, Melanesian Nidoishe Nais ie and Maurice Lenormand. ident of the UJC is Max Chivot, aledonian graduate in economics political science, who lost his in the local public service last ■ after showing interest in the •t proceedings against Naisseline. he youth meeting called for the tiding of the Caledonian nation, ;h means a free and independent v Caledonia”. Bernard Deschamps the meeting that all possibilities development were blocked for

on political, economic anc j soc i a f plane This young civil servant said the present “retrograde” , “must give way,

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voluntarily or oy » “ eed of an oiUside He thre ’ atenec i t h a t the present administrators “reactionaries coloniaforeigners will be kicked out lists for - g , tb do not allow “ “e terr tor Y iney ' field , he continued,

£ demenTs are exploiting the

territory for the benefit of big comdirected from Paris. Their P' . b in suppo rt from local i pp bHc lending P As far as social security is con- •££ unbearable situation imposed from . b the co i on ial presence”. outs y Caledonian people tQ H ™ d con- : n order to develop a

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Caledon d M ty lanesian orator One young l asked, hy * nd the colonialist land fro admin i st ration which and dictator coni .in i es th^ ff 2 Q tb cen tury .. . of pi inferiority complex wh\ch our in us in order to explo.t us .

From a Noumea correspondent

Another Melanesian spoke of the growing “anti-zozo feeling (against metropolitan French) which signals the awakening of a Caledonian national awareness According to another, young people were questioning the future of “our country, ruled in such disastrous fashion and exposed to the dictatorial whims of a misguided administra tion”. Replying to popular charges of being anti-French, the Caledonian said he saw no good for the territory in those people, French or not, who flew to the island only to draw out a quick profit.

Denouncing the local use of fear by force , he said “This is France and France is the army, prestigious and efficient, especially in the repression

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iS, T*his speaker was concerned at the

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blamed this upon the poor state of information locally and the fact that the locals “had always been carefully kept apart from any control of the affairs of their country . 0f course . the whole weakness in this new grouping of autonomist interests lies in the build-up of a class struggle: this added conflict, with its attack upon the more affluent sector of Caledonian society, plays straight into the hands of the French Administration, to keep the “ans divided in fearfu. con fusion.