Caledonian stalemate

From a Noumea correspondent

French Government officials and New Caledonian politicians have continued their yoyo flights back and forth to Paris as the economic and political situation in Noumea remains clouded by uncertainty and indecision. The autonomists boycotted the Assembly in early June and thereby refused to vote approval of a scheme to stabilise tax payments by the territory’s nickel smelting company, SEN.

The island’s future budgetary problems, of course, still remain unsolved and as a further gesture in the ever-continuing power game between Paris and Noumea another mission from the Territorial Assembly flew off on June 15 for talks with the French Government. The spotlight in negotiations remains fixed on private, largely Roman Catholic, educa tion. This is the area France has suggested

financing, thereby controlling, as one way

of solving New Caledonia’s repeated an nual Budget deficits. To many Caledonians this seems but a further step towards integrating the island as a dependency of France, making it in effect a department of France.

A week before the Caledonians’ depar ture, Governor J-G Eriau returned from his latest talks in Paris. Mr Eriau pointed out that discussion of the territory’s amended political statutes had been delayed at the French National Assembly and would not occur until the northern autumn. (The modifications are in fact only window-dressing and bring no real in crease in local power.) Meanwhile, in what appears another equally fruitless gesture, New Caledonia’s deputy to the French National Assembly, Roch Pidjot, has called for internal autonomy before 1978. In an article published in the reputable French newspaper Le Monde, Deputy Pidjot draws a gloomy picture of the present situation on the island: “Small businesses are closing their doors, the number of un employed is growing, public finance is bankrupt”. On the nickel scene, “after seven years, there is still no new factory”.

The deputy repeats his demand for autonomy, “otherwise the Caledonians will turn towards independence, in

despair”.