Caledonians’ political circus

From PAUL STERLING in Noumea

Six thousand five hundred people gathered on a Sunday in April under an enormous circus tent at the Bru nelet football stadium to listen to Mr Jacques Lafleur and his friends.

Once again, a new political party was born, the Assembly for New Caledonia.

Like France, New Caledonia has many political parties, all using the term Union or Assembly or United in their name. Like all the others, Mr Lafleur’s new party appeals to a united multi-racial gathering of all those “sincerely interested” in the future of the territory.

Yet the new movement has two unusual features. Its creation coin cides with a period of severe econ omic and psychological depression and, for the first time, a European leading a right-wing group is admit ting the necessity for greater local legislative powers. Its major object is to break down the numerous divi sions that split the population into small political groups before the next legislative elections. To achieve this, the right-wing parties are deliberately breaking away from the usual alliances with national parties in France.

A barricade was raised on the east coast at Poindimie to stop rural sup porters from joining in the de monstrations, but this was quietly dismantled by a platoon of gen darmes flown in by helicopter.

Of the various speakers of all races, including the Senator Lionel Cherrier, Mr Lafleur attracted most attention.

Jacques Lafleur openly admitted that the territory was in the throes of the greatest economic and political crisis in its history. But he pointed out that the natural resources (nickel, chrome, beef production and tourism) made the people of New Caledonia one of the wealthiest communities in the world.

Perhaps he could have added that this natural wealth was unevenly distributed, but such words could have been ill-chosen when uttered by the owner of the island’s largest cattle property, and at the same time one of the major exporters of nickel ore.

Mr Lafleur bravely pointed out

two of the most delicate problems of the territory: the unsuitability of the present colonial regime, and the necessity for a complete break from traditional Melanesian customs. He was a firm advocate of maintaining French possession of the territory, but stipulated that the relationships should be modified. New Caledonia should no longer be the daughter, but the sister of the homeland, he said.

His opponents lost no time in cri ticising the movement. Lafleur’s in itiative was qualified as a “personal success, bringing no new solutions, lacking in originality, the result of a guilty conscience”. The criticism is probably justified. But the novelty of seeing a right-wing European leader question the present political and economic situation could itself renew the confidence of a high pro portion of the population.