Two months equal

New Caledonia

Two months equal to 20 years

More changes have taken place in New Caledonian politics in the first two months of 1982 than in the past 20 years.

Briefly, they were; • The long-standing majority coalition in the 36-seat Terri torial Assembly split asunder when the seven-strong centrist Federation pour une Nouvelle Societe Caledonienne (FNSC) broke away from the 15-mem ber conservative Ralliement Pour la Caledonie dans la Republique (RPCR) to vote with the Front Independantiste (FI) (14 members) on the issue of the introduction of income tax in the territory (PIM Feb p 5). The new alliance was consolidated in the following weeks, so that, in effect, there is now a new majority and a new minority, the RPCR, in the assembly, with the FNSC apparently moving closer to the position of the FI on the key question of independence. • A new pro-independence party, the Caledonian National Party, drawing its support mainly from citizens of French origin, was formed (PIM Feb p 5). • A split developed within the government, with the Vice- President of the Council of Government, Dick Ukeiwe, at odds with one of his chief lieutenants, the young Melanesian politician Franck Wuhuzue, who has come out in favour of independence. • In Paris, a former Sec retary of State for Overseas Departments and Territories, Olivier Stirn, long outspoken opponent of the idea of New Caledonian independence, ex

pressed his support for it in the French Senate.

The anti-independence Noumea weekly Corail com mented editorially in its issue of January 29: ‘Our Territory for some weeks has been witnessing a competition which has been nothing if not indecent: It’s the race for independence. On all sides, men and movements, tossing aside undertakings which, for some, were of only a few months standing, are declaring themselves now ready for the same independence that only a little while back they were vowing to fight with all the strength they had . . .’

Corail goes on to note the curious fact that, with talk of independence being heard on practically all sides, almost the only interested party which has not joined in is the Mitterrand government itself although it is generally blamed for having given rise to the present pro independence ferment.

In fact, replying to Mr Stirn in the Paris debate, the present incumbent in the departments and territories job, Henri Emmanuelli, said in rejecting Stirn’s independence ‘scenario’: ‘Let us exclude no scenario, but neither let us for the sake of rigid adherence to some principle or other seek to force reality into a pre conceived framework . . . ‘Why do we have this typically French idiosyncracy of always wanting to conceptu alise political situations? Let us on this occasion, and without renouncing our convictions, show that we are capable of a degree of pragmatism ..-

Malcolm Salmon.