RPCR’s clean
pp. 21-22 · Read in the full issue
sweep in Noumea
New Caledonia’s anti independence Republican Party, RPCR, surprised even them selves by winning all 45 seats on Noumea’s Town Council at the municipal elections on March 6.
The elections were held in paral lel with those in France. The campaign in New Caledonia was characterised by a diversity of party lists. The system is a “pro portional integral” one, with no modification of party lists al lowed. And a five per cent ban excluded many small groups from gaining seats on the 32 town councils.
The most important and dramatic result was in Noumea, where the vote had been claimed by major parties to be an overtly political matter a demonstra tion of whether New Caledonia wants independence or not.
The long-time mayor of Noumea, Roger Laroque (also an RPCR member of the Territorial Assembly), who again headed the Republican list, described himself as “fiercely opposed” to
independence. Speaking to the press at the launching of the RPCR campaign Mr Laroque said the municipal elections had far more political importance than ever, and would show that New Caledonia wanted to remain French. The Noumea results, and those in the outlying areas of Mont-Dore, Dumbea, and Paita, certainly demonstrated that, with the RPCR in Noumea gaining 74 per cent of the vote, and all of the seats.
To underline the political sig nificance of this vote the Noumea RPCR list contained many well known political fi gures in prominent positions such as the President of the Ter ritorial Assembly, Jean Leques, and the former Vice-President of the Government Council, Dick Ukeiwe. Jaques Lafleur, Presi dent of RPCR and Deputy to the French National Assembly, also stood for the council but at posi tion No. 45 on the list, not expecting to be elected, Three of the five Independ
ence Front parties ran an IF list in Noumea Union Caledonien ne, Parti Socialiste Caledonien, Front Uni pour la Liberation Kanak while Liberation Kanak Socialiste ran a separate list with the Parti Socialiste (the Chivot tendency). Both lists fell just under the five per cent bar in Noumea. Led by FULK’s James Wright, the IF team also stressed the political importance of the Noumea election. He said that a vote for the IF would show the readiness of non-Kanaks to de colonise, and to “take the hand preferred by Kanaks to construct the country together”.
Henry Bailly, who led the LKS-PS list said that they want ed to show the common aims and interests of the Kanak people with workers of all races.
In the rest of New Caledonia, about half of the 32 Town Halls
were won by pro-independence
lists. But, following the RPCR victory in Noumea, Mayor Laro que said that the results proved that “Noumea, like the rest of the interior, is absolutely hostile to any idea of independence”.
Following the election count at Thio, on the East Coast, violence broke out when around 100 de monstrators attacked the Town Hall, following the victory of an
anti-independence group led by
Roger Galliot. Windows were
broken, cars damaged, and punches thrown. Several people were injured, though not seriously.
French High Commissioner, Jaques Roynette, returned from Paris in early March with the news that the statute of autonomy will be submitted for study by government leaders before the French Spring. The State/Territ ory Commission will comprise representatives of the French and New Caledonian governments.
The Secretary of State for Over seas Departments and Ter ritories, Henri Emmanuelli, was due to visit New Caledonia at the end of March, to open discus sions on the new statute.
However, UPM, one of the five IF parties, has rejected the idea of internal autonomy and said that their leaders will not participate in the discussions.
The steering committee of Union Caledonienne, which met in late February, underlined their con gress resolution (PIM Jan. p. 15) directing their leaders to discuss autonomy only if there were a guarantee that it will lead to independence. • • • New Caledonia’s new “Union House” has recently been com pleted, and five unions or federa tions of unions have moved in.
Noumea Notebook Helen Fraser
Within the next few months three more unions will occupy offices in the building, situated in Noumea’s Vallee du Tir. Union House was built at a cost of 40 million CFP (about $A360,000), paid for out of the territorial budget. The foundation stone was laid on May 12, 1982 by the previous French High Commis sioner, Christian Nucci. • • • Passing through Noumea in late
February were two scientists who have had remarkable success with a mosquito control program in Tuvalu. Dr Marshall Laird and Joseph Mokry, from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, used an “integrated mosquito control” program to combat dengue haemorrhagic fever. The attack on dengue fev er has been identified by the South Pacific Commission as a top health priority for the Pacific.
Sponsored by the SPC, the pro ject was funded by the Intema
tional Development Research Centre in Canada.
A four-pronged approach, us
ing two bio-control agents, a chemical agent, and a sanitation program, has been used on Funafuti atoll over the past 18 months. The findings of Dr Laird and Mr Mokry show that the number of mosquitoes entering a house per day had been dramatic ally reduced from 60 to 0.5 (or one every two days).
Mr Mokry told PIM: “We are delighted with these results be
cause they show that this prog ram offers the best solution for breaking the cycle of transmis sion of mosquito-carried diseases.”
Mr Mokry said that they are confident that their findings have applicability for other atolls in the Pacific. Their mosquito con trol program is an on-going one and return visits will be made to Tuvalu to monitor its progress.
The study on Funafuti involved the total population of 2000 (350
households).
Helen Fraser.