its own thing

The Month

The U.C. does its own thing

By mid-November there were few signs that the divisions among the five parties of New Caledonia’s Independence Front would be healed before the visit of Overseas Departments and Territories Minister Georges Lemoine late in the month. It was planned that Mr Lemoine would spend four days in New Caledonia to present local polit ical leaders with France’s pro positions for the future of the territory. The French Parliament will vote an autonomy statute for New Caledonia next April.

However, leaders of the largest part in the IF, the Union Caledonienne, have got the go ahead from their party to present a UC draft statute to the minister, along with ideas for a substantial electoral reform. The UC statute won approval at the recent annu al conference of the party, held on Ouvea Island in the Loyalty group.

Overturning the party’s pre vious demands for independence in 1984, the new UC statute envisages a timetable leading to wards independence, with self determination in 1984, and Kanak independence in 1986.

The UC conference had as its main themes the importance of economic power for the Kanaks, and the need for them to master the economic structures of society.

The two “dissident” parties of the Front, the LKS and UPM, both launched calls for unity and cohesion within the IF. LKS leader Nidoish Naisseline ap

pealed to the IF to hold a conven tion to work out a coherent economic and political program.

Mr Naisseline said that the IF lacked well-formed policies on economic planning, agriculture, housing, education, tourism, and culture.

He pointed out that each party in the Front had its own policies and economic plans, but that to go further they needed to work together.

He also accused the Mitterrand government of causing divisions within the Front by “playing favorites” with some parties.

Calling for a major get together of the five parties, Mr Naisseline said: “We can always agree on demonstrations and land occupations, but face problems every time there is an election we have a basic need for policy.”

For its part, the UPM has called for the Front to re-activate its co-ordinating committee and to give it more decision-making power. UPM spokesman Ed mond Nekiriai told a news con ference that the present structure of the IF was no longer viable.

He cited the recent Senate elec tions (PIM Nov. pi 5), when the IF split over candidates, as mark ing the height of dissensions within the IF. At present most decisions are made by individual parties, presenting the others with a fait accompli, he added.

One of the major European supporters of New Caledonian independence, Jacques Violette, has been forced to send his two younger children (aged five and

11) to their grandmother in France following a bomb attack on his car. Mr Violette, a leader of the Caledonian Socialist Party (PSC), and a member of the Territorial Assembly, was at his suburban apartment when the blast went off at 8.45 p.m. on November 3. The bomb, thought to have been detonated by remote control, destroyed the Renault 4L, and blew out a dozen win dows in Mr Violette’s apartment block. No one was injured.

Mr Violette blamed the attack on “fascist commandos”, and said it followed a newspaper arti cle alleging that he had called for armed struggle in New Caledonia. Mr Violette said the article was a distortion of his party’s call for the IF to establish

a people’s militia in the event of a Rightwing coup. • The French Government is to give CFPI3S million (about SAI million) for the newly created Office of Kanak Culture.

Some of the money will be used for next year’s Festival of Pacific Arts, of which New Caledonia is host.

France will also give CFP233,725,000 (about SAI.7 million) for the festival.

France’s Minister for Culture, Jack Lang, hopes to attend the festival, which is to be held in December 1984. • The Paita team won the Caledonian Soccer Cup against Blue Cross, a team from Ponerihouen on the east coast.

Paita won 2-0, after the score had been nil all at halftime.

Paita will now go on to play the French Polynesian champ ions, with the winner then enter ing the French Cup.

In a practice match, Paita lost 7-0 to Green Gully, an Aust ralian side from Melbourne, Helen Fraser.

Noumea Notebook Helen Fraser

New Caledonian dancers at the Festival of Pacific Arts in Papua New Guinea in 1980. New Caledonia itself will host the next festival, and France has announced a $1 million sub sidy. Jimmy Cornell picture.