from a leftist

Sign of a Solution?

Machoro: last words from a leftist

People may die before this is over. We have a determination and are prepared to die for independence, said Eloi Machoro in prophetic words, spoken only weeks before his own death in the gunfire and confusion of a farmhouse siege out in the countryside of New Caledonia.

“Yes, people may die in the violence which is inevitable if the elections are to be dis rupted. But where is the vio lence? With us, or with them?

“We are not interested in the question of violence. The main target is to disrupt the elections, and we don’t care what kind of actions we have to take,”

Machoro said.

I asked him: If you do not contest the elections will you not lose the resources that come from having some mem bers elected?

MACHORO: If we took part we would gain some seats, but

In the tragic turmoil of New Caledonia at least 19 people have died since last November, among them the brothers of FLNKS leader, Jean-Marie Tjibaou, and the Kanak leader, Eloi Machoro, who was shot, allegedly by French security forces, during a melee around a besieged farmhouse on January 12. Killed with Machoro was his deputy, Marcel Nonaro.

Twelve weeks earlier, as militant Kanaks prepared to disrupt territorial elections and force a confronta tion over the simmering independence row, Machoro, who was Minister for Security, in the self-proclaimed Kanaky government, spoke with reporter Peter Wil son. This is an edited text of the interview which was conducted through an interpreter.

it is obvious we would be in the minority. To take part would be to accept the statute and the aim of the statute is to destroy the Kanak people in their own country.

WILSON: Is the determina tion of the leaders backed by the Kanak people?

MACHORO: Yes. The peo

pie are prepared to fight. If there are armed attacks from the right-wing, that’s their re sponsibility, and we will take our own action to defend ourselves.

That’s why we went to the last Pacific Forum in Tuvalu and we are calling on the United Nations Assembly, be

cause we are quite sure there are going to be problems.

Whatever happens, it is up to France to maintain order.

WILSON: But are you going to break French law?

MACHORO; Since the new statute we are outside the French law. We are the people of New Caledonia, but there is a foreign government in our country. Ours will be the legal government.

WILSON: What about Libya’s involvement?

MACHORO: I do not want to talk about it. The question is that we can get help from some countries for our new strategy.

You must ask why did the Kanak people go to Libya, on the other side of the world?

That is the question. Many times we went to Pacific coun tries; then we knocked on the door in each country in the world.

WILSON: Are you con

cerned that your Libyan links may cut you off from Australia and New Zealand?

MACHORO; The question is, do we have real links with the Australian and New Zealand governments, anyway? They have taken the French position against us. We cannot say whe ther there will be some relations in the future with Australia and New Zealand.

Gaddafi has a reputation for destabilisation, but what he is fighting is capitalism and im perialism. The image of Gadda fi is distorted by the capitalist media.

Two words frighten our peo ple imperialism and capital ism. Gaddafi is one of the leaders in the world against both.

We do not want to be com munist, but we have to choose which countries are the best to set up good links with socialism.

That’s why we have links with Libya. France, Australia and New Zealand are also socialist, but of a type that protects

colonialism and capitalism.

We are seeking the facts about socialism and now we know that the French, Austra lian and New Zealand forms are against people and for colonial ism and capitalism.

We are not firmly aligned yet with Libya. We will see.

WILSON: You are not fixed into any relationship with Libya?

MACHORO; No. We want to set up a form of socialism on the experience of others and the reality of our own country.

Australia must be worried about the future of New Cale donia, about our relations, be cause we will probably get some assistance after independ ence from those countries that we have got links with now, countries like Libya.

Those countries that are hel ping us will be the best coun tries for future relationships.

We want future close ties with our neighbors, but if they won’t help us in our struggle, what will they do in the future?

France is outside the Pacific and one day we will leave them. That’s for sure. The question that Australians must face is, are they going to help us now or not?

WILSON: Can New Caledo nia survive independence, in terms of economics?

MACHORO: No other Paci fic country has the same assets.

But what we are seeing is exploitation of our country. The wealth is going to the French and economic development is in the hands of foreigners.

For three examples, there are agricultural potential, our nickel mines and many other mineral resources which are being ex ploited by France, not by us.

WILSON; But can the Kanak people manage their country without foreign aid?

MACHORO: The Australian government says we don’t have any competent people to run the country. That’s the re sponsibility of the French. It is not our fault we are colonised by France. They have not faced their responsibility to instruct us to eventually run our own affairs.

The main problem is we don’t have any political power.

Economics is later, a secondary problem. We have no control, strangers in our own country, that is the motivation for our struggle.

We are not racist. We want control with people who want to live with us in our own country.

WILSON: But, once again, do you feel that before you can achieve that, bloodshed is in evitable?

MACHORO: Yes, but it would not be necessary if other Pacific countries had helped us.

You ask me why we went to Africa for support. Well, why did Australia support France against us, when France is 20,000 km away? EDITOR’S NOTE: As readers will doubt less appreciate, Australia’s poli cy has not been to support France in all aspects, but rather to counsel patience on the Kanak side while the French found a solution which, inevit ably, Canberra (and most others) felt would take far more time than men like Machoro, however understandably, felt willing to give.