edge of a razor

Amnesty Proposal

Good cheer on the edge of a razor

Christmas, 1985, in New Caledonia was again a time of celebration and goodwill. Decorations were up. Shops were well stocked and Santa Claus made several public appearances. All a far cry from Christmas the year before when the prevailing atmosphere was one of fear and violence.

While the situation is now much calmer, the pro and anti independence forces are prob ably now more set against each other than ever. Last Christmas it was the Kanak Socialist Na tional Liberation Front (the FLNKS) which had the upper hand, having taken the loyalist population by surprise with its determination and strength.

However, during the follow ing 12 months the loyalists have had time to organise. For the most part they have directed their fight against the French government, accusing it of bet raying its far-flung citizens and supporting the wishes of a violent minority.

Other more extreme groups have also set themselves up.

The most recent show of strength from this side came on December 2 with a devastating bomb attack on Noumea’s court complex. The blast was detonated just before 3 a.m. shaking buildings, shattering windows and waking residents for several kilometres around the site.

The bomb completely de stroyed the main courtroom of the two-storey building, reduc ing the elegant chamber to a pile of rubble and twisted metal.

The two side wings of the court complex were also badly dam aged, but at least they were left standing.

Shortly after day-break a note was found in the wreck age. It read: “For the eyes of Gauzere. For the immediate release of Lapetite, Tricard, Sineimene, Mitride. Second warning; or else.”

It refers to Mr Dick Gauzere, a white Caledonian rendered blind by a tear-gas grenade during the day-long riot of May 8, and another group of men jailed for their part in the massacre of ten Kanaks in December, 1984, other bomb attacks in Noumea during 1985.

It also clearly indicates there will be more of the same unless the prisoners are released, which would seem unlikely.

The police have taken the warning seriously. Less than 24 hours before another bomb had been exploded destroying the car of independence leader Norbert Caffa. The car had been parked in the building

housing the Australian Consu late. However, neither the buil ding, nor any other car, was damaged, so expertly had the bomb been placed. The same expertise was evident in the attack on the court and police believe the extreme right is now using a professional to organise its “hits.” (Observers of the New Caledonian scene have fre quently noted the two distinct groups of white French in the territory those whose fami lies have worked the land or run businesses for many de cades, and others who have arrived more recently, many of them from Algeria. Given their earlier associations it would seem reasonable to assume that many of the latter would have contacts among men who, ori ginally, might have been trained in counter-terrorism and similar violent skills. Ed.) Accordingly, local police

Noumea Notebook

have handed the investigation of the court bombing over to a crack team of detectives from Paris. This team is led by Commissaire Farrugia, the same detective who led the investigation into the New Caledonian connection to the sinking of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior.

The bombing of the court coincided rather symbolically with the first reading of a controversial amnesty law for New Caledonia in the French parliament. The law, strongly opposed by the right, allows all those involved in the events of the past year, such as burning houses, killing stock, and the like, to go free. It does not include those involved in vio lent physical crimes against police or others. The bill was finally passed by the parliament in Paris on December 22.

There are about 100 FLNKS prisoners in Noumea’s jail who may be set free under the new law. Sue Williams in Noumea.

This view from a window in the Amedee Lighthouse off Noumea gives an idea of how at least some New Caledonians spent their Christmas.

Sue Williams