Session of the United Nations General Assembly 4th Committee October 9th 2013 3pm Statement by Roch Wamytan President of the Congress of New Caledonia FLNKS Signatory to the Noumea Accord Chair, Distinguished Members of the 4th Committee Let me first congratulate you Mr. Chairman (Carlos Garcia Gonzales) on your election as Chair of the 4th Committee. I wish also to thank you for this opportunity to speak as President of the Congress of New Caledonia (our legislative assembly) and as an FLNKS signatory to the Noumea Accord. On 24, September 2013, New Caledonia commemorated the 160th anniversary of the claiming of the Kanak Country by France. 160 years of history, 160 years of struggle to try and emerge from a system that has marginalized the Kanak People and made it a minority in its own country. Thanks to the FLNKS (National Liberation Movement) struggle and thanks to your support, New Caledonia was reinstated on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing territories in 1986, and the 1988 Matignon-Oudinot and the 1998 Noumea Accords were signed. These agreements are important steps on the road to emancipation and decolonization. But there remains a long way to go against a State which pursues a principle with its overseas territories: the red line of prohibited independence. It does so on the grounds of its place in the world, its higher interests and its position as second-ranking maritime power in the world through us, the inhabitants of these territories. It is clear that the strategies initiated by France in some of its powers can be analyzed using this prism. The same can be said for the alternatives proposed for the Noumea Accord exit process as from 2014. They are actually a kind of remake of the French Union, community or cooperation better known as the concept of ‘Françafrique’, kind of partnership whose common feature is to leave the sovereign powers to the former colonial power. The conclusions of the symposium for the 25th anniversary of the Matignon Accords recently held in Paris, on 8 and 9 October this year, confirms this once again: no solution outside France. This kind of alternative is not acceptable to us. And all the more so because the future of New Caledonia, a Melanesian country, should be built in a network of relationships with the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the Pacific Islands Forum. This red line of forbidden independence also clouds the issue of the establishment of the lists of citizens eligible to take part in voting for the elections due in May 2014. These elections, the last before the conclusion of the Noumea Accord process, will not only renew the provincial assemblies, the Congress, and the Government of New Caledonia, but also open the way for an initial referendum in 2014 if 3/5th of the Congress stemming from these elections so decides. In this regard, following the last official meeting to review the special electoral lists chaired by French judges in April 2013, a verification process was carried out by the FLNKS on these lists. And great was our concern because, according to these results, not yet final, more than 3,000 people born outside New Caledonia were deemed eligible to vote although they do not meet the criteria. This right to vote has been restricted to those persons registered on the general roll at the time of the referendum for the ratification of the Noumea Accord in November 1998, and their descendants. Meanwhile, more than 1,900 Kanak who do meet the criteria were excluded from the vote and are to be placed on the Appended Table of those who are not entitled to vote in these elections. How can we look to the future with confidence if so many Kanak cannot exercise their right to vote, while others will do for them? What would be the fairness of the voting results in the May 2014 elections or the referendum, with such anomalies? It is therefore essential that France keep its Word and that the lists be drawn up in a completely transparent and equitable way in order to avoid the risk of electoral malpractice. The State cannot remain restricted to a constant position of neutrality, always maintaining an equal distance between the parties; its role as a major player in decolonization must be played transparently and fairly in the process of preparing the electoral rolls. Finally, in its role as guarantor of the right of peoples to self-determination, it is important that a UN mission visit New Caledonia before the elections in May 2014. Similarly, it would be appropriate that an election observer group be sent to New Caledonia. Lastly, I give my full support to Vanuatu’s request to host next years regional seminar of the Special Committee on Decolonization. Thank you.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 06:37:35 +0000
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