Granting voting rights to settlers in New Caledonia 'life-or-death matter,' says Kanak movement leader

By Esra Taskin

PARIS (AA) - Peace in New Caledonia hinges on France abandoning its constitutional reform aimed at disenfranchising the local population in elections, according to Daniel Wea, the head of the Young Kanaks Movement.

Wea emphasized the need for dialogue within the framework of the Noumea Accord as he spoke to Anadolu.

"Achieving short-term social peace and facilitating dialogue requires the withdrawal of this proposal," he said.

He stressed that meaningful discussions cannot occur under a state that continues to pressure New Caledonia with reforms that increase the settler population.

Wea said the French government's deployment of thousands of troops to the island shows that the French state is incapable of managing the situation, and he questioned whether France can accompany New Caledonia in its "decolonization process."

He said granting voting rights to all settlers would reduce the Kanaks to a minority in their homeland -- a situation that is a "life-or-death matter."

Wea underscored the Kanaks' resistance to being marginalized. "Kanaks want to declare to the world: ‘I exist as a people. They want to suffocate me, but I will not allow it.’"

- Unrest in New Caledonia

A constitutional change passed by Paris to give French residents of New Caledonia who have been there for more than 10 years the right to vote in provincial elections sparked protests, raising concerns about the indigenous Kanak population's political representation being reduced.

During protests, at least seven people were killed, including two gendarmes and more than 460 were arrested.

New Caledonia gained autonomy in 1998 with the Noumea Accord, which restricted voting rights to those who resided on the island before 1998 and their children to prevent the indigenous population from becoming a minority on their territory.

*Wriiting by Yasin Gungor in Istanbul