Tension as New Caledonians in idyllic south Pacific poised to vote on independence from France

Escalating tension in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia ahead of an independence referendum on Sunday has prompted the authorities to ban the sale of alcohol and the carrying of firearms this weekend. The vote in the archipelago east of Australia has polarised its nearly 270,000 inhabitants along ethnic lines, pitting indigenous Kanaks who mostly favour independence against white and south-east Asian settlers. The vote was a condition of a 1988 agreement between separatists and the government that ended four years of violent unrest culminating in the killings of 25 people during a hostage crisis. Opinion polls indicate that a majority is likely to vote to remain French. About 40 per cent of the population are indigenous and 27 per cent are ethnic European. The rest is of mostly Polynesian and Indonesian origin. Kanak flags flew everywhere on the predominantly Kanak island of Ouvéa, where separatists killed four gendarmes and took 27 others hostage in 1988. Macky Wea, one of the hostage-takers, called for a boycott of the “fake” and “illegitimate” referendum, who argued that “only the colonised people, the Kanaks, should have the right to vote.” A flag from the FLNKS, Front de liberation nationale kanak socialiste (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) flutters in a former settler's property of Poindimie Credit: Theo Rouby / AFP Nevertheless, some Kanaks will vote to stay in France. Simon Loueckhote, a former senator, has been touring Ouvéa, personally putting up posters bearing the slogan, “La France est une chance,” which roughly translates as “France is our good fortune.” Mr Loueckhote, 61, pointed out that the state pumps about £1.15 billion per year into New Caledonia. “The islanders are 100 per cent aided, supported and maintained by the public authorities. So when people talk to me about colonisation, I don’t really understand. What would become of Kanak dignity if these funds stopped coming and we had to go begging?” The descendants of European settlers generally enjoy a higher quality of life than the Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies. More than 1,000 gendarmes have been deployed to maintain order over the weekend and shops are banned from selling liquor. Officially the government is neutral, offering no guidance on how to vote. Some 250 French officials and a dozen UN observers will monitor the poll.  President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on television Sunday after the result is announced.  His refusal to join the campaign for New Caledonia to remain part of France was criticised by Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the conservative party, the Republicans, and Marine Le Pen of the far-Right National Rally.

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