A leader of pro-independence forces in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia is calling on protesters to “remain mobilized” and “maintain resistance” as French President Emmanuel Macron enforces a state of emergency in response to massive demonstrations.
Christian Tein, the head of the Pacific archipelago’s Field Action Coordination Unit party, made the call in a video posted to social media.
“We remain mobilized [and] maintain all [forms] of resistance,” said the independence leader, urging protesters to remain non-violent. “There has been too much suffering, there’s too much at stake and we must see [this] through [and] achieve our goals in a coordinated, structured and organized way… Our main objective is for our country to obtain full sovereignty.”
Riots and demonstrations broke out in New Caledonia’s capital of Nouméa earlier this month after Macron proposed a reform to the country’s electoral system that is perceived as tightening France’s colonial grip on the territory.
Since 1998, New Caledonia’s electorate has been limited to its indigenous inhabitants plus pre-1998 residents and their descendants who have lived there continuously for at least 10 years. The European Court of Human Rights ruled the arrangement was acceptable as a provisional move towards decolonization of the territory.
But Macron’s proposal aims to grant the vote to more migrants living there, a move indigenous inhabitants say is a step away from self-rule and towards renewed European control.
The French president met Wednesday with pro-independence leaders, but the summit failed to end the unrest. Macron called on protesters to remove barricades that have brought the territory’s economy to a standstill.
Tein called on demonstrators to allow vehicles carrying food, fuel and medicine to move freely, but Macron has insisted the roadblocks must be dismantled entirely. The French president has imposed a state of emergency on the territory until the demand is met, deploying the French military to maintain a curfew, a ban on public gatherings and the prohibition of the sale of alcohol. Residents have also been blocked from accessing TikTok.
Three independence referendums were held in New Caledonia in recent years, with the first two being narrowly defeated despite strong support in the territory’s indigenous-majority provinces. A third referendum held amid COVID-19 restrictions was boycotted by independence advocates.
The development comes after a series of governments of former French colonies in North Africa have forced French and US troops to abandon their military presence in the region. France has been criticized for its treatment of former territories in Africa, which it forces to pay a “colonial tax” for the alleged benefits of French subjugation.