After months of stalemate, the large annual meeting of the Caledonian Union (UC), the main component of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), meeting in Canala from November 23 to 25, made it possible to foresee a resumption of discussions. between independence supporters, non-independence supporters and the State.
During their trip to Nouméa from 11 to 13 November, the presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate, Yaël Braun-Pivet (Renaissance) and Gérard Larcher (Les Républicains), stressed that the postponement of the Caledonian provincial elections until November 2025 offered an essential window of opportunity for dialogue. However, the holding of these elections remains linked to a consensus around the electorate, an issue that ignited the wildfire and unleashed the violence of May 13. And the legislative calendar to implement a constitutional reform on a new statute for the territory remains tight. To stay the course, partners who have not yet taken their place at the negotiating table will have to reach an agreement before April. The position on the question of the Caledonian Union was therefore especially expected.
It was in a context of strong internal tensions that the 55 openedmy congress of the movement, placed under the sign of “true word”of “unit” and of “youth”. It led to lively exchanges, described as “clarifications” by activists, in particular on the issue of the field action coordination cell (CCAT) and its main leaders, still imprisoned in France under preventive detention.
“New Breath”
Suspected by the courts of having organized the May 13 insurrection, for which the UC claims political responsibility, the CCAT exposes the movement to strong criticism from some New Caledonian political leaders due to its radicalism. The lawyers of Christian Tein, leader of the CCAT, attacked, on Thursday, November 21, the leader of the loyalists in congress, Sonia Backès, for designating him as “leader of the terrorists”.
On November 15, the FLNKS reaffirmed, as a warning, that it was “the only interlocutor who carries the voice of the Kanak people”believing that the State would seek to choose its interlocutors. According to the Front, it would try to favor the separatists present in the institutions, considered more moderate. The unity of the Caledonian Union, historically crossed by numerous currents, was, therefore, one of the main issues of this 55my Congress in the perspective of the FLNKS, no later than early 2025. “We will have to be the bosses, working so that we follow a consensual path. In the end only one word should come out”insisted Daniel Goa, president of the UC for twelve years.
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