Self-determination: The New Normal

THE Pacific Conference of Churches has called for self-determination to be part of the new normal.

This call comes as the Pacific marks the colonisation of the region and the continued struggle of Kanaky (New Caledonia) for independence.

PCC General Secretary, Reverend James Bhagwan, called on regional churches to pray for a peaceful referendum process in Kanaky later in 2020.

Here is a letter issued today by the PCC General Secretary:

May 5th, 2020

“Self-Determination must be part of our ‘New Normal’

US-dominated mainstream and social media marks today as Cinco de Mayo,(Spanish: “Fifth of May”) also called Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, a holiday celebrated in parts of Mexico and the United States by Mexican Americans. It commemorates the 1862 defeat of invading French military forces of Napoleon III by a poorly equipped mestizo and Zapotec force under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza as a symbol of Mexican resistance to foreign domination.

However, here in the Pacific, the date 5 th May, is remembered as part of the ongoing colonialisation and politics of violence by France, in particular in Kanaky/New Caledonia. It was on this day in 1988 that 19 Kanak independence activists were killed by French military forces in Gossanah, Ouvéa and on the same day a year later, three Kanaky leaders Jean-Marie Tjibaou, Yeiwene Yeiwene and Djubelie Wea were also killed.

In an article written last year, Pacific journalist Nic Maclellan wrote: On Ouvea, a local group of Kanak independence activists attempted to take over a police station at Fayaoue on 22 April 1988. In the subsequent melee, three French gendarmes were killed and another mortally wounded. Twenty-seven others were taken hostage and hidden in caves, most in the north of the island near the tribe of Gossanah.

The Ouvea crisis led to a major military mobilisation and the torture and maltreatment of villagers by French troops trying to locate the hostages. Djubelli Wea, a former Protestant theology student and leading independence activist from Gossanah, was dragged from his sick bed, questioned about the location of the hostages, and tied to a tree. His father, beaten by French troops, later died.

On 5 May 1988, the French government abandoned negotiations and launched a military attack, with elite police and a commando unit storming the cave. Nineteen Kanak activists were killed, at least three of them executed after surrendering. Their leader, Alphonse Dianou, was shot in his knee during capture, and left to die. Two French special forces soldiers died in the assault. Twenty-nine men from around Ouvea, including Djubelli Wea, were arrested and transported to jail in Paris. Ouvea was left with a legacy of bitterness and tragedy: Men from over half the villages on the island were dead or in jail, and there were sharp tensions with the FLNKS leadership.

A year later, Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene came to the island on 4 May 1989 to mark la levée du deuil, the end of a period of mourning for the 19. At the ceremony in Hwadrilla, Tjibaou and Yeiwene were shot and killed by Djubelli Wea, who was immediately gunned down by Tjibaou’s bodyguard.

On the 5th of May 1998 the Nouméa Accord was signed scheduling the transfer of sovereignty for 2018. The territory would be fully autonomous, except for the fields of defence, security, the judiciary, and finance, which will be competencies of France.

According to the Lowy Institute, “After a long history of difference, including civil war, over independence, New Caledonia’s 4 November 2018 referendum began a self-determination process, but ended 30 years of stability under peace accords.

Persistent ethnic division over independence revealed by this first vote may well be deepened by May 2019 local elections. Two further referendums are possible, with discussion about future governance, by 2022, amid ongoing social unease.”

Pacific Churches have a strong connection to the issue of Kanaky Independence.

Jean-Marie Tjibaou was a former Catholic seminarian; the leader of the Ouvea hostage takers, Alphonse Dianou, had trained for the priesthood at the Pacific Regional Seminary in Suva; Djubelli Wea did pastoral training at the Pacific Theological College in Suva; and leading Kanak theologians Rev. Jean Wete and the late Rev. Dr. Pothin Wete are originally from Gossanah.

In our 2018 General Assembly, held just days before the first referendum for independence, issued a statement of solidarity for Kanaky. Today we renew that call for solidarity and accompaniment as our sisters and brothers in Kanaky (New Caledonia) approach the second referendum on independence from France, September this year. This is a long and difficult road for them to in the struggle to sing the Lord’s song as songs of freedom and justice in their own land.

We call the churches in the Pacific to pray for Kanaky’s sovereignty and self- determination, which they deserve. We pray for a peaceful process and call for an honest, free and fair referendum.

As we across the planet, reflect on the future of the post-coronavirus world, in the name of justice and peace, we must ensure that the self-determination of Kanaky, Maohi Nui and West Papua are included in the “new normal”.

1. Read more: https://asiapacificreport.nz/2018/05/07/blood-in-the-pacific-30-years-on-from-the-ouvea-island-massacre/

2. Nic Maclellan, “Thirty years on, a spirit of reconciliation in New Caledonia”, https://insidestory.org.au/thirty-years-on-a-spirit-of-reconciliation-in-new-caledonia/ 10 May, 2019 (Accessed 5 May, 2020).

3. Denise Fisher, “New Caledonia’s Independence Referendum: Local and Regional Implications”, https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/new-caledonia-s-independence-referendum-local-and-regional-implications/ , 8 May, 2019 (accessed 5 May 2020)

4. Maclellan, “Thirty years on, a spirit of reconciliation in New Caledonia”.

5. General Assembly 2018 Outcomes, www.pcc.org.fj (accessed 5 May 2020)