Murdered
After he murdered them he shouted 'There's only one solution, Intifada revolution,'
So immensely sad.
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Scoop
15 hours ago
- Scoop
New Caledonia's Oldest Pro-Independence Party Denounces 'Bougival' Deal
, Correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonia's oldest pro-independence party, the Union Calédonienne (UC), on Thursday officially rejected a political agreement signed in Paris last month. The text, bearing the signatures of all of New Caledonia's political parties represented at the local Congress, a total of 18 leaders, both pro-France and pro-independence, is described as a "project" for an agreement that would shape New Caledonia's political future. Since it was signed in the city of Bougival (West of Paris) on 12 July, after ten days of intense negotiations, it has been dubbed a "bet on trust" and has been described by French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls as a commitment from all signing parties to report to their respective bases and explain its contents. The Bougival document involves a series of measures and recognition by France of New Caledonia as a "State" which could become empowered with its own international relations and foreign affairs, provided they do not contradict France's key interests. It also envisages a double citizenship - French and New Caledonian - provided future New Caledonian citizens are French nationals in the first place. It also describes a future devotion of stronger powers for each of the three provinces (North, South and Loyalty Islands), especially in terms of tax collection. Since it was published, the document, bearing a commitment to defend the text "as is", was hailed as "innovative" and "historic". New Caledonia's leaders have started to hold regular meetings - sometimes daily - and sessions with their respective supporters and militants, mostly to explain the contents of what they have signed. The meetings were held by most pro-France parties and within the pro-independence camp, the two main moderate parties, UPM (Union Progressiste en Mélanésie) and PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party). Over the past two weeks, all of these parties have strived to defend the agreement, which is sometimes described as a Memorandum of Agreement or a roadmap for future changes in New Caledonia. Most of the leaders who have inked the text have also held lengthy interviews, in explanation mode, with local media. Parties who have unreservedly pledged their support to and have signed the Bougival document are: on the pro-France side, Les Loyalistes, Rassemblement-LR, Wallisian-based Eveil océanien and Calédonie ensemble and on the pro-independence side, UNI-FLNKS (which comprises UPM and PALIKA). But one of the main components of the pro-independence movement, the FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) and its main pillar, the Union Calédonienne, have held a series of meetings at different levels, indicating their resentment of their negotiators signing the contested document. UC held its executive committee on 21 July, its steering committee on 26 July, and FLNKS convened its political bureau on 23 July. A 'lure of sovereignty' All of these meetings concluded in an increasingly clear rejection of the Bougival document. Speaking at a news conference on Thursday in Nouméa, UC leaders made it clear that they "formally reject" the agreement because, in their view, it is a "lure of sovereignty" and does not guarantee neither real sovereignty nor political balance. FLNKS chief negotiator Emmanuel Tjibaou, who is also UC's chair, told local reporters he understood his signature on the document meant a commitment to return to New Caledonia, explain the text and obtain the approval of the political base. "I didn't have a mandate to sign a political agreement, my mandate was to register the talks and bring them back to our people so that a decision can be didn't mean an acceptance on our part", he said, mentioning a "temporary" document subject to further discussions. Tjibaou said some amendments his delegation had put on the table in Bougival "went missing" in the final text. 'Bougival, it's over' "As far as we're concerned, Bougival, it's over", UC vice-president Mickaël Forrest said. He said the time was now to move onto a "post-Bougival phase". Meanwhile, the FLNKS also consulted its own "constitutionalists" to obtain legal advice and interpretation on the document. In a release associated with Thursday's media conference, UC states that the Bougival text cannot be regarded as a balance between two visions, but rather a way of "maintaining New Caledonia French". The text, UC said, has led the political dialogue into a "new impasse" and it leaves several questions unanswered. "With the denomination of a 'State', a fundamental law (a de facto Constitution), the capacity to self-organise, an international recognition, this document is perceived as a project for an agreement to integrate (New Caledonia) into France under the guise of a decolonisation". "But the FLNKS has never accepted a status of autonomy within France, but an external decolonisation by means of accession to full sovereignty (which) grants us the right to choose our inter-dependencies", the release states. The pro-independence party also criticises plans to enlarge the list of persons entitled to vote at New Caledonia's local elections, the very issue that triggered deadly and destructive riots in May 2024. It is also critical of a proposed mechanism that would require a vote at the Congress with a minimum majority of 64 percent (two thirds) before any future powers can be requested for transfer from France to New Caledonia. Assuming that current population trends and a fresh system of representation at the Congress will allow more representatives from the Southern province (about three quarters of New Caledonia's population), UC said "in other words, it would be the non-independence (camp) who will have the power to authorise us -or not- to ask for our sovereignty". They party confirmed that it had "formally rejected the Bougival project of agreement as it stands" following a decision made by its steering committee on 26 July "Since the fundamentals of our struggle and the principles of decolonisation are not there". Negotiators no longer mandated The decision also means that every member of its negotiating team who signed the document on 12 July is now de facto demoted and no longer mandated by the party, until a new negotiating team is appointed, if required. "Union Calédonienne remains mobilised to arrive at a political agreement that takes into account the achievement of a trajectory towards full sovereignty". On Tuesday, FLNKS president Christian Téin, as an invited guest of Corsica's "Nazione" pro-independence movement, told French media he declared himself "individually against" the Bougival document, adding this was "far from being akin to full sovereignty". Téin said that during the days that lead to the signing of the document in Bougival "the pressure" exerted on negotiators was "terrible". He said the result was that due to "excessive force" applied by "France's representatives", the final text's content "looks like it is the French State and right-wing people who will decide the (indigenous) Kanak people's future". Facing crime-related charges, Téin is awaiting his trial, but was released from jail, under the condition that he does not return to New Caledonia. The leader of a CCAT (field action coordinating cell) created by Union Calédonienne late 2023 to protest against a proposed French Constitutional amendment to alter voters' rules of eligibility at local elections, was jailed for one year in mainland France, but was elected President of FLNKS in absentia late August 2024. CCAT, meanwhile, was admitted as one of the new components of FLNKS. In a de facto split, the two main moderate pillars of FLNKS, UPM and PALIKA, at the same time, distanced themselves from the pro-independence UC-dominated platform, materialising a rift within the pro-independence umbrella. The FLNKS is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting on 9 August 2025 (it was initially scheduled to be held on 2 August), to "highlight the prospects of the pursuit of dialogue through a repositioning of the pro-independence movement's political orientations". Valls: 'I'm not giving up' Reacting to the latest UC statements, Valls told French media he called UC "on a great sense of responsibility". "If tomorrow there was to be no agreement, it would mean the future, hope, would be put into question. Investment, including for the nickel mining industry, would no longer be possible." "I'm not giving up. Union Calédonienne has chosen to reject, as it stands, the Bougival accord project. I take note of this, but I profoundly regret this position." "An institutional void would be a disaster for [New Caledonia]. It would be a prolonged uncertainty, the risk of further instability, the return of violence," he said. "But my door is not closed and I remain available for dialogue at all times. Impasse is not an option." Valls said the Bougival document was "'neither someone's victory on another one, nor an imposed text: it was build day after day, with partners around the table, following months of long discussions." In a recent letter specifically sent to Union Calédonienne, the French former Prime Minister suggested the creation of an editorial committee to start drafting future-shaping documents for New Caledonia, such as its "fundamental law", akin to a Constitution for New Caledonia. Valls also stressed France's financial assistance to New Caledonia, which last year totalled around €3 billion because of the costs associated to the May 2024 riots. The riots caused 14 dead, hundreds of injured and an estimated financial cost of more than €2 billion in material damage.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Roch Wamytan: Paris political agreement for New Caledonia 'not enough' for Kanaks
The "draft" deal signed in Paris last month failed to secure the pro-independence mandate. Photo: AFP / RNZ Pacific A former New Caledonia Congress president says there are "not enough" benefits for Kanaks in a new "draft" agreement he signed alongside pro and anti-independence stakeholders in France last month. Wamytan said that, after 10 days of deadlock discussions in Paris, he failed to secure the pro-independence mandate. He told RNZ Pacific that he refused to sign a "final agreement". Instead, he said, he opted for a "draft" agreement, which is what he signed. It has been hailed as "historic" by all parties involved. While France maintains its neutrality , Wamytan said that at the negotiating table it was two (France and New Caledonia's pro-France bloc) against one (pro-Kanaky). A main point of tension was the electoral law changes, which are said to have sparked last year's civil unrest. "We call on France to respect the provisions of international law, which remains our main protective shield until the process of decolonisation and emancipation is completed. Hence, our incessant interventions during negotiations on this subject (electoral law changes)," Wamytan told RNZ Pacific. He said it is difficult to understand whether France wants to decolonise New Caledonia or not. "We have a lot of concrete measures in this proposed agreement, but the main question is a political question. Where are you (France) going with this? Independence or integration with France?" The document, signed in the city of Bougival, involves a series of measures and recognition by France of New Caledonia as a "State" as well as a double citizenship - French and New Caledonian - provided future New Caledonian citizens are French nationals in the first place. But this week, New Caledonia's oldest pro-independence party, the Union Calédonienne (UC), officially rejected the political agreement signed in Paris. Wamytan maintains New Caledonia is not France . But the French ambassador to the Pacific has previously told RNZ Pacific New Caledonia is France . However, Sonia Backès, the leader of the Caledonian Republicans Party and the president of the Provincial Assembly of Southern Province, says the agreement signed in France is "final". "Roch Wamytan and the pro-independence delegation signed an agreement in Bougival. Since their return to New Caledonia, their political supports have been fiercely critical of the agreement," her office said via a statement. "As a result, radical pro-independence leaders like Roch Wamytan have chosen to renege on their commitment and withdraw their agreement is final; there is no other viable political balance outside of it." France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, France's Minister of Overseas Manuel Valls, France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, President of the French National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet, Secretary General of the French Presidency Emmanuel Moulin, first vice-president of the customary senate of New Caledonia Ludovic Boula, representative of the second vice-president of the customary senate Victor Gogny, and President of the customary senate Aguetil Mahe Gowe attend a custom ceremony as the inauguration of a summit on New Caledonia at the Elysee Palace in Paris on 2 July 2025. Photo: AFP / Ludovic Marin When asked why he signed the draft agreement when he does not agree with it, he said: "After the 10 days they obliged us to sign something." "We told them that we [didn't have] the mandate of our parties to sign an agreement, but only a project or draft. "It was important for us to return with a paper and to show, to explain, to present, to debate, for the debate of our political party. This is the stage where we are at now, but for the moment, we do not agree with that. "We [tried] to explain to [France and pro-France bloc] that we have a problem [with electoral law change being included]. "This is our problem. So we signed only for one reason…that we have to return back home and to explain where we are now, after 10 days of negotiation. [Did we] achieve the objectives, the mandate given by our political parties?" He said one thing he wants to make clear is that what he has signed is not definitive and is now up for negotiation. An FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) Congress meeting is set down for this weekend with the Union Calédonienne Congress meeting held the weekend prior. Wamytan said that it is now up to the FLNKS members to have their say and decide where to next. "They will decide if we accept this draft agreement or we reject," he said. "We have two options: we accept with certain conditions, for example, on the question of the right to vote on the electoral rule. Or for the question of the trajectory from here to independence. Through a referendum or the framework proposed by President Macron." "This is an important element to discuss with France, but i is after this round of discussions." He expects further meetings with France after community consultations. French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls (centre) shows signatures on the last page of New Caledonia's new agreement Photo: FB supplied Wamytan admits the pro-independence negotiators did not communicate clearly about the agreement to their supporters. He said after signing the document, President Macron and the pro-France signatories were quick to communicate to the media and their supporters - and the messages filtered to his supporters resulting in anger and frustrations. He said the anger has mostly been around the signing itself, with people mistaking the draft proposal as final. "The political, pro-Kanaky party were very, very, very angry against us. We did not communicate and this I think is our problem." Wamytan has also dismissed unconfirmed reports that negotiators were bribed to sign a historic deal in Paris. He said he was aware of people chucking accusations of bribery around, but said they were false. "It has never been in the minds of Kanak independence leaders doing such practice practices," he said. "After the signature of the Matignon Accord, 37 years ago, with [FLNKS leader Emmanuel Tjibaou] and with us after the signature of Noumea accord in 1998, we heard about the same allegation and some rumors like this."
NZ Herald
15 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Trump's lawyer in hush money trial is a senior Justice Department official and interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell
After weeks of furore about whether the Justice Department would release much of its file on Epstein – and amid speculation about whether the file had information about Trump and others – Blanche travelled to Florida to interview Epstein's longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. A billboard in Times Square calls for the release of the Epstein files on July 23 in New York City. Photo / Getty Images Prosecutors argued at Maxwell's 2021 trial that she was Epstein's recruiter and enabler for a decade beginning in 1994, showing an interest in teenagers and luring them to his homes in Palm Beach, Florida; New York; New Mexico; and elsewhere ostensibly for jobs as personal masseuses. She was also charged with perjury for allegedly lying during a sworn deposition but did not face a trial on those charges after she was convicted of more serious crimes. Trump said this week that his friendship with Epstein ended years ago after, he said, Epstein hired young female spa workers from his club at Mar-a-Lago. Maxwell spent nine hours over two days last week answering every question posed by Blanche, according to Maxwell's lawyer, David Oscar Markus. The details of the interview have not been released, and Democrats said they feared it was the kind of conflict, they had been concerned about when Blanche was nominated. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (Democrat-New York) said last week in a floor speech that 'Trump is sending his personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, to try and execute a corrupt cover-up, potentially offering leniency to a woman who also abused the victims'. Schumer said this and other actions by Justice officials represent a conflict but he did not provide evidence of an alleged cover-up. The relationship between Trump and Blanche has been a financially significant one. Blanche's law firm was paid US$9.2 million ($15.6m) by Save America, a pro-Trump political action committee, between April 2023 and December 2024, for work on cases that included the trial about payment of alleged hush money to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, according to federal election records. Trump was found guilty in the hush money case, which has been appealed and is being handled by other lawyers. Why Donald Trump's lawyer is under scrutiny in Jeffrey Epstein inquiry. Photo / Getty Images Blanche, 50, is an unlikely player in the unfolding drama. A former federal prosecutor in New York, he handled violent crimes and led the office's White Plains division in Westchester County. Blanche was well-liked by colleagues and earned a reputation for diligence, according to lawyers familiar with his work. He then worked at a law firm where his clients included Trump ally Paul Manafort. Blanche won the dismissal of mortgage fraud charges against Manafort in a New York case in 2019 on the grounds that the indictment too closely mirrored a federal case against him and amounted to double jeopardy. The case helped bring Blanche to Trump's attention at a time when he was preparing to run for re-election. Trump later pardoned Manafort in a pair of federal cases that included the federal mortgage fraud charges. The Justice Department did not respond directly to questions from the Washington Post about whether Blanche consulted a government ethics official regarding an interview with Maxwell. Instead, the department sent a written statement from spokesman Gates McGavick that said, in full: 'Any suggestion that Todd Blanche has acted unethically while serving as Deputy Attorney General is baseless and defamatory. This gossip column relies on innuendo and the word of an agenda-driven political hack to push a false narrative. This is not a serious article.' Markus said in a statement that it was appropriate for the Justice Department to send a high-level official such as Blanche to address such an important matter and that Blanche 'has conducted himself with complete professionalism throughout this process'. 'It's truly disheartening how quick people are to assume the worst without any basis in fact,' Markus added. 'More akin to a political player' Some of Blanche's ex-colleagues are surprised by what they see as his transformation from the independent litigator they knew to one they say seems willing to prioritise his loyalty to Trump. Mimi Rocah, who previously co-led the White Plains division in the US Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York with Blanche, said that it is 'completely inappropriate and wrong' for him to interview Maxwell – both because of his relationship to Trump and because it is a job that should be reserved for prosecutors on the case, not a Justice official at the highest level. Mimi Rocah (centre) criticised Blanche's interview with Maxwell as 'completely inappropriate', citing his Trump ties and the breach of prosecutorial protocol. Photo / Getty Images If a top Washington official had injected himself into a case Blanche handled as a prosecutor, he would have gone 'running to Main Justice', Rocah said, referring to the department's headquarters in Washington that oversees US Attorneys' offices and other units. 'That just shows how completely far gone he is as an actual prosecutor,' Rocah said. 'He's really more akin to a political player at this point.' In a podcast interview last year hosted by Markus, Blanche recounted receiving a phone call from Trump when he was skiing with his family in Colorado on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2023. At this time before Trump had been indicted, the former President talked with Blanche about representing him in what would become the hush money trial and possibly other cases. A few weeks later, Blanche said, he went to dinner with Trump to discuss his potential hiring. 'And we clicked,' Blanche said. 'He's an enigma, he's an interesting guy, everybody in this country, most people in the world, frankly, have an opinion about him. 'And some may be right, some may be wrong, but he's a really interesting man. And not only because of his past as President of the US, but just the life that he's led.' Around that time, he left the New York firm and started Blanche Law, enlisting as a partner Emil Bove, a former Southern District colleague who later joined the Justice Department at the start of Trump's second term and was nominated for a federal appeals judgeship. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and 900 former Justice Department lawyers have questioned Bove's fitness to serve. That's based on his handling of a corruption indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams, allegations that he instructed underlings to ignore judicial orders, and his role in firing or reassigning career Justice Department employees in perceived politically driven punishments. In February, Blanche – not yet confirmed by the Senate – was in attendance as Bove stood in court to defend his decision to dismiss the Adams case, arguing that the mayor needed to be unburdened so he could help the Trump Administration carry out its immigration enforcement and public safety agenda. Blanche was also there when Bove, who was also a defence lawyer for Trump, faced tough questions at his confirmation hearing last month. Bove was confirmed by the Senate 50-49 on Wednesday. Blanche, who had been a registered Democrat as recently as 2022, switched his registration to Republican in January 2024 and said his voting record residence was Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a community near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, according to voter records. He spent much of 2024 as a key legal adviser to Trump – spending long hours in Palm Beach with Trump and attending court appearances and meetings up and down the East Coast. The lawyer was the face of Trump's legal team during a six-week trial in New York Supreme Court, where a jury heard evidence that the former President concealed the nature of a US$130,000 payment to Daniels in the final stretch of the 2016 election to keep her quiet about an alleged affair. Blanche recalled in the podcast interview with Markus how Trump 'heard 'guilty' 34 times' in the hush money trial and then spoke to the press. 'For somebody who had just gone through what he went through, I was like, I mean, it sounds maybe a little bit obnoxious to say, but I was like, really, really proud of him on that day.' Throughout the trial, Trump turned the hallway into a campaign stop for news cameras. A stone-faced Blanche stood at his side as the then-candidate launched into meandering tirades about what he called a Democratic conspiracy to use the justice system to keep him from retaking the White House. Todd Blanche's Epstein case role has sparked conflict of interest concerns. Photo / Getty Images Aggressive delay efforts by Blanche and other lawyers helped stall proceedings in a pair of serious federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith over Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and refusing to return them, and for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election. Both matters were unresolved as the 2024 election neared. The classified records case in Florida was dismissed by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon on grounds that experts widely believed were flawed and reversible. Smith's team was appealing that decision, but after Trump's victory, they moved to withdraw those cases before Trump took office. Blanche and the defence team also secured so many sentencing delays in the hush money case that the proceeding did not take place until 10 days before Trump's inauguration. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan acknowledged having very limited options. Trump was sentenced to unconditional discharge, which amounted to no punishment. 'I will follow the law' Trump, known for frequently firing lawyers when they fall out of favour with him, has showered Blanche with praise for his work on the cases. The closeness between Trump and Blanche continued during the election and culminated in Trump's announcement that he would nominate his lawyer to serve as deputy attorney-general. In his hearing, Blanche sounded fully in sync with Trump's messaging as he said that the President had been a victim of 'partisan prosecutors' but that his 'faith in this country returned in full force on November 5 when the American people rejected this gross abuse of our justice system'. There is a long history of former Trump associates who have been ousted by the President over questions of loyalty. Attorney-General Jeff Sessions recused himself from being involved in the investigation of whether there was Russian interference in the 2016 election, sparking Trump's ire. At another point, Trump said it was 'disgraceful' that Sessions had asked an inspector general to investigate a campaign-related matter, saying, 'Why not use Justice Department lawyers?' Sessions resigned in 2018 at Trump's request. So when Trump nominated Blanche to the No 2 job at Justice, Democrats repeatedly asked during the nomination hearing whether he would push back against Trump and show the independence that is required of Justice officials. Senator Blumenthal voiced concern Blanche might face illegal or immoral requests from Trump and must be ready to say no. Photo / Getty Images Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) said during the hearing that he was 'convinced' that Blanche was committed to impartial enforcement. Nonetheless, Blumenthal expressed concern that, 'if history is any guide, that the President will ask you to do things that are illegal or immoral. I need to be sure that you're willing to say no' to Trump. 'Senator, I respectfully very much reject that premise,' Blanche responded. 'I don't think that President Trump is going to ask me to do anything illegal or immoral and so I don't -' 'But if he does, you would say no?' Blumenthal asked. 'I will follow the law Senator, period - period … And by the way, I've spent thousands, certainly hundreds, probably thousands of hours with President Trump over the past couple of years. So I don't just say that flippantly; I say that with experience and firsthand knowledge.' Experts say that ethics law can be a grey area subject to interpretation in each unique case. In the normal course of events, Blanche would have been advised about the standard of conduct for federal employees, which includes this provision: 'Whether particular circumstances create an appearance that the law or these standards have been violated shall be determined from the perspective of a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts.' Several months after Blanche joined the Justice Department, as the controversy over the Epstein files exploded, Blanche said on X that he was going to interview Maxwell. 'Justice demands courage. For the first time, the Department of Justice is reaching out to Ghislaine Maxwell to ask: what do you know?' Blanche wrote. At the direction of Attorney-General Pam Bondi, he said, he had contacted Maxwell's counsel, adding that 'No one is above the law - and no lead is off-limits'. As it happened, the lawyer representing Maxwell was Markus, the same person to whom Blanche had given the podcast interview in June 2024 about his relationship with Trump. Blanche and Markus came to an agreement, leading to the interviews with Maxwell – and to the questions from Democrats about whether Blanche had a conflict in conducting the private sessions. Blumenthal, who opposed Blanche's nomination, said he nonetheless expected the lawyer to follow ethical norms. He said he has been shocked by Blanche's decision to insert himself into the Maxwell interview, which the senator said was 'a breach'. 'I really expected him to be a serious lawyer,' Blumenthal said in an interview with the Washington Post. 'He had a reputation for being with a big firm and representing the client in difficult circumstances. I respect people who represent unpopular causes or individuals, that's what a lawyer does.' But Blumenthal said 'there's this stench' about Blanche interviewing Maxwell 'that is so powerful it is absolutely mind-boggling, and I frankly would never have expected it of him'. Norm Eisen said he'd never have approved Blanche's role due to impartiality concerns. Photo / Getty Images Norm Eisen, who was the White House special counsel for ethics in the Obama Administration, said in an interview that he would never have authorised that Blanche interview Maxwell because of rules that seek to prevent conflict of interest. 'This is the very definition of the situation where a reasonable person would question the impartiality of Blanche,' Eisen said. 'There is a certain amount of play in these rules, but that is why the public should be concerned … I don't know any government ethicist who worked for any administration of either party who would have authorised Blanche to participate in this.' Unless interview transcripts are released, it may be impossible to know whether and how much Blanche pursued questions about Trump's possible mention in the Epstein files. For his part, Blanche has insisted his loyalty is to the Justice Department. 'This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead,' Blanche said in a July 22 statement on X.
