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ABC News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
French President Macron invites all New Caledonia stakeholders for Paris talks
French President Emmanuel Macron has sent a formal invitation to "all New Caledonia stakeholders" for talks in Paris on the French Pacific territory's political and economic future to be held on 2 July. The confirmation came on Thursday in the form of a letter sent individually to an undisclosed list of recipients and dated 24 June. The talks follow a series of roundtable discussions fostered earlier this year by French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls. But the latest talks, held in New Caledonia under a so-called "conclave" format, stalled on 8 May. This was mainly because several main components of the pro-France (anti-independence) parties said the draft agreement proposed by Valls was tantamount to a form of independence, which they reject. The project implied that New Caledonia's future political status vis-à-vis France could be an associated independence "within France" with a transfer of key powers (justice, defence, law and order, foreign affairs, currency ), a dual New Caledonia-France citizenship and an international standing. Instead, the pro-France Rassemblement-LR and Loyalistes suggested another project of "internal federalism" which would give more powers (including on tax matters) to each of the three provinces, a notion often criticised as a de facto partition of New Caledonia. In May 2024, on the sensitive issue of eligibility at local elections, deadly riots broke out in New Caledonia, resulting in 14 deaths and over €2 billion ($3.5 billion) in material damage. In his letter, Macron writes that although Valls "managed to restore dialogue…this did not allow reaching an agreement on (New Caledonia's) institutional future". "This is why I decided to host, under my presidency, a summit dedicated to New Caledonia and associating the whole of the territory's stakeholders". Macron also wrote that "beyond institutional topics, I wish that our exchanges can also touch on (New Caledonia's) economic and societal issues". Macron made earlier announcements, including on 10 June 2025, on the margins of the recent UNOC Oceans Summit in Nice (France), when he dedicated a significant part of his speech to Pacific leaders attending a "Pacific-France" summit to the situation in New Caledonia. "Our exchanges will last as long as it takes so that the heavy topics…can be dealt with with all the seriousness they deserve". Macron also points out that after New Caledonia's "crisis" broke out on 13 May 2024, "the tension was too high to allow for an appeased dialogue between all the components of New Caledonia's society". A new deal? The main political objective of the talks remains to find a comprehensive agreement between all local political stakeholders, in order to arrive at a new agreement that would define the French Pacific territory's political future and status. This would then allow to replace the 27-year-old "Nouméa Accord", signed in 1998. The 1998 pact puts a heavy focus on the notions of "living together" and "common destiny" for New Caledonia's indigenous Kanaks and all of the other components of its ethnically and culturally diverse society. It was also mentioning a necessary economic "re-balancing" between the Northern Islands provinces and the more affluent Southern province, where the capital Nouméa is located. The Nouméa Accord also contained provisions to hold three referendums on self-determination. The three polls took place in 2018, 2020 and 2021, all of those resulting in a majority of people rejecting independence. ( AP: Mathurin Derel ) The three polls took place in 2018, 2020 and 2021, all of those resulting in a majority of people rejecting independence. But the last referendum, in December 2021, was largely boycotted by the pro-independence movement. According to the Nouméa Accord, after those three referendums were held, political stakeholders were to "examine the situation thus created", Macron recalls. But despite several attempts, including under previous governments, to promote political talks, the situation has remained deadlocked and increasingly polarised between the pro-independence and the pro-France camps. A few days after the May 2024 riots, Macron made a trip to New Caledonia, calling for the situation to be appeased so that talks could resume. In his 10 June speech to Pacific leaders, Macron also mentioned a "new project" and in relation to the past referendums process, pledged "not to make the same mistakes again". He said he believed the referendum, as an instrument, was not necessarily adapted to Melanesian and Kanak cultures. In practice, the Paris "summit" would also involve French minister for Overseas Manuel Valls. The list of invited participants would include all parties, pro-independence and pro-France, represented at New Caledonia's Congress (the local parliament). But it would also include a number of economic stakeholders, a delegation of Mayors of New Caledonia, as well as representatives of the civil society and NGOs. Talks could also come in several formats, with the political side being treated separately. The pro-independence platform FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) has to decide at the weekend whether it will take part in the Paris talks. Will Christian Téin take part? During a whirlwind visit to New Caledonia in June 2024, Macron met Christian Téin, the leader of a pro-independence CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell), created by Union Calédonienne (UC). Téin was arrested and jailed in mainland France. In August 2024, while in custody in the prison of Mulhouse -North-east of France), he was elected, in absentia, President of a UC-dominated FLNKS. Even though he remains prosecuted for allegedly being one of the masterminds of the May 2024 riots, Téin was released from jail on 12 June 2025, under the condition that he does not travel to New Caledonia and reports regularly to French judges. On the pro-France side, Téin's release triggered mixed angry reactions. "To liberate Christian Téin just a few days away from the final negotiation on New Caledonia's future is a very bad signal sent by the French justice", he told pro-France Radio Rythme Bleu on 13 June 2025. "I, personally, will not go to the negotiating table with Christian Téin. This is one condition we are posing to the French State", he stressed. Other pro-France hard-line components said the Kanak leader's participation to the Paris talks was simply "unthinkable". Pro-independence Tjibaou said Téin's release was "a sign of appeasement", but that his participation was probably subject to "conditions". "But I'm not the one who makes the invitations", he told public broadcaster NC la 1ère on 15 June 2025. FLNKS spokesman Dominique Fochi said in a release Téin's participation in the talks was earlier declared a prerequisite. "Now our FLNKS President has been released. He's the FLNKS boss and we are awaiting his instructions", Fochi said. At former roundtables earlier this year, the FLNKS delegation was headed by Union Calédonienne (UC, the main and dominating component of the FLNKS) President Emmanuel Tjibaou. 'Concluding the decolonisation process' — Valls In a press conference on Tuesday in Paris, Valls elaborated some more on the upcoming Paris talks. "Obviously there will be a sequence of political negotiations which I will lead with all of New Caledonia's players, that is all groups represented at the Congress. But there will also be an economic and social sequence with economic, social and societal players who will be invited", Valls said. During question time at the French National Assembly in Paris on 3 June 2025, Valls said he remained confident that it was "still possible" to reach an agreement and to "reconcile" the "contradictory aspirations" of the pro-independence and pro-France camps. During the same sitting, pro-France New Caledonia MP Nicolas Metzdorf decried what he termed "France's lack of ambition" and his camp's feeling of being "let down". The other MP for New Caledonia's, pro-independence Emmanuel Tjibaou, also took the floor to call on France to "close the colonial chapter" and that France has to "take its part in the conclusion of the emancipation process" of New Caledonia. "With the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and the political forces, we will make offers, while concluding the decolonisation process, the self-determination process, while respecting New Caledonians' words and at the same time not forgetting history, and the past that have led to the disaster of the 1980s and the catastrophe of May 2024." RNZ
RNZ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Macron invites all New Caledonia stakeholders for Paris talks
Macron, right, with New Caledonia Congress former presidents Louis Mapou, left, and Roch Wamytan, centre, last year. (file image) Photo: supplied French President Emmanuel Macron has sent a formal invitation to "all New Caledonia stakeholders" for talks in Paris on the French Pacific territory's political and economic future to be held on 2 July. The confirmation came on Thursday in the form of a letter sent individually to an undisclosed list of recipients and dated 24 June. The talks follow a series of roundtables fostered earlier this year by French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls. But the latest talks , held in New Caledonia under a so-called "conclave" format, stalled on 8 May. This was mainly because several main components of the pro-France (anti-independence) parties said the draft agreement proposed by Valls was tantamount to a form of independence, which they reject. The project implied that New Caledonia's future political status vis-à-vis France could be an associated independence "within France" with a transfer of key powers (justice, defence, law and order, foreign affairs, currency ), a dual New Caledonia-France citizenship and an international standing. Instead, the pro-France Rassemblement-LR and Loyalistes suggested another project of "internal federalism" which would give more powers (including on tax matters) to each of the three provinces, a notion often criticised as a de facto partition of New Caledonia. In May 2024, on the sensitive issue of eligibility at local elections, deadly riots broke out in New Caledonia, resulting in 14 deaths and over €2 billion in material damage. In his letter, Macron writes that although Valls "managed to restore did not allow reaching an agreement on (New Caledonia's) institutional future". "This is why I decided to host, under my presidency, a summit dedicated to New Caledonia and associating the whole of the territory's stakeholders". Macron also wrote that "beyond institutional topics, I wish that our exchanges can also touch on (New Caledonia's) economic and societal issues". Macron made earlier announcements, including on 10 June 2025, on the margins of the recent UNOC Oceans Summit in Nice (France), when he dedicated a significant part of his speech to Pacific leaders attending a "Pacific-France" summit to the situation in New Caledonia. "Our exchanges will last as long as it takes so that the heavy be dealt with with all the seriousness they deserve". Macron also points out that after New Caledonia's "crisis" broke out on 13 May 2024, "the tension was too high to allow for an appeased dialogue between all the components of New Caledonia's society". Letter sent by French President Emmanuel Macron to New Caledonia's stakeholders for Paris talks on 2 July 2025. Photo: Supplied The main political objective of the talks remains to find a comprehensive agreement between all local political stakeholders, in order to arrive at a new agreement that would define the French Pacific territory's political future and status. This would then allow to replace the 27-year-old "Nouméa Accord", signed in 1998. The 1998 pact puts a heavy focus on the notions of "living together" and "common destiny" for New Caledonia's indigenous Kanaks and all of the other components of its ethnically and culturally diverse society. It was also mentioning a necessary economic "re-balancing" between the Northern, Islands provinces and the more affluent Southern province, where the capital Nouméa is located. The Nouméa Accord also contained provisions to hold three referendums on self-determination. The three polls took place in 2018, 202 and 2021, all of those resulting in a majority of people rejecting independence. But the last referendum, in December 2021, was largely boycotted by the pro-independence movement. According to the Nouméa Accord, after those three referendums were held, political stakeholders were to "examine the situation thus created", Macron recalls. But despite several attempts, including under previous governments, to promote political talks, the situation has remained deadlocked and increasingly polarised between the pro-independence and the pro-France camps. A few days after the May 2024 riots, Macron made a trip to New Caledonia, calling for the situation to be appeased so that talks could resume. In his 10 June speech to Pacific leaders, Macron also mentioned a "new project" and in relation to the past referendums process, pledged "not to make the same mistakes again". He said he believed the referendum, as an instrument, was not necessarily adapted to Melanesian and Kanak cultures. In practice, the Paris "summit" would also involve French minister for Overseas Manuel Valls. The list of invited participants would include all parties, pro-independence and pro-France, represented at New Caledonia's Congress (the local parliament). But it would also include a number of economic stakeholders, as well as a delegation of Mayors of New Caledonia, as well as representatives of the civil society and NGOs. Talks could also come in several formats, with the political side being treated separately. The pro-independence platform FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front) has to decide at the weekend whether it will take part in the Paris talks. During a whirlwind visit to New Caledonia in June 2024, Macron met Christian Téin, the leader of a pro-independence CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell), created by Union Calédonienne (UC). Téin was arrested and jailed in mainland France. In August 2024, while in custody in the prison of Mulhouse -North-east of France), he was elected, in absentia, President of a UC-dominated FLNKS. Even though he remains prosecuted for allegedly being one of the masterminds of the May 2024 riots, Téin was released from jail on 12 June 2025, under the condition that he does not travel to New Caledonia and reports regularly to French judges. On the pro-France side, Téin's release triggered mixed angry reactions. "To liberate Christian Téin just a few days away from the final negotiation on New Caledonia's future is a very bad signal sent by the French justice", he told pro-France Radio Rythme Bleu on 13 June 2025. "I, personally, will not go to the negotiating table with Christian Téin. This is one condition we are posing to the French State", he stressed. Other pro-France hard-line components said the Kanak leader's participation to the Paris talks was simply "unthinkable". Pro-independence Tjibaou said Téin's release was "a sign of appeasement", but that his participation was probably subject to "conditions". "But I'm not the one who makes the invitations", he told public broadcaster NC la 1ère on 15 June 2025. FLNKS spokesman Dominique Fochi said in a release Téin's participation in the talks was earlier declared a prerequisite. "Now our FLNKS President has been released. He's the FLNKS boss and we are awaiting his instructions", Fochi said. At former roundtables earlier this year, the FLNKS delegation was headed by Union Calédonienne (UC, the main and dominating component of the FLNKS) President Emmanuel Tjibaou. Manuel Valls takes part in the welcoming ceremony. Photo: Delphine Mayeur / Hans Lucas / AFP In a press conference on Tuesday in Paris, Valls elaborated some more on the upcoming Paris talks. "Obviously there will be a sequence of political negotiations which I will lead with all of New Caledonia's players, that is all groups represented at the Congress. But there will also be an economic and social sequence with economic, social and societal players who will be invited", Valls said. During question time at the French National Assembly in Paris on 3 June 2025, Valls said he remained confident that it was "still possible" to reach an agreement and to "reconcile" the "contradictory aspirations" of the pro-independence and pro-France camps. During the same sitting, pro-France New Caledonia MP Nicolas Metzdorf decried what he termed "France's lack of ambition" and his camp's feeling of being "let down". The other MP for New Caledonia's, pro-independence Emmanuel Tjibaou, also took the floor to call on France to "close the colonial chapter" and that France has to "take its part in the conclusion of the emancipation process" of New Caledonia. "With the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, and the political forces, we will make offers, while concluding the decolonisation process, the self-determination process, while respecting New Caledonians' words and at the same time not forgetting history, and the past that have led to the disaster of the 1980s and the catastrophe of May 2024", he replied.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Bougainville and Papua New Guinea struggle to find common ground
Photo: Supplied The Bougainville Attorney-General says the autonomous region and the Papua New Guinea government may sign an agreement on the way ahead in their push for independence. A week of talks at Burnham Camp in New Zealand last week failed to produce a political agreement on implementing implement the outcome of the 2019 Bougainville Referendum. However, further talks, again mediated by former New Zealand Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, are scheduled to go ahead next week. Former NZ Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae is the independent moderator appointed to mediate a political pathway between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea. 13 June 2025 Photo: Autonomous Bougainville Government Ezekiel Masatt told the Post-Courier that Bougainville "firmly rejected" PNG's renewed proposals for "free association" and "confederation". He added that the talks cannot progress constructively until the PNG government is willing to openly pronounce the word "independence." Bougainville put forward what it called a "Melanesian Solution" with the autonomous region being granted some sovereign powers immediately. Former Papua New Guinea MP, Sir John Kaputin, has called for the leaders of PNG to listen to Bougainville, and for the leaders of Bougainville to be serious about their duties on behalf of their people. Sir John was closely involved in the cease fire in Bougainville in 1998, after being appointed the special State negotiator by Sir Rabbie Namaliu. He has told the Post Courier this week that "It's a two-way thing that leaders of Bougainville must be serious about their leadership among our people and it's up for the National Government to listen to what they are proposing." he said. Former PNG chief secretary Isaac Lupari has called for caution on Bougainville's push for independence. He pointed out that the national constitution does not allow for any part of the country to secede. Lupari is quoted in the Post-Courier saying "the pathway for determining Bougainville's future is enshrined in our National Constitution which makes it clear that the decision-making authority in relation to the Bougainville referendum results rests with the National Parliament."
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bangladesh's Yunus seeks unity with fresh political talks
Bangladesh's interim leader will meet multiple parties on Sunday in marathon talks as he seeks to build unity and calm intense political power struggles, party leaders and officials said. Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has called for rival parties to give him their full support. The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years. The talks come after meetings that stretched late into Saturday evening with major political parties, including those who have protested against the government this month. "Chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus will meet the leaders of several parties on Sunday," his press secretary Shafiqul Alam told AFP. There are 54 registered political parties in Bangladesh -- not including the now-banned Awami League of fugitive former leader Hasina. Alam did not specify how many parties were invited to this round of talks. - 'Ongoing crisis' - Mamunul Haque, leader of the Islamist Khelafat-e-Majlish party, said he was attending discussions expected to focus on "the ongoing crisis". Zonayed Saki of the liberal Ganosamhati Andolon party said he was also attending. After a week of escalation during which rival parties protested on the streets of the capital Dhaka, the government led by Yunus warned on Saturday that political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made. "Broader unity is essential to maintain national stability, organise free and fair elections, justice, and reform, and permanently prevent the return of authoritarianism in the country," it said in a statement. Microfinance pioneer Yunus, who returned from exile at the behest of protesters in August 2024, says he has a duty to implement democratic reforms before elections he has vowed will take place by June 2026 at the latest. The caretaker government has formed multiple reform commissions providing a long list of recommendations -- and is now seeking the backing of political parties. Yunus last held an all-party meeting -- to discuss efforts to overhaul Bangladesh's democratic system -- on February 15, and some parties cited frustration at the lack of contact. But on Saturday, the government warned that it had faced "unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and jurisdictionally overreaching statements", which it said had been "continuously obstructing" its work. Sources in his office and a key political ally said on Thursday that Yunus had threatened to quit, but his cabinet said he would not step down early. Yunus on Saturday met with the the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election front-runners, who are pushing hard for polls to be held by December. According to Bangladeshi media and military sources, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also said this week that elections should be held by December, aligning with BNP demands. Yunus also met with leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority nation's largest Islamist party, and the National Citizen Party (NCP) made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina's rule. NCP leader Nahid Islam warned on Saturday that rival parties were pushing for swift elections to skip reforms and "assume power", and that he believed there were "indications" that a "military-backed government could re-emerge". sa/pjm/mtp
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
New Caledonia's political talks: no outcome after three days of 'conclave'
Customary welcome at the Gouaro tribe on the Deva estate in Bourail, where 'conclave' discussions between French Overseas Minister Manuel Valls, left, independentists and non-independents on the institutional future of New Caledonia will take place over several days. Photo: Delphine Mayeur / Hans Lucas / AFP After three solid days of talks in retreat mode, New Caledonia's political parties have yet to reach an agreement on the French Pacific territory's future status. The talks, held with French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls and French Prime Minister's special advisor Eric Thiers, have since Monday moved from Nouméa to a seaside resort in Bourail - West coast of the main island, about 200 kilometres away from the capital - in what has been labelled a "conclave", a direct reference to this week's meeting of Catholic cardinals in Rome. However, the Bourail conclave is yet to produce any kind of white smoke, and no one, as yet, claims "Habemus Pactum" to say that an agreement has been reached. Under heavy security, representatives of both pro-France and pro-independence parties are being kept in isolation and are supposed to stay there until a compromise is found to define New Caledonia's political future, and an agreement that would later serve as the basis for a pact designed to replace the Nouméa Accord that was signed in 1998. The talks were supposed to conclude on Wednesday, but it has been confirmed that the discussions were going to last longer, at least one more day, probably well into the night. Valls was initially scheduled to fly back to Paris on Thursday, but it has also been confirmed that he will stay longer. Almost one year after civil unrest broke out in New Caledonia on 13 May 2024, leaving 14 dead and causing €2.2 billion in damages, the talks involve pro-France Les Loyalistes, Le Rassemblement, Calédonie Ensemble and pro-independence FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), UNI-PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party). Éveil Océanien, a Wallisian-based party, defends a "neither pro, nor against independence" line, what it calls a "third way". The talks, over the past few days, have been described as "tense but respectful", with some interruptions at times. The most sensitive issues among the numerous topics covered by the talks on New Caledonia's future, are reported to be the question of New Caledonia's future status and its future relationship to France. Other sensitive topics include New Caledonia's future citizenship and the transfer of remaining key powers (defence, law and order, currency, foreign affairs, justice) from Paris to Nouméa. Valls, who is visiting New Caledonia for the third time since February 2025, said he would stay in New Caledonia "as long as necessary" for an inclusive and comprehensive agreement to be reached. Earlier this week, Valls also likened the current situation as "walking on a tightrope above embers." "The choice is between an agreement and chaos," he told local media. On both sides of the discussion table, local parties have all stated earlier that bearing in mind their respective demands, they were "not ready to sign at all costs." The most hard-line pro-independence views, from FLNKS, are demanding full sovereignty while on the pro-France side, the line is to consider that link as unquestionable, after three referendums were held there between 2018 and 2021. Manuel Valls takes part in the welcoming ceremony. Photo: Delphine Mayeur / Hans Lucas / AFP Valls's approach was still trying to reconcile those two very antagonistic views, often described as "irreconcilable". "But the thread is not broken. Only more time is required", local media quoted a close source as saying. Last week, an earlier session of talks in Nouméa had to be interrupted due to severe frictions and disagreement from the pro-France side. Speaking to public broadcaster NC la 1ère on Sunday, Rassemblement leader Virginie Ruffenach elaborated, saying "there had been profound elements of disagreements on a certain number of words uttered by the Minister (Valls)". One of the controversial concepts, strongly opposed by the most radical pro-French parties, was a possible transfer of key powers from Paris to Nouméa, as part of a possible agreement. "In what was advanced, the land of New Caledonia would no longer be a French land", Ruffenach stressed on Sunday, adding this was "unacceptable" to her camp. She also said the two main pro-France parties were opposed to any notion of "independence-association". "Neither Rassemblement, nor Les Loyalistes will sign for New Caledonia's independence, let this be very clear". The pro-France camp is advocating for increased powers (including on tax matters) for each of the three provinces of New Caledonia, a solution sometimes regarded by critics as a form of partition of the French Pacific territory. In a media release on Sunday, FLNKS "reaffirmed goal was Kanaky (New Caledonia's) accession to full sovereignty". On the general public level, a feeling of high expectations, but also wariness, seems to prevail at the news that discussions were still inconclusive. In 1988, the Matignon-Oudinot peace talks between pro-independence leader at the time, Jean-Marie Tjibaou and pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur, were also held, in their final stage, in Paris, behind closed doors, under the close supervision of French Prime Minister, Socialist Michel Rocard. The present crucial talks also coincide with a series of fateful anniversaries in New Caledonia's recent history: on 5 May 1988, French special forces ended a hostage situation and intervened on Ouvéa Island in the Gossana grotto, where a group of hard-line pro-independent militants had kept a group of French gendarmes. The human toll was heavy: 19 Kanak militants and 2 gendarmes were killed. On 4 May 1989, one year after the Matignon-Oudinot peace accords were signed, Jean-Marie Tjibaou and his deputy Yeiwene Yeiwene were gunned down by hard-line pro-independence Kanak Djubelly Wea. Valls attended most of these commemoration ceremonies, at the weekend. On 5 May 1998, the Nouméa Accord, now aged 27, was signed between New Caledonia's parties and then French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The Nouméa pact, which is often regarded as a de facto Constitution, was placing a particular stress on the notions of "re-balancing" economic wealth, a "common destiny" for all ethnic communities "living together" and a gradual transfer of powers from Paris to Nouméa. The Accord also prescribed that if three self-determination referendums (initially scheduled between 2014 and 2018) had produced three rejections (in the form of "no"), then all political stakeholders were supposed to "meet and examine the situation thus generated". The current talks aimed at arriving at a new document, which was destined to replace the ageing Nouméa Accord and bring New Caledonia closer to having its own Constitution. Valls said he was determined to "finalise New Caledonia's decolonisation" process.
