8/20/09
Petition: Appeal for the immediate release of USTKE trade unionists in Kanaky
By Collectif Solidarité Kanaky
On June 29, 2009, in Noumea, Kanaky [also known by its colonial name of New Caledonia -– Kanaky is a colony of France] twenty-eight members of USTKE (Federation of Unions of Kanak Workers and the Exploited) were given prison sentences. Six of them, whose committal orders were read out in court, are now serving time at Camp Est, a prison which is already overpopulated. The judgement targeted the leadership of the union, particularly the president Gérard Jodar, sentenced to one year’s imprisonment, and the general secretary of the construction union, Michel Safoka, also given one year.
The official grounds for the guilty verdict are “hindering the flight of an aircraft”. On Thursday May 28, a day of action organised by USTKE, during a protest outside Noumea Airport to support Air Caledonia workers who had been fighting for two months against a wrongful dismissal, mobile police and the GIPN (Intervention Group of the National Police) pushed the unionists onto the tarmac. Twenty-eight of them took refuge in an empty plane to protect themselves against a stream of tear gas. At the time of the police intervention, there were no planes in circulation and it was the very action of the police which disrupted the demonstration.
The verdict is a political verdict against the pro-independence union federation. Those in power are trying to muzzle the territory’s foremost organisation for defending the rights of all workers, whether they be Kanak [the Indigenous people of Kanaky] or of other origins. In this far-away colony where there are no industrial tribunals, employees are often forced to lead long conflicts to assert their rights, faced with arrogant bosses who mock their dignity.
We refuse to accept either the growing criminalisation of union action or unionists’ imprisonment.
We demand the immediate release of the USTKE unionists and their leaders.
To sign this petition, please send your name, town, country and organisation (and position if you hold one) to: contact@solidaritekanaky.org. Visit Collectif Solidarité Kanaky's website at http://solidaritekanaky.org.
4/22/08
20th anniversay of Ouvea incident to be commemorated
In New Caledonia, a Kanak organization is preparing a commemoration of an important moment for the French Territory's pro-independence movement. Last Wednesday, the Committee of the 20 Years organized a gathering in the capital, Noumea, and more is planned for the next days at Ouvea. In April and May 1988, a clash between Kanak pro-independence activists and French authorities ended with 25 people dead. The incident led to talks between Paris and the pro-independence movement which lead to the Matignon agreements signed in June 1988.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200804/s2222609.htm
"The Kanak women have well understood how important it is that they take part in the struggle for liberation. They take part in the political struggle not only to defend the rights of the people, but also to defend their own rights and to better their situation. They did not stop at political discourse, but they have taken an active part in the field and on the front lines such as barricades against colonial military forces and guerilla tactics." --Bertha Nare. Kanaky/New Caledonia
FIRST PEOPLES
The Melanesian Kanaks arrived in the islands 3,000 years ago from Papua New Guinea.
They are related to their northern neighbours both ethnically and culturally.
The mountainous main island and scattered islands have resulted in distinct cultural groups, represented by the 20 distinct languages that existed when Europeans first arrived.
POPULATION
Kanaky, also known as New Caledonia, is home to the Melanesian Kanak people.
There are presently 187,784 (1996) people living in Kanaky. Only 42.5% of them are Kanaks, making them a minority in their own lands. They are joined by Europeans, mainly French (37%), Wallisian 8% and Polynesians, Indonesians and Vietnamese.
THE LAND
Other names for Kanaky are New Caledonia or Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances.
A Melanesian nation, it lies off the north-east coast of Australia.
Kanaky consists of five inhabited islands. The largest is New Caledonia, or La Grande Terre. It is the second largest island in the Pacific, after Aotearoa/New Zealand and hosts the capital Noumea.
There are also two island groups, the Huons and the Loyalty Islands which includes Ouvea.
The nation is about 250 miles long and 30 miles wide.
POLITICAL STATUS
Kanaky is not independent. It has been an Overseas Territory of France since 1956.
In 1988, the Matignon Accord promised a degree of political and economic self-autonomy, with France maintaining control of foreign and military affairs, treasury and immigration.
The Matignon Accords were to lead, in 1998, to a referendum on independence. But in 1998 another agreement, called the "Noumea Accord", was signed. Setting guidelines towards independence in 2013 oe 2018, the Accord was brokered between the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), the loyalist Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (RPCR) and the French government. A Kanaky-wide referendum in November 1998 will ask the 200,000 population whether they agree with the Accord.
If accepted the Accord would lead to new elections in mid-1999 for three Provincial assemblies and a New Caledonia Congress. France will then transfer some powers in the first five year term to the Congress - labour legislation, local employment and foreign trade. Other powers that would be handed over in the following decade include mining rights, regional relations and social services.
But France will retain control of crucial sovereign powers such as defence, foreign relations, police, justice and currency for the entire 15 to 20 year period.
Those entitled to vote in the independence referendum would include all those who would have been entitled to vote in the 1998 referendum - Kanaks and people who had lived in the nation at the time of the Matignon Accord - and others who had been born in Kanaky, or had one parent born in Kanaky or those who, in 2013, could prove 20 years continuous residence.
This Agreement would eraze the Kanaks' sole right to self-determination as the Indigenous people. The UN promised in 1960, and repeated in 1980, that Indigenous peoples alone have the right to decide the future political status of their nation.
This promise is outlined in the UN General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of December 1960, and supported by resolution 65/118 of December 1980.
The referendum at the end of the 15-20 year period will focus on the sovereign powers of Kanaky/New Caledonia, accession to an international status of full responsibility and the transformation from citizenship to nationality.
Presently the French President is the Chief of State and is represented in Kanaky by a High Commissioner appointed by the French Ministry of the Interior. That High Commissioner is President of an eight member Counseil de Gouvernement which are elected by the Territorial Assembly, which deals only with issues internal to the nation. The High Commissioner controls all government services.
Kanaky/New Caledonia's involvement in its national affairs is limited to one representative in the French Senate and two Deputies in the French National Assembly.
ECONOMY
Kanaky is dependent on French financial aid. Most of Kanaky's income is derived from nickel, of which it has the world's largest known reserve (20%). Other minerals are also mined including chrome, iron, cobalt and manganese.
The economy is threatened by the global drop in demand for nickel.
The 1988 Matignon Accord committed France to improve infrastructure and services and to stimulate economic growth of its colony. This was only carried out in a limited form. Economic power continues to reside with the European settlers in Noumea, while the Kanak areas are under resourced.
MILITARY
Kanaky/New Caledonian military affairs are controlled by France and hosts a French naval base.
HISTORY SINCE EUROPEAN INVASION
British Arrive
When the British Captain Cook arrived in 1775 he estimated 70,000 Kanaks lived in the islands. Cook named the islands "New Caledonia" after the Scottish highlands.
French Arrive
The protestant London Missionary Society followed after 50 years, leading the way for the French Catholics in 1843. Increasing tensions between the religious factions led to the French Catholics winning control over the islands.
France annexed the island nation in 1850.
Then, between 1864 and 1897, France established a penal colony. The majority of the 20,000 convicts transported to the islands chose to remain and settle there.
This coincided with the development of the nickel (1864) and copper (1875) industries.
As a result the Kanaks were pushed off their lands and into infertile reserves on the edges of the mountains. By 1900, the Kanaks had access to only 10% of their islands.
Loss of land, and therefore livelihood, coupled with diseases introduced with immigration, decimated the Kanak population until only 27,000 survived.
The Kanaks did not give away their sovereignty. They resisted the colonial presence. The Canaque Revolt of 1878 was only one example. But the Kanaks were repressed by the European superior weaponry.
Independence Stopped
Following Second World War, the UN placed Kanaky on its Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories. But France unilaterally removed it from the list and made it an Overseas Territory.
In 1951 France granted the Kanaks and French settlers the right to vote and allowed Kanaks to move out of the reservations in which they had been contained.
In 1957 the French established a Territorial Assembly, a move which was seen as a first step towards independence.
But then, in 1958, General De Gaulle was elected as French President. He abolished the Territorial Assembly and reinstated the regime of repression.
Resistance
The Kanaks had long resisted the French colonialists.
In 1878 the Canaque Revolt called for independence. The French successfully suppressed the indigenous endeavour to re-establish their sovereignty.
The independence movement re-orgranised in 1981 when the Kanak leader of the Union Caledonienne was shot in his home.
In 1984 the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak Socialiste (FLNKS) was formed. It called for a boycott of the Territorial Assembly elections and established a Provisional Government.
The French settlers responded by massacring Kanak youth.
On January 7, 1985, the FLNKS announced a referendum on independence to be held in July 1985, and to be followed in January 1986 with self-government in association with France.
Again the French settlers responded with violence. French President Mitterand moved to establish greater autonomy in the colony but this was barely implemented when Prime Minister Chirac stationed troops in the islands.
The UN re-inscribed Kanaky on the Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1986 but the repressive French regime continued. Tensions mounted and another massacre of Kanak youth took place in 1987.
Ouvea
Then in 1988 the Ouvea Massacre occurred.
Responding to a pending election for the Territorial Assembly, Kanak youth took French gendarmes prisoner. The French government responded with 300 troops. Fifteen youth were killed, including those who were surrendering.
Matignon Accord
International outrage at the massacre resulted in talks between the French government, French settlers and the Kanaks.
The Matignon Accord was signed by the Kanaks in August 1988. It was then voted on in France by 80% of French citizens.
Tension continued to mount however and resulted in the assassination of Kanak leaders Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene, the two Kanaks who were involved in signing the Matignon Accord.
The Matignon Accord promises a referendum on self-government in 1998, but as the Kanaks are a minority in their own lands, independence is considered an unlikely outcome.
Many Kanaks were angry that independence will not be guaranteed after a ten years wait. They argued that the Matignon Accord gave France time to change the political power structure, gearing it even more so towards the Caldoches (pro-French settlers).
The Accord divided the country up for shared administration by the Caldoches and the Kanaks. The Caldoches maintained control of the predominantly white urban and militarised area around Noumea, while the Kanaks gained control over the less developed rural areas. Establishing a limited local autonomy, France retained control over foreign and military affairs, land ownership, treasury and immigration.
Noumea Accord
The Matignon Accords was to lead to a referendum on independence in 1998 but another agreement was signed.
If accepted this agreement progressively hand political power to the Kanaky population until full independence is achieved in 2013 or 2018. France however would continue to control military and foreign affairs, immigration, police and currency until that time.
A referendum will be held in Kanaky in November 1998 to determine whether or not the Agreement is acceptable to the people.
Colonisation Continues
The French value Kanaky not only for its mineral deposits but also for its position which enables them to maintain political, military and economic power in the Pacific.
After the US, France has the second largest military presence in the Pacific. A naval base in Kanaky helps them to keep that control.
The Kanaks are determined to reclaim sovereignty over their own lands.
ISSUES
Sovereignty
A recent agreement, called the "Noumea Accord", will be taken to a public referendum in December 1998. This Accord replaces the Matignon Accord which guaranteed that a referendum on independence would be held in 1998. It is the result of negotiations between Kanak, European settler communities and the French government.
If accepted at the December referendum the Noumea Accord result in reforms leading to a referendum on independence in between 15 to 20 years.
This will include progressive changes to the local political control and structure. While Kanaky will gain greater control over internal and regional affairs, France will retain sovereign rights including control over military and foreign affairs.
Economy
Unemployment is rife among Kanaks. In 1996, of 18,000 jobs only 5,000 went to Kanaks people. Public sector jobs are open to all citizens but Kanaks tend to be less qualified.
SOURCE:
KANAKY (New Caledonia) - http://www.planet.apc.org/pacific_action/national/g_l/kanaky.html
See also:http://uriohau.blogspot.com/search?q=kanaky
4/11/08
Warning anger over New Caledonia nickel smelter waste pipe could turn violent
Posted at 08:03 on 10 April, 2008 UTC
There is a warning in New Caledonia that demonstrators could turn violent if the mining company, Goro Nickel, restarts work on its waste pipe.
A day of action is planned for Saturday against any further construction on the pipe which will dump waste into the lagoon.
Work on the pipe has been suspended since February but Goro Nickel wants to test the pipe between May and August, in order to start operations later in the year.
Our correspondent in Noumea, Claudine Wery, says it looks as though the protest will be peaceful but things could escalate.
“It should be a pacific demonstration because Goro Nickel suspended the installation of the pipe. But Rheebu Nuu and the Kanak leaders warn that young people were now ready to die for their environment if Goro Nickel wants to restart the installation of the pipe.”
Claudine Wery in Noumea
This has been a long and ongoing campaign for the Kanak peoples to defend the ingterity their environment. Tautoko & kia kaha for the day of action on Saturday.
see Kanak-led Opposition to Goro Nickel Widens in New Caledonia
3/28/08
Court push to jail New Caledonia’s USTKE leader
28 March, 2008 UTC
The prosecution in a New Caledonian court case wants the leader of the USTKE union, Gerard Jodar, to be jailed for six months for his role in clashes with police in January.
Noumea’s daily newspaper reports that the court has been told that Mr Jodar was giving orders during the confrontation which left police officers and unionists injured.
Mr Jodar says the union is just the victim of a police intervention which was political move decided by the French high commission and the then minister in charge of overseas territories, Christian Estrosi.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict on April the 21st.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=388313/10/08
Ybal Khan-Révolutionnaire
Morceau exclusif d'Ybal Khan!!!kanaky warrior j
Kanaky continue the struggle against Capitalism and Colonisation
2/1/08
Striking Workers in New Caledonia Battle the Cops and Bosses
Workers of the USTKE union battle cops and bosses after a union member was fired for theft. The union rejects this accusation, claiming the worker is being victimized. Jef Costello writes:
“Workers at Carsud, the bus transport system for the capital Nouméa and surrounding areas, went on strike over the dismissal of a colleague for gross misconduct. Workers began a general strike, rotating between different regions, on January 9th. Some 200 police were sent against the strikers occupying the buildings at around 2am. Workers picketing the roundabout were attacked with tear gas grenades, rubber bullets and batons. Those who couldn’t get away in time claim to have been beaten in the back of the police vans. Workers responded by throwing stones at police. They overturned and burned two police vans as well as the director’s car.
Clashes continued all night and well into the next morning in what police described as ’scenes of guerilla warfare’. Seven police and two gendarmes reported minor injuries, as did dozens of workers. Up to 63 arrests were made with at least 12 strikers held on remand, mostly for charges of armed assault on police officers and criminal damage and are set to appear before a judge tomorrow (Jan 22nd)... The union has denounced the refusal of the company to negotiate. The high commissioner for the province, one of France’ overseas territories, said after the night’s violence: ‘they are using the tactics of crooks and thugs and I will punish them as such.’”
(Infoshop News, LibCom.org, 01/21/08)
1/23/08
New Caledonia demonstration in support of jailed unionists
Posted at 23:26 on 22 January, 2008 UTC
An estimated 500 people have held a demonstration outside New Caledonia’s main court house in support of ten members of the USTKE union who were arrested during last week’s violent clashes in Noumea.
The ten were to be sentenced for joining an armed mob after being ordered to disperse and of assaulting members of the security forces as well as damaging public property.
The clashes, which left more than 20 people injured, erupted after police tried to end the occupation of land next to a bus depot at the centre of an industrial dispute.
The court has deferred the case until February the 22nd after the defence asked for more time to prepare its files.
The ten accused have been remanded, with the defence saying there should be the presumption of innocence and the men should not be kept in jail just to satisfy public opinion and political interests.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=37601
1/18/08
More arrests expected in New Caledonia after Noumea clashes
Posted at 03:31 on 18 January, 2008 UTC
Police in New Caledonia are expected to make more arrests following Thursday’s clashes between security forces and those supporting the USTKE union which has been on strike at a Noumea bus depot.
45 people were arrested during hours of clashes which left nine members of the security forces injured while more than 10 USTKE supporters were hurt when police used tear gas and rubber bullets to dislodge them.
Several cars were burnt, including police vehicles, and footage from the incidents is now being used to track down more people suspected of involvement in the violence.
Local reports say among those detained were 10 women and a minor.
A meeting has been held this morning between the French high commissioner, who instigated the police raid, and the head of the USTKE union, but neither of them has commented to the media.
The strike at the Carsud bus depot was called in support of a union demand to have a sacked worker reinstated.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=37537
1/17/08
Clashes in New Caledonia as filth break up USTKE strike
There have been clashes in New Caledonia as riot police dislodged a strike picket at a Noumea bus depot.
Police tried to disperse members of the USTKE union in the early hours of this morning for illegally occupying land that belongs to the southern province next to the Carsud bus company.
An USTKE leader, Gerard Jodar, says police used tear gas to chase away the unionists, with about a dozen of them suffering injuries.
Local radio says police made 50 arrests.
Clashes have continued and reports say several vehicles, including some belonging to the police, have been burnt.
The violence has caused disruption to the traffic in the area, with protestors blocking the toll road out of the city.
The strike was launched to demand the reinstatement of a sacked Carsud employee.
The French high commissioner, who is responsible for public safety, commented on the Carsud strike and described the methods used by the USTKE union as hooliganism.
Yves Dassonville has told local radio that the authorities have moved to restore order and will provide their information to the French prosecutor.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=3749712/1/07
Tautoko Kanaky Tautoko USTKE
Scandalized by what occurred on November 20, the Commission of theWomen of the USTKE firmly denounces the violation of the rights of thechild and the humans right of which proof made, once again, colonialjustice and its forces of repression by challenging persons in chargefor the organization, of which its President.Police officers, heavily equipped stopped manu militari fathers infront of their children as if they were criminals.No State, was it that which defends the human right, is authorized totrample the dignity of a relative in front of his child and whom, inthe same way no child can see tearing off from force the protectiveand respectful image which it has of his father.For the Commission of the Women of the USTKE Mrs. Marie-PierreGOYETCHE
http://www.ustke.org/syndicat/2007/11/21/279- -
http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/kanaky.html
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=44&ItemID=10896
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2006/668/6666
11/21/07
New Caledonia's USTKE on strike in protest at arrest of its leader
Posted at 01:39 on 21 November, 2007 UTC
The Union for Exploited and Kanak Workers, or USTKE, in New Caledonia is on a 24-hour strike in response to the arrest of its leader.
Gerard Jodar has been detained over two incidents of alleged union
violence.
A USTKE union spokesperson, Pierre Chauvat, says the arrest was unfair
and it has called for a one-day strike as a response.
"We are today marching and rallying to ask France to apply human
rights and also to defend the way that unions are struggling for the
defense of the workers."
Pierre Chauvat says about 3,000 people have stopped work and are
marching to the French high commission building in Noumea to show
their support for Mr Jodar
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id;=36557
New Caledonia Union Leader, Members Briefly Detained
Blaser said the arrests were in relation to recent incidents, including blockades and a violent confrontation with local police, which saw the officers slightly injured.
The incidents took place during a recent visit in
During his visit, Estrosi had warned that the French government would no longer tolerate blockades such as those organised by
The French minister also lashed out at the then French High Commissioner, Michel Mathieu, for not authorising the French police to intervene in union-generated conflicts and blockades, even when a Court warrant had been issued.
As a result, Mathieu resigned last month.
In response, USTKE on Monday has condemned what it regards as exaggerated force towards its members and what it calls the ongoing "criminalisation of the exercise of union rights".
The union has called on yet another general strike, on Wednesday this week, in protest against the arrests.
The string of events also coincides with the formal announcement, at the weekend, of USTKE's political wing, a new party in