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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's official answer to media questions regarding detention of political activists in New Caledonia

26 June 2024 17:10
1218-26-06-2024

Question: The situation in New Caledonia continues to cause great concern amid a surge in public discontent over the French authorities' attempts to implement an electoral reform that infringes upon the rights of the Kanak people, the indigenous population of this French overseas territory. Activists continue to be detained and arrested. What can you say about this situation?

Maria Zakharova: Indeed, following the violent suppression of mass protests involving thousands of people that led to injuries among demonstrators and law enforcement officers, Paris moved to the next phase of reprisals.

Late last week, 11 renowned activists from the New Caledonia national liberation movement, including Christian Tein, the leader of the field actions coordination cell, were detained and taken into custody. Despite the protests from local residents, most of them have been transferred to mainland France 17,000 km away from their homes. Paris brought multiple charges against the detained Kanak individuals, including plotting and inciting to commit crimes as part of an organised group and attempting to murder law enforcement officers, among others.

Notably, prominent political figures of the Kanak national liberation movement were arrested two of them direct descendants of Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Alphonse Dianou, both renowned advocates of New Caledonia's independence. The arrests and coercive removal of Kanak activists from New Caledonia have sparked a new wave of tensions on the archipelago and further exacerbated the political situation in the region which is fairly challenging as it is.

We believe that the ongoing sociopolitical crisis in New Caledonia results from the lingering decolonisation process. By placing the blame for this surge in tensions on the indigenous people who are upholding their legitimate right to national self-determination and banking on suppressing it through the use of force, France is replicating the worst traditions of its colonial empire.

We urge the French authorities to ensure the basic rights and freedoms of New Caledonia's political activists, as well as other residents of this archipelago who are suffering from France's disparaging attitudes and the French justice, whose actions bear clear marks of the colonial past.