BAGNOLET, 22 JULY: In response to the explosive situation in New Caledonia, we, the peasant farmers of La Via Campesina, join our French members from the Confédération Paysanne in supporting the Kanak people and call on international bodies to recognize their right to independence. We condemn the imperialist and interventionist policies of the French colonial state.
Since 1986, New Caledonia has been listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory that needs decolonization. Two out of three provinces are managed by the independence movement, and the territory is economically self-sufficient, yet the indigenous population remains largely disadvantaged compared to the descendants of settlers – the Caldoches, and metropolitan French citizens.
As the third-largest nickel producer globally, New Caledonia is highly coveted by the liberal capitalist world. France is very concerned about losing control over the territory, which holds significant strategic and military interest in the Pacific for the nation.
Given the stakes of mineral and tourist resources, agricultural development is not a priority for the authorities, and most agricultural goods are imported from Australia. Commercial agriculture, controlled by the Caldoches, focuses mainly on cattle farming and contributes only 2% to the GDP. However, subsistence farming, practiced and exchanged among indigenous peoples, accounts for a quarter of the indigenous families’ resources. These non-commercial food productions are integral to Kanak identity.
Subsistence farming plays a crucial role in the food sovereignty of the Kanak people, but it is neither recognized nor supported by public authorities. It is essential to resume the agrarian reform process started in 1979 to return the private lands seized from the Kanaks and restore them to collective management under customary law.
Beyond land dispossession, the Kanak people face severe discrimination and social injustice at all levels, with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few Caldoches and metropolitan residents. The continued white supremacy that seizes the assets, rights, knowledge, and customs of a people with over 3000 years of history must end. Since May, the French government’s brutal attempt to impose a new electoral body to block the Nouméa Accords of 1998 and the Kanak people’s path to independence has already led to nine deaths.
The enforcement of this law has turned the Kanak people’s anger into rebellion. The French government’s only response has been violent police repression and support for loyalist white militias by law enforcement. The High Commissioner even mentioned a right to “self-defense,” allowing the most radical settlers to arm themselves.
While tensions were easing, on June 19, law enforcement arrested and detained 11 political and union leaders from the CCAT (Coordination Cell for Field Actions). Seven of them, including the independence leader Christian Tein, were deported to French prisons 17,000 km away with severe charges of organized crime.
The French state persists in its policy of intimidation, criminalizing the Kanak movement, and maintaining a double standard of justice since the racist armed militias responsible for atrocities against Kanak youth enjoy total impunity. Notably, these colonial militias were established by so-called loyalist elected officials.
We demand the immediate release and return of Kanak leaders and the lifting of all charges against them and all victims of repression.
We call for independent investigations to determine the circumstances of the crimes committed.
Without recognition of the Kanak people’s fundamental rights, justice for the victims, and fair distribution of the territory’s wealth, peace cannot be achieved.
Kanak representatives are ready to accept long-standing Caldoches and other island residents as full citizens.
We urge the French government to withdraw the proposed law, respect international conventions on the right to self-determination, and reopen negotiations with the independence movement.
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