The emotion is palpable in New Caledonia since Saturday 8 August evening and the volunteer fire whose “big box” of the customary Senate has been the target, less than two months of a second referendum on its independence.
” A man, 29 years old and originally melanesian, had been arrested a few minutes after the fire started Saturday evening, announced Sunday in a press release, the prosecutor of the Republic, Yves Dupas. The suspect, who was arrested following the indications of the security officer, was in a state of intoxication and admitted ” having deliberately set fire to the large box in the middle of his lighter “.
The suspect claims to have “acted on a whim”
posing as the assistant secretary of an association of squatters in the neighborhood, the alleged perpetrator has explained, “to have acted alone and on a whim, in reaction to the lack of support from customary authorities kanak” to demands regarding electricity supply and waste collection. He was summoned to court Tuesday, August 11, in front of the correctional court, and liable to a penalty of 10 years in prison, said the prosecutor.
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Located in the district of Nouville Noumea, the consultative institution is home to sixteen senators kanak, representing the eight custom areas of New Caledonia. Next to the buildings hard, the customary Senate had a large traditional house, reserved for ceremonies and the reception of visiting personalities.
The” emotion “of Sébastien Lecornu
The high commissioner Laurent Prévost was” part of his excitement before the destruction of this iconic place ” and ” strongly condemned this act which is prejudicial to the customary institution and beyond the institution of New Caledonia “. He said that the minister of Outre-Mer, Sébastien Lecornu, had been “kept informed of the arson” and that it was part of his emotion, and their support of the president of the customary Senate, Hippolyte Sinewami “. On the waves of New Caledonia 1st, the latter expressed ” its deep dismay in the face of this isolated act that affects a structure symbolic “.
The president of the southern Province, Sonia Backés (right), expressed his “dismay” its page on Facebook and has condemned the ” criminal act “. The mp Philippe Gomes (UDI) has deplored the destruction ” of the door of entrance to the country (…) space of dialogue between the Kanak, but also of meetings with the various components of the people of the caledonian “.
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A decolonization process, negotiated and progressive
This fire comes after a tarp in the colors tricolor held on the facade of the south Province and that the “make” (build polynesian) of a pool of Noumea have also been burned in recent weeks. These incidents contribute to reach the political climate in New Caledonia, which will be held on 4 October a second self-determination referendum, in the framework of the decolonization process of the Noumea accord (1998)
After the deadly violence between the “Caldoches” of european origin and the pro-independence kanak, which had peaked with the bloody hostage-taking of the cave of Ouvéa (1988), New Caledonia is engaged in a process of decolonization negotiated and progressive, unprecedented in the French history. In accordance with the Nouméa accord (1998), a first referendum was held on 4 November 2018, and has seen the victory of the pro-French who have put together 56.7% of the vote.
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