Pacific delegation says collaboration needed in troubled New Caledonia

PHOTO CAPTION: A policeman waits for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at the central police station in Noumea, France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia on May 23, 2024. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

(Reuters) -Three Pacific Islands leaders on a fact-finding visit to New Caledonia heard divided views on the cause of deadly riots that erupted in May, as the region's diplomatic group seeks to support efforts to de-escalate tensions in the French Pacific territory.

The Pacific Islands Forum said on Facebook on Wednesday that the delegation, including the prime ministers of Tonga, Cook Islands and Fiji, had met religious leaders, mayors, women's representatives and educators on the last day of the visit that ended on Tuesday.

Over three days, the leaders visited properties and districts badly damaged by unrest between indigenous Kanaks and French loyalists. The riots were sparked by a voting reform that French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said this month won't now be ratified.

The Pacific leaders had earlier met political leaders, France's High Commission and the New Caledonia Congress.

"The exchange of perspectives highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing local needs and shaping a brighter future for New Caledonia," a statement on the Pacific Islands Forum Facebook account said.

Thirteen people were killed, almost 3,000 were arrested and France deployed 6,000 police to quell unrest that disrupted the capital Noumea for months.

Protest leader Christian Tein was arrested and transferred to France, where a court last week overturned his pre-trial detention.

French loyalist politicians said in a statement on Facebook they had told the Pacific leaders that CCAT, the protest wing of Caledonian Union, led by Tein, played a "central and deadly role" in the riots.

Daniel Goa, president of Caledonian Union, the biggest pro-independence political party, said in a statement on Facebook on Tuesday the French state was responsible for the May riots, which had been a "youth revolt", adding Tein was an "iconic leader".

The president of New Caledonia's Congress, Veylma Falaeo, said in a statement on Facebook the Pacific leaders had told her New Caledonia holds an important place in the Pacific and they encouraged dialogue.

Falaeo said an essential condition for dialogue is massive financial assistance to avoid New Caledonia's total collapse after the damage caused by the riots, the statement added.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)