CCAT separatists denounce “the stubbornness of the French state”
The Field Action Coordination Unit (CCAT), an emanation of the Caledonian Union, published a press release, while a source close to the matter indicated that the first five house arrest orders announced by the Minister of interior, Gérald Darmanin, concern five of its members.
MPs “have chosen to add fuel to the fire”estimated the CCAT, in reference to the vote of the National Assembly on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, which opens the way to a constitutional reform to expand the electoral body of New Caledonia, a bill decried by the separatists.
“There remains one last chance for the State to hear our heartfelt cry and definitively stop its plan in the name of peace in our country”, says the press release while the final step consists of summoning deputies and senators to Congress to ratify the reform. Appellant “all communities in the country [les] join “these leaders explained that they had to take their actions up a notch while ensuring that they wanted to maintain them “peacefully” : “We will never go back”they proclaim.
They also denounce “the stubbornness of the French state” and provocations, with “the presence of loyalist militias who attack our people on the ground with the backing of the police”. “The abuses committed on businesses, companies, buildings and public facilities were not necessary, but they are the expression of those invisible in society who suffer inequalities head-on and are marginalized on a daily basis”adds their press release, which does not mention house arrests or give names.
The CCAT recalled that its objective was the achievement of independence “as provided for by the Nouméa agreement” of 1998 and the freezing of the local electorate, contrary to the reform desired by the government.
Led by Christian Tein, the general commissioner of the Caledonian Union (the main independence party on the island), this cell, of which former Secretary of State Sonia Backès requested the dissolution, was created at the end of 2023 and includes political parties and unions.