The presidents of the Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique regions and the community of Guyana demanded on Sunday the “immediate withdrawal” of the reform of the electoral body in New Caledonia, decried by the separatists and the cause of violence in the Pacific territory south for six days.
“Only the political response will put an end to the increase in violence and prevent civil war. We, elected representatives from overseas, solemnly ask the government for the immediate withdrawal of the constitutional reform bill aimed at changing the electorate for the elections in New Caledonia-Kanaky, as a prerequisite for the resumption of peaceful dialogue. write the signatories of this column published by the public media portal Outre-mer la 1ère.
“The security response does not provide a solution”
The text is signed by the president of the Réunion region Huguette Bello (left), who is one of the initiators, as well as by her counterparts from Guadeloupe Ary Chalus (presidential majority), from Martinique Serge Letchimy (left) and from Guyana Gabriel Serville (left). It is also initialed by nearly twenty parliamentarians representing these overseas territories, but also French Polynesia, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
According to the signatories, “the security response which consists of putting in place exceptional measures – traffic bans, house arrests, searches, as well as the dispatch of additional police officers and gendarmes – does not provide a solution”. “These repressive responses risk generating a spiral of violence and compromising the expected return to calm,” they fear.