A standoff is beginning between Paris and Papeete. The pro-independence president of French Polynesia pleaded Tuesday at the UN for a process of self-determination of the community, in the presence for the first time in ten years of a representative of the French State who nevertheless underlined “the absence line change” in Paris.
“The time has come to initiate a frank and honest dialogue with the administering power to facilitate rapid progress towards a fair and effective self-determination process,” said Moetai Brotherson, elected president of the South Pacific community in June. , assuring that he wanted “neither confrontation nor rupture” but “discussions between partners”.
Brotherson pleads for a smooth transition
“At a time when multilateralism is being tested, when the Indo-Pacific is coveted, when postcolonial disenchantment is exacerbating, we must open new paths together, under the auspices of the United Nations,” he said. added, calling in particular for the establishment of a political education program for Polynesians. “We want to explain to our people what options a self-determination referendum implies, not just independence but all the existing options,” said the one who advocates for a smooth transition to independence.
Moetai Brotherson spoke for the first time since his election before the 4th committee of the UN General Assembly, in charge of decolonization issues. A “historic” day of “establishment of dialogue”, he said, welcoming the presence of the French ambassador Nicolas de Rivière who put an end to ten years of “empty chair” of Paris, since the re-inscription in 2013 of French Polynesia on the UN list of non-autonomous territories to be decolonized, alongside New Caledonia in particular.
Intransigence of Paris
“If I am speaking before you today to note a change of method, it is also to reaffirm the absence of a change of line,” replied Nicolas de Rivière. “No process between the State and the territory provides for a role for the United Nations,” he insisted, rejecting any “parallel” with New Caledonia.
“France is sitting today in a spirit of dialogue to point out the obvious: French Polynesia has no place on the list of non-autonomous territories” he added, believing that the territory was already “autonomous”. with “a completely singular status in the French Republic”.
Polynesia has, within the framework of the French Constitution, a regime of specialty and autonomy, and the State has refocused on its sovereign missions and skills which are the subject of a restrictive list (security and public order, relief organization, justice, foreign policy and defense).