Another referendum involving a European country is set to take place later this year. But this one is a long way from the continent.
Citizens of New Caledonia—a French overseas territory which lies in the Pacific Ocean about 750 miles northeast of Australia—will go to the polls on November 4 to vote on the possibility of independence from France.
France took formal possession of the archipelago in 1853 and utilized the islands as a penal colony. Subsequently, over the course of the 20th century, tensions ran high as the indigenous Kanak population, which represents 45 percent of the population, sought greater autonomy. This led to violent clashes between the Kanaks and those of European descent. It is estimated, according to the Guardian, that in the 1980s around 70 people were killed in the clashes, including 19 Kanak separatists and two French during what is known as the “Ouvea cave massacre.”
Eventually, in 1998, the two sides focused on a diplomatic approach, resulting in the Nouméa Accord which granted greater autonomy to the New Caledonian legislative body and stipulated that a referendum for full independence would have to occur no later than this year.
This is not the first independence referendum for New Caledonia—98 percent of the voters opted to remain part of France in 1987. But the pro-independence movement called for a boycott of the polls.
French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he hopes to see New Caledonia vote in similar fashion this time around because the relationship is “necessary to guarantee peace and development” in the territory.
Photo: Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, by Thomas Culeho (2006). Licensed under Wikimedia Commons.
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