The Forum Communique, 1982.

During the 1983 Forum meeting in Canberra, the Forum countries had been divided, especially regarding whether the Forum should act quickly to reinscribe New Caledonia in the UN list. As usual, the group pushing for action was the Melanesian countries of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and PNG. Led by Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Walter Lini, this group suggested that the Forum should take action as soon as possible to reinscribe the territory. The group also insisted the Forum leaders recognise only Kanaks as the legitimate indigenous people to gain independence. They argued that to delay reinscription would contribute to instability in the region. The second group was led by Australia and followed by New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Cook Islands, and Western Samoa. This group agreed to reinscribe the territory on the UN list but said to do so quickly would bring a great risk. Firstly, they believed it would embarrass the French government which had shown a positive response to the Forum’s initiative. Therefore, the group suggested, it might be better for the Forum to wait one or two years to observe the French’s continuing efforts. Secondly, they pointed to internal matters in the territory, for example, there were too few trained Melanesians to run the country. Therefore, immediate independence could take authority out of the hands of the Kanak people completely. Thirdly, too rapid change could also lead to instability, insecurity and possible armed conflict. There was evidence that substantial caches of arms had been laid up in New Caledonia.

In response to the demand that the Kanaks should be the only people having the right to independence, some Forum countries had reservations. Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Cook Islands believed that the Forum countries should be realistic. Non-Melanesian peoples were also living in the territory. Most were bom there and regarded New Caledonia as their home. Therefore, the non-Melanesian groups should also be recognised and considered in the future of the territory. The Cook Islands mentioned that there was a Forum country that consisted of more than one ethnic group. They lived together and a workable constitution had been established to allow those groups to operate side by side within the democratic political system. He certainly referred to Fiji before the 1987 coups. Thus, New Caledonia could also build such a system. The Forum reached a consensus: to review the situation in New Caledonia at the next meeting and to consider the desirability of reinscription of the territory on the UN list of non-self- governing territories.

One year later, 1984, the French Government decided to reject the proposal of a Forum mission to visit New Caledonia. France pointed out, however, that the Forum diplomats were free to visit New Caledonia at any time and there were no restrictions on individual visits. The Forum was disappointed at the French response, instead it asked ‘France to provide Forum

countries with information on a continuing basis’.49 The Forum meeting in 1984 also spent most of the time discussing the reinscription issue. Again the two groups were very vocal and still had different perceptions. New Zealand and Australia, supported by Fiji, Western Samoa, and Cook Islands, opposed the proposal. They argued that the Forum should urge France to keep the region better informed. They believed that the New Caledonia issue could be resolved in New Caledonia, in France and within the region, but not in international fora. In their view, a move to reinscribe the territory on the UN list would give the wrong signals and indicate that the process of peaceful change had broken down and been replaced by confrontation and international, rather than intimate, diplomacy.

The Melanesian states, on the other hand, preserved their strong stand. They insisted the Forum have New Caledonia reinscribed on the UN list. Walter Lini of Vanuatu informed his colleagues that the Independence Front had resolved to boycott the election for the Territorial Assembly in the end of 1984, to withdraw from participation in the institutions of government, and to set up a provisional government. Therefore, he reminded the members there was a strong possibility of disruptions, violence and outside interference. Lini, supported by the Solomon Islands and PNG, argued that the Forum’s best means to avoid those threats was to reinscribe the territory. The other Forum countries were passive during the discussion. Nauru made little contribution, and did not make clear which group it belonged to, though in 1985 it finally favoured the Melanesian states’ stand. The Forum could not reach an agreement on the issue. It decided to review the reinscription issue at the next Forum meeting and set up a five-member group at ministerial level50 with the main task to discuss these issues with the Independence Front and with the French authorities and then to inform the Forum of its progress. It was also agreed that some Forum member countries might start lobbying in the international fora, for instance by circulating the Forum Final Communique to other UN members in New York.

The Forum reaffirmed its support for self-determination in New Caledonia in 1985 and welcomed the fact that France at last publicly agreed to an early act of self-determination with the objective of bringing New Caledonia to independence. The French Prime Minister put a new proposal that would divide the territory into four regional councils. A referendum on independence in free association with France, according to the plan, would be held by the end of 1987. The proposal was put after some violent incidents. The FLNKS had boycotted the election and partly as a result 20 people had died (16 of whom were Kanaks). Walter Lini