#kanak

[folkfashion]

Kanak dancers, New Caledonia, by Îles Loyauté

[twinskiiiiiiii]

[oaks-and-willows]

So Kanaky-New Caledonia is going through the most violent times it has seen since the 1980s revolt and it's barely on the news. I'm not a local, let alone indigenous, but I'm stuck in Brisbane on my way there because the international airport of Nouméa closed, and worried indigenous friends are keeping me updated.

The Southern Province is seeing a lot of lootings and armed barricades, and two youths were killed by French special forces today.

Why? Because the French government passed a law that changes who gets to vote in Kanaky New Caledonia, from indigenous people, people born in KNC, and people who have lived there continuously since 1998, to everyone who has lived there for at least 10 years. Less than half the population is Kanak, and the strong influx of French people is shrinking their proportion even further. Immigrants who like the sun and the tropical sea but don't need that to mean that they'll learn about the cultures and the country, i.e. expats. So far, this influx was bad for the job prospects of locals and for property prices, but it didn't matter in local elections. The current government is pro-independence, a stance strongly congruent with Kanaks but not with Europeans.

This is Darmanin's and Macron's reaction to the third referendum on independence from France having failed. Darmanin called it 'a minimum of democracy'. The first two referendums were close calls and the second (51/49) more so than the first (53/46). The third was 90% against independence, which was due to a boycott of the referendum; it happened during Covid, electoral campaigns were impossible except vis TV, which is easier for the well-funded loyalists than for their opponents. Macron ignored this. The referendums were very peaceful and disciplined, but since this discipline was used by the State against the indigenous population to legitimize neo-colonialism, the current violence is not a surprise. Last time barricades were used, in the 1980s, they were very successful. We'll see what happens this time.

[tropic-havens]

St Maurice, Vao, South Province, New Caledonia

[browngirl9diary]

🐚 The Saltwater Series ~ Stories from the Pacific

“Shining light on the silenced stories of the Kanak people and the Pacific”

⋆₊𓇼࿐𖦹˖ ࣪⭑ Kanak Rising- What’s Happening in New Caledonia Today?⋆｡˚⋆ Part 2: Nouméa Accord and Referendums

The Nouméa Accord was a notable step toward self-determination. One of its key elements was that only residents who had lived in New Caledonia before 1998 could vote in local elections. This measure was intended to ensure that Indigenous Kanak voices were protected, given that decades of French migration had already made them a minority in their own land.

As part of the accord, three referendums were held in 2018, 2020, and 2021 asking voters whether New Caledonia should become independent from France.

In all three referendums, the majority voted to remain part of France, but the outcomes were deeply contested.

The 2021 referendum was boycotted by many Kanak groups, who argued that the vote was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing fair participation.

Despite these results, many Kanak leaders argue that the process has not fulfilled the promise of decolonization.

[sissa-arrows]

This is a sign during a protest in 2018 in Kanaky but it’s still up to date with the current situation and it applies to so many struggles against settler colonialism.

Translation: No matter the result, as long as there’s a kanak alive in Kanaky, this land will never belong to you. Kanaky, for you I would give my life.

Right now settlers are protesting harder trying to take over the land more than they already did. They are protesting calling indigenous people racists, attacking them and trying to change the voting rule so they can bring more settlers. Right now the rule is that if you or your parents didn’t have the right to vote in Kanaky in 1993 you cannot vote. It helps slowing down the impact of settlers by not giving the opportunity to settlers to just come and vote for their own interests against the interests of the indigenous people and settlers are not happy about it so they protest against Kanak people. (I’m over simplifying it cause I already made a post detailing the voting system in Kanaky (thinking about it the post might actually still be in my drafts))

Settler colonialism will end and the land will go back to indigenous people everywhere because indigenous people are fighting to take back what belongs to them.

P.S: while I’m on the topic of settler colonialism there’s good news about the resistance in Western Sahara too but I’m waiting for confirmation before sharing here.

[aroundtheworldinstamps]

Another friendship stamp! This one is from New Caledonia (Kanaky) showing the friendship between it and New Zealand (Aotearoa).

[grandboute]