Abstract
For two days in Paris, while Australians were marking Anzac Day, quiet discussions took place involving historic players from our closest Pacific island neighbour, the French collectivity of New Caledonia. The occasion was a Colloquium held 25 to 26 April, amidst the chandeliers and plush velvet carpets of the French Senate on the Left Bank of Paris. It marked the twentieth anniversary of agreements which underpin the current peace and stability of New Caledonia and which put an end to the virtual civil war of the 1980s: the Matignon/Oudinot Accords of 1988, and the related Noumea Accord of 1998. Their effect has been to defer until the end of the 2010s any vote on the status of New Caledonia. Before then, it provides for a progressive transfer of powers to New Caledonia, and balanced economic growth inclusive of the Kanaks.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 1pp |
No. | 16 June 2008 |
Specialist publication | The Interpreter |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |