#kanaky

[soon-palestine]

[4ft10tvlandfangirl]

This whole march had iconic shots but here are a few from the thread:

[radicalgraff]

"Long live the kanak struggle. Down with the colonial state"

Graffiti in Sydney in solidarity with the anti-colonial movement in French ruled Kanaky / New Caledonia, which has been rocked by a major revolt in recent days.

[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.

[sissa-arrows]

A settler organized in a militia killed a Kanak protesting for liberation from French colonialism in Kanaky.

They are trying to minimize it by saying (without proper investigation) that the settler was defending himself and calling him a “civilian” as well as by calling the Kanak man a “rioter”. The high commissioner also announced that if “calm” doesn’t come back he will organize a military intervention to bring back “peace” and “calm”. For the record there’s already a lot of military checkpoints (edit: I used the expression military checkpoint but it’s not the right one I’m talking about the control by the gendarmerie who are like cops except they are in the military) that Kanak people have to go through daily in certain area and a heavy military presence so when he is talking about military intervention he is talking about killing people.

Article (in French)

This is all happening because France wants to accelerate the colonization of Kanaky by allowing every single white French adult the right to vote locally. The Kanak resistance managed to negotiate so only settlers who had been in Kanaky for a decade or more in 1998 could vote locally. New settlers cannot do it. And France and its settlers want to go back on that accord saying that the 2021 referendum shows that people don’t want liberation so it’s racist (against settlers) to not let them vote (and take over Kanaky completely)

If any piece of shit brings up the 2021 referendum as a justification of French colonialism in Kanaky, know that it has zero value. The Kanak people and the resistance called for a report of the vote because of COVID. Mentioning that not only there was a health risk but that Kanak people have a long grieving period which meant that they wouldn’t be able to vote. That vote ended up being only a settler vote. If you compare it to the two previous votes with higher participation rate it’s almost certain that the Yes to independence would have won.

For those who don’t know it international law recognize Kanaky as a colony. The UN has Kanaky on the list of territories where indigenous people have no right to self determination and they recognize France as the occupying power (thanks to Palestine we’ve seen that international law doesn’t apply to Western backed colonialism but that’s an other topic)

[kropotkindersurprise]

August 15, 2024 - French police have shot dead yet another protester in New Caledonia as clashes between pro-independence protesters and law enforcement persist. The latest death raises the death toll from now three months of violent unrest in the Pacific archipelago occupied by France to 11. [video]

[methed-up-marxist]

[intersectionalpraxis]

"Responding to ongoing unrest in the non-self-governing French territory of Kanaky New Caledonia after the French Parliament adopted a bill changing the territory’s voting rules, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher Kate Schuetze said:

“The state of emergency declared by the French government and the deployment of the French army, coupled with a ban on the social media app TikTok, must not be misused to restrict people’s human rights."

“The deeply worrying violence and the French authorities’ response must be understood through the lens of a stalled decolonisation process, racial inequality and the longstanding, peacefully expressed demands by the Indigenous Kanak people for self-determination."

Background:

"The French National Assembly this week adopted a bill which expands the right to vote for newer residents of Kanaky New Caledonia, mostly French nationals. The move is likely to further disenfranchise the Indigenous Kanak people, including at levels of local political representation and in future discussions on decolonisation. No representatives from Kanaky New Caledonia, either Kanak or European, currently sit on the French National Assembly."

"French president Emmanuel Macron declared a State of Emergency in the archipelago on Wednesday. The French government, which is the administering power in Kanaky New Caledonia, announced a ban on the social media app TikTok in the territory, as well as deploying hundreds of police reinforcements. The French army has also been deployed to “secure” the islands’ ports and airport."

I am learning more about the Indigenous Kanak People in New Caledonia (thank you to the person who alerted me to this happening), but for folks who want to start for context and a little history alongside some more updates about what happened/is happening (this is also not an extensive list of resources, since this "decolonization process" on France's part has been going on for a very long time. If anyone has links/more information that they would like to share about the Indigenous people in Kanaky, I would happily post them here!:

This declaration by the Kanak Indigenous people was translated from French into English back in 2002, and it is still very important to bear witness to/read:

[lasttarrasque]

France is further trying to Colonize Kanak

France has long held the territory of New Caledonia, or Kanak as its native people call it, as a colonial possession. France is now trying to pass a bill to allow French nationals to vote in New Caledonia elections in order to further marginalize the indigenous Kanak people. We need to support our colonized Kanak comrades in their struggle against French colonalism. Makes some noise spread awareness, educate others!

If anyone knows of active solidarity networks, boycott campaigns or other ways of supporting the Kanak people, pleases share them.

[nando161mando]

[chaithetics]

It's not called New Caledonia

It's called Kanaky

(Kanaky is under the occupation of France)

It's called West Papua

Which is not a part of Indonesia

(West Papua is under the occupation of Indonesia)

It's not called Easter Island/ Isla de Pasqua

It's called Rapa Nui

(Rapa Nui is under the occupation of Chile)

It's not called New Zealand

It's called Aotearoa

(Aotearoa was colonized by Britain)

Hawai'i is not USA. It's Moana Nui

(Hawai'i is under the occupation of USA)

- Moana Love (@moanaloveniu instagram)

[colerenoire]

Colonialisme et capitalisme ont toujours avancé main dans la main, dans la soumission des peuples, se battre contre l'un c'est se battre contre l'autre.

[grandboute]

[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.

[sissa-arrows]

The protests for Palestine and for Kanaky reunited and made a new chant in Toulouse today (Saturday 18). “For the honor of Palestine for the honor of Kanaky even if Macron doesn’t want it we’re here”

This is the type of solidarity colonizers don’t want to see.

(Given that on Twitter the Zionists are supporting France it’s probably only a matter of time before they accuse the Kanak people of being Hamas… or maybe they will be like “This was a Hamas and FLN(KS) protest”)

[aroundtheworldinstamps]

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