Vive in a Different France: New Caledonia Part 2
July 31st 2006 08:45
Bonjour tout le monde!
An update on that short interruption to our New Caledonian tour: Landis spoke to the media over the weekend and said that elevated levels of testosterone were natural in elite athletes. Perhaps we should not judge him yet. We'll see when the truth comes out...
Well, now we’ll continue the series on New Caledonia. When I last wrote, I spoke about the country’s turbulent past, including its history as a convict settlement, an island of slaves and a place dependent on French rule, but wanting independence.
The battle for complete independence for New Caledonia has been going on for several decades. It began when New Caledonia became a TOM and various groups have formed over the years to fight for the cause. One such group is the FLNKS. This is a French acronym which stands for Front de Libération Nationale Kanak Socialiste, which basically translates as The Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation (as you probably could have guessed.) These guys wanted the creation of an independent nation state called Kanaky. (I’ll explain the term “Kanak” in another post). They took part in a deadly hostage crisis in 1988, which put the issue of independence back on the political agenda. The unrest lead to the formation of the Matignon Accords later in 1988 and the Nouméa Accord in 1998. These agreements created the idea of Caledonian citizenship, a national flag and other symbols of autonomy. They also said that there will be a referendum after 2014 on the issue of independence.
Well, that’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow for more exciting information on New Caledonia.
À demain
Melinda
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