By rnz.co.nz and is repbulished with permission
Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) chair and Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni is still waiting for Paris to approve a Pacific mission to New Caledonia.
Last month, the French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, said President Emmanuel Macron was yet to sign a letter authorising a high-level PIF delegation to visit the French territory.
The PIF wants to send a Forum Ministerial Committee made up of leaders from the troika – Cook Islands, Fiji and Tonga – and Solomon Islands for the mission.
“I’ve have yet to receive any notification about any dates from Paris about us visiting New Caledonia. It’s very important for the Pacific Islands Forum to visit New Caledonia before the leaders meeting,” Hu’akavameiliku told RNZ Pacific on Monday.
Hu’akavameiliku said New Caledonia is a forum member so the Pacific family wants to see how it can help.
“So we can get better information and have a talanoa or talk to the various parties,” he said.
It has been almost three months since peaceful protests in opposition to a controversial constitutional amendment spiralled out of control and led to full-blown civil unrest in the French Pacific territory.
A formal letter was sent to Macron just over two weeks ago following talks with his representative on the sidelines of Japan’s Pacific Leaders Meeting (PALM).
The forum chair requested approval for four Pacific prime ministers to go to New Caledonia before the last week of August 2024.
But Roger-Lacan said hosting Pacific leaders while New Caledonia was in crisis mode would pose a security risk given the current political situation.
Forum secretary general Baron Waqa said in July that the PIF is, “truly concerned at what is happening in New Caledonia”.
