Imprisoned in Haut-Rhin since the end of June, the CCAT spokesperson was chosen to embody a broader alliance in the absence of two of its components against a backdrop of internal divisions.
Kanak leader Christian Tein, detained in mainland France after the violence triggered by the reform of the electoral body in New Caledonia, was appointed president of the FLNKS independence alliance on the night of Saturday 31 August, a leader said overnight, after a congress in which two components of the Front refused to participate. The spokesperson for the Field Action Coordination Unit (CCAT), suspected of orchestrating the unrest that left 11 dead, has been in solitary confinement at Mulhouse-Lutterbach prison (Haut-Rhin) since 23 June.
By appointing Christian Tein, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) is recognizing the CCAT as a tool for mobilizing the Front and not just the Caledonian Union (UC, the main pro-independence party, a component of the FLNKS), explained Laurie Humuni, general secretary of the Oceanian Democratic Rally (RDO), another member of the FLNKS and currently chairing its political bureau.
The recognition of the CCAT by the FLNKS should also allow for better coordination of the actions of its various relays, whereas until now it has acted autonomously, specified Laurie Humuni. “We need to lift some blockages to allow people to access essential services, but that does not mean we are giving up our fight,” she said, however, while the archipelago is still partially paralyzed by blockades. The Front has also expressed its willingness to renew dialogue, but only with the State, excluding the non-independence camp.
“Political prisoner”
Christian Tein, born in 1968, rose through the ranks of the UC before being tasked by the party, in November 2023, with managing the CCAT, which had just been created. Activists praise the «leadership» and the side “unifier” of this field man from a family driven by the cause of independence.
The appointment of the Kanak leader was made in the absence of the two other components of the FLNKS: the Kanak Liberation Party (Palika) and the Melanesian Progressive Union (UPM). Due to internal divisions and disagreements over the role of the CCAT, they had announced their refusal to participate in the 43rd congress of the Front on Friday and Saturday in Koumac, in the north of the French archipelago. Both had also warned that they would not recognize the political motions resulting from the meeting.
New Caledonia has been plunged into a deep economic, political and social crisis since the deadly violence following a reform to expand the Caledonian electorate, voted in Paris. Faced with the conflagration in the territory, President Emmanuel Macron announced in June that the text was “suspended”. A position deemed insufficient by the pro-independence camp, which is demanding a clear abandonment of the project, accusing it of reducing the political weight of the Kanak indigenous people.
Christian Tein is indicted, in particular for complicity in attempted murder and criminal association with a view to preparing a crime. He considers himself a “political prisoner” and defends itself against any call for violence.
