By Pita Ligaiula in Tokyo
Mark Brown during the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in 2023 in the Cook Islands Photo: RNZ Pacific / Lydia Lewis
The Pacific Islands Forum hopes to send a high-level delegation to New Caledonia to investigate the current political crisis in the French Territory before the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga in August.
According to PACNEWS, Forum Chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown confirmed this during an interview with journalists in Tokyo after the conclusion of the PALM10 meeting.
He said while it is a work in progress, there has been a request from the government of New Caledonia for a high-level Pacific delegation.
Brown said the next step is to write a letter which will then need support from France.
"We will now go through the process of how we will put this into practice. Of course, it will require the support of the Government of France for the mission to proceed," Brown said.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) voiced strong objections to France's handling of the political situation in Kanaky/New Caledonia.
Brown said the Forum shares similar concerns.
"We do have similar concerns. The third referendum was boycotted by the Kanak population because of the impacts of Covid-19 and the respect for the mourning period. Therefore, the outcome of that referendum is not valuable," he said.
Charles Wea Photo: RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony
The adviser to New Caledonia's President Charles Wea, who is in Japan for talks on the sidelines of the PALM10 meeting, told RNZ Pacific the high level group will be made up of the leaders of Fiji, Cook Islands, Tonga and Solomon Islands.
Fiji's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sitiveni Rabuka announced he will lead the Forum's fact-finding mission in New Caledonia.
Fiji's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sitiveni Rabuka Photo: RNZ/Giles Dexter
"I have also been asked by many Pacific leaders to lead a group to conduct a fact-finding mission in Noumea to understand the problems they are facing.
Additionally, I will accompany Prime Minister James Marape to visit the President of Indonesia to discuss further actions regarding the people of West Papua," Rabuka said during a talanoa session with the Fijian diaspora in Tokyo.
New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston said on Friday that the Pacific Islands Forum could serve as a "constructive force" to find a "path forward" in New Caledonia.
- PACNEWS