Uneasy calm in New Caledonia after days of clashes

Transcript

There is an uneasy calm in New Caledonia after days of clashes between 150 riot police and Kanak youths who used firearms in a protest over a nickel plant.

The violence began at the weekend and saw days of confrontation near Noumea that disrupted travel for thousands.

At the heart of the latest trouble is an acid spill at the huge Vale plant three weeks ago which has now suspended operations.

Mary Baines reports.

Demonstrators are calling for the plant to be shut for good. Over the past five years acid has spilled from it five times - on occassion into a World Heritage Site lagoon nearby. The protesters' words are translated.

PROTESTORS: We are fed up, we are fed up with this pollution  - those in charge should assume responsibility and they should be tried for the mistakes they have made. It is the time to show that the sea is down there, there are fish down there that we eat. Just like we eat from the land.

On Saturday, an unidentified group caused an estimated 34 million dollars in damage by vandalising Vale offices and burning out some of the company's cars and trucks. The unrest was triggered after Kanak chiefs in the South Province called a meeting to discuss the plant's permanent shut-down.

While the chiefs deferred a decision on the nickel plant, youths in favour of the site's closure blocked the main road to Noumea with cars and burning tyres in protest. Three police officers were shot and injured trying to remove the road blocks.

A New Zealander who lives nearby, Tuo Chinula, says most residents haven't been able to get to work this week, as demonstrators have been throwing objects at cars trying to pass.

TUO CHINULA: It has been very frustrating but also very concerning as well, and very worrying. They were throwing rocks and stones and all sorts of objects, they were throwing big heavy metal balls that are used for the French game petanque. So yes, it was a very dangerous situation really.

Ms Chinula says while the situation is now calm and the road is open, it's not known how long that will last with talk of the Vale site re-opening soon.

TUO CHINULA: There are a couple of meetings happening, so everybody is sort of waiting for the outcome of those talks. So at this stage there seems to be more calm then there has been in the last few days, but we're just waiting to see how that pans out, to see whether that is going to be lasting.

The local business organisation MEDEF says Vale has been sending employees in this week to get the six billion US dollar plant ready for re-start.

Its chief executive, Catherine Wehbe, says if the site were to close permanently, it would be an economic and social catastrophe.

CATHERINE WEHBE: There is 600 subcontractors working with Vale, there is around 1600 employees working with the subcontractors, there is 1300 employees working for Vale, and all these give 14,000 people [the means] to live, with the activity of Vale.

Vale says it is still investigating the cause of the most recent spill, but in a statement says a permanent shut-down of the plant is out of the question.

Repeated requests for interviews with Vale and the government of the Southern Province have been declined.