6 May 2003

FLNKS says Noumea accord is yet to lead to power sharing

10:39 am on 6 May 2003

Five years after the signature of the Noumea Accord on greater autonomy, the pro-independence FLNKS movement says New Caledonia is still far away from sharing power as outlined in the accord.

The tri-partite deal, which was signed with France, provides for a referendum between 2014 and 2019 on whether the territory should become fully independent.

The FLNKS has been waiting for France to change the constitution in line with a promise that the make-up of the electoral body in New Caledonia would be frozen.

This is to allay fears by indigenous Kanaks that immigration will have made them a minority by the time the territory's political future is decided at the ballot box.

The anti-independence party has also called for changes to the accord in a bid to make the government more efficient.