The opposition in French Polynesia has approached the New Zealand prime minister and the French foreign minister to counter the French Polynesian president's decolonisation bid.
Last week, the assembly approved a resolution which asks France to reinscribe the territory on the UN decolonisation list.
Walter Zweifel reports.
"The three main opposition leaders have written to John Key and Alain Juppe ahead of next month's Pacific Islands Forum, saying the resolution was passed in violation of democratic rules. They also say ten of the assembly members voting for the resolution were elected on their lists and therefore have no mandate from the voters. The letter urges the Forum to receive any request for support from the French Polynesian president Oscar Temaru with caution as a court may yet rule that the resolution was not adopted properly. The Forum has ignored Mr Temaru's previous lobbying but endorsed New Caledonia's re-inscription in 1986 amid strong French objections."
