New Caledonia police arrest independence leader after deadly protests | Independence News

Christian Tein is accused of inciting riots against electoral reform last month in which nine people were killed.

Police in New Caledonia have arrested 11 people, including independence leader Christian Tein, following deadly riots in the French Pacific territory last month.

New Caledonia’s Attorney General named Tein, leader of the independence movement CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell), in a statement on Wednesday. The activist and 10 other unidentified detainees were arrested on charges of “organized crime,” for which they face up to 96 hours in prison.

The arrests are part of an ongoing police investigation that began on May 17, days after a wave of armed clashes, looting, fires and other violence turned parts of the capital Noumea and its suburbs into restricted areas.

Those arrested are suspected of inciting the violence. Nine people were killed in the violence, including two police officers. Hundreds of people were injured and damage amounted to 1.5 billion euros (1.6 billion dollars). France sent 3,000 soldiers and police officers to the archipelago.

In the area, located about 1,300 kilometers northeast of Australia, violence broke out over French plans to expand the electoral roll by granting French residents of the islands the right to vote for at least ten years.

The indigenous Kanak people have long sought to break away from France. Activists said the planned reform would turn the Kanak people into a permanent minority and make independence ultimately unattainable.

French President Emmanuel Macron suspended the reform last week after dissolving parliament for new elections on June 30 and July 7.

Independence groups called for the agreement to be withdrawn entirely before talks on the island’s political future could resume.

“Abusive” arrests

Tein was arrested as he prepared to hold a press conference at the CCAT’s offices, which are located in a building that also houses the headquarters of the largest pro-independence party, the Caledonian Union (UC), the party said in a statement.

Reine Hue, an elected official at the UC, said police “broke into the offices and took photos, especially of documents.”

Prosecutor Yves Dupas said the search of the CCAT offices took place “without incident”.

The CCAT was founded in November to oppose the planned electoral reform. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin described it as a “mafia-style organisation”.

Tein was among the pro-independence political figures who met with Macron during his visit to New Caledonia last month.

The UC condemned Wednesday’s “abusive” arrests and charged in a statement that “local anti-independence activists and criminal militiamen can strut around in complete freedom.”

However, the party also called on its supporters “not to react to the provocation” and called for calm until more was known about the arrests.