New Caledonian indigenous people protest for better jobs

NOUMEA: More than a thousand people from New Caledonia's indigenous Kanak community took to the streets of the territory's capital Wednesday to demand better access to jobs and official posts, an AFP correspondent said.
Protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Noumea's main employer federation as well as the French territory's congress, government and high commission buildings.
"If it isn't taken into account, the (employment) issue carries serious social risks and could greatly destabilise relations in the country," said Andre Forest, president of the USTKE union representing Kanak people, which called the strike.
The union, which also called for a general strike, estimated some 3,000 people attended the protest. Police put the number at 1,500.
A 1998 agreement between France and New Caledonia promised greater autonomy for the Pacific Ocean archipelago and its original population, but protest organisers said it had yet to yield concrete results.
The territory is due to hold a referendum on independence from France by 2018 as part of the agreement.
New Caledonia boasts a quarter of the world's known resources of nickel, a core component in the manufacture of stainless steel, rechargeable batteries and coins.
But wealth is not evenly spread and backers of independence want major economic reform.
In a statement published last month, the USTKE union said that "for Kanak youth it is becoming increasingly hard to find a place in society and that disengagement is pushing them towards crime and prison". — AFP