Police in the south-west Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia are investigating the murder of a senior political figure who was found badly mutilated and hidden under branches on a nudist beach.
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| New Caledonia has suffered political divisions between its native and European populations, especially regarding independence. |
Jean-Pierre Deteix had moved from France to the overseas territory in 1969 and was close to the former independence campaigner from the indigenous Kanak population, Jean-Marie Tjibaou, who was assassinated in 1989.
Deteix was found with his face barely recognisable from bruising, French daily Le Figaro said, citing a judicial source. His car, with his phone inside, was found several kilometres away, it added.
New Caledonia, which was annexed by Paris in 1853 and used as an overseas prison for thousands of French convicts, has suffered political divisions between its native and European populations, especially regarding the question of independence.
Europeans account for about a third of the roughly 260,000 inhabitants, many of them born in New Caledonia. Deteix, a septuagenarian, was secretary of the local branch of the Socialist party, which is pro-independence.
He was also a strong supporter of Kanak rights and worked as the chief of staff to the island’s vice president until February.
It was not immediately clear if his death was a political killing although two people have been arrested in connection with the crime.
The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, said he was deeply saddened and shocked by the murder of Deteix.
The archipelago nation, around 2,000 km from Sydney, Australia, is due to hold an independence referendum in 2018, the culmination of more than a century of political antagonism.
A previous referendum in 1987 voted overwhelmingly in favour of staying under French control although it was boycotted by local independence movements.
guardian
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