TikTok blamed for fanning flames in New Caledonia riots
The insidious way TikTok may have fuelled violence in New Caledonia is revealed as French authorities prepare to lay charges against the rioters.
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Foreign nations with ulterior motives may have been using TikTok to fan the flames of civil unrest in New Caledonia with France finally lifting a ban on the social media app as they prepare to hunt down rioters.
French authorities reinstated TikTok to New Caledonia on Wednesday with the government able to control access due to the territory only having one mobile phone carrier.
The government believes the app was being used by those opposed to French rule to communicate and organise violent protests which saw hundreds of Australians trapped with limited access to food.
There were also suspicions that foreign countries, including China and Azerbaijan, might be using TikTok to interfere in New Caledonia’s affairs.
However, the legal basis for the unprecedented ban was questionable, according to several lawyers interviewed by AFP.
The ban was carried out by New Caledonia’s state-run Postal and Telecommunication Service.
France’s State Council, the highest judicial body for matters of government, had allowed the ban on the basis that it would be “limited and temporary”.
Other social networks remained accessible.
Meanwhile, France’s prosecutor in New Caledonia Yves Dupas said investigations into individuals involved in the violence are in full swing.
“We are interested in those who pull the strings, who have led the planning and have committed these abuses in New Caledonia,” he told France Info.
Charges set to be laid in coming days and weeks will include criminal association, criminal acts and misdemeanours.
TikTok is regularly accused by Western countries of facilitating the publication of content aimed at destabilising them.
The United States has handed TikTok an ultimatum to divest from its Chinese owners or face a ban in the US market, based on concerns the app could be used to influence Americans.
Under TikTok’s new policy, state-affiliated media attempting to reach communities outside their home country on “current global events and affairs” will be barred from appearing on the platform’s personalised “For You” feed.
Meanwhile, daily life in New Caledonia was slowly returning to normal after the lifting of the state of emergency that had been imposed for nearly two weeks to quell intense rioting that killed seven people and injured hundreds.
The unrest was sparked by plans for a constitutional reform pushed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government that New Caledonia’s indigenous population says would dilute their vote in future elections.
Despite lifting the state of emergency on Tuesday, a night curfew from 6pm to 6am and a ban on alcohol sales will remain.
Many roads, including to the international airport, are still closed with hundreds of burned out cars.
The airport is to remain closed until June 2.
NICKEL INDUSTRY CRISIS
New Caledonia’s nickel mining industry has ground to a halt due to the political unrest with the shortage of the alloy to have a significant impact on the world’s electric vehicle production.
Weeks of unrest have plunged the archipelago’s nickel industry, already on government life support, closer to catastrophe, sector representatives say.
The French Pacific territory is the world’s third-biggest producer of nickel, behind Indonesia and the Philippines, and ahead of Russia and Australia.
As a result, the price of nickel has gone through the roof.
Prior to the unrest on May 8, prices on the London Metal Exchange were steady at A$27,795 per metric ton.
But since the mines were forced to cease production, they’ve been as high as A$31,947.
Nickel, a silver metal used as an alloy to make stainless steel, electronic components and jewellery, is also a key ingredient for electric vehicle batteries, making it critical for a transition towards cleaner energy.
But since May 13, when riots sparked by a constitutional reform project broke out, nickel mining and processing has been at a standstill.
Mining operations at Societe Le Nickel (SLN), a historic nickel producer, have been stopped, and ore reserves – a constant supply of which is needed to keep high-temperature refining operations running – are dwindling.
“We’re running on empty,” said one source at one of the plants outside Noumea, the capital.
Disruptions due to attacks and damage at some sites during the chaos have come at the worst possible time for local producers, who are already buckling under competitive pressures from cheaper producers, notably Indonesia.
New Caledonia sits on up to 30 per cent of the world’s nickel reserves, and nickel-related industries employ 20-25 per cent of the working population in the archipelago of 270,000 people.
SOCCER STAR MOURNS FAMILY
French World Cup winner Christian Karembeu has revealed his niece and nephew are among the seven killed in the violence in Noumea.
Karembeu, 53, is originally from New Caledonia but now works as a strategic adviser for Greek soccer club Olmpiakos which will today play Fiorentina in Athens.
“I lost members of my family,” Karembeu told Europe 1.
“That’s why I remained silent, because I’m in mourning. Two people in my family were shot in the head.
“We hope there will be investigations into these murders.”
‘THANK GOD’ – CAIRNS NUN BROUGHT HOME SAFE
An Australian woman who had been living in New Caledonia while on an 18-month mission arrived on Sunday after spending the past 14 days in lockdown as violence raged on the streets of Noumea.
Sister Saphron Mitchell was on-board one of two flights organised by the Australian Government that landed at Brisbane Airport late on Sunday.
The 22-year-old’s parents Ben and Marcia Mitchell and other family members were waiting at the airport to welcome her home.
They were joined by other families also celebrating emotional reunions with loved ones who had also been trapped in New Caledonia.
Sister Mitchell, from Cairns, had spent the past 14 days in lockdown with 43 other missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints who had been posted in New Caledonia.
She said they had been told to stay indoors as soon as the violence started two weeks ago, and had sheltered in their own apartments or with other families. It had been a scary time, she said.
“At night time we would hear the shootings and random bombs going off,” she said.
Sister Mitchell said she was due to finish her mission in New Caledonia in just two weeks time, and would miss the country.
“I have no regrets, I am sad that this was the way I left the island,” she said.
“I am definitely going to count my blessings and make sure all of the other missionaries are safe as well.”
She described the flight home as a bit daunting, but said “the Australian Defence Force took good care of us”.
Sunday’s flights brought 34 Australians and their family members home – bringing the total number on assisted flights organised by the Australian Government to 406 people.
There were no Australian Government flights scheduled for Monday or Tuesday.
TEARS AS AUSSIES RETURN
There were smiles, laughs and a few tears as two repatriation flights with stranded Australians landed on home soil from New Caledonia on Saturday.
The flights, operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, were arranged by the Australian Government with the agreement of the French authorities.
Anxious loved ones were waiting at Brisbane Airport as the planes touched down Saturday night.
Scheduled to come back a week ago, Brisbane woman Caroline Tully was lost for words when she arrived at the airport.
“Getting home was surreal because we basically had to disregard DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade],” she said.
“I’m feeling a lot of emotions right now.”
The deadliest violence in four decades erupted over a French voting reform plan that Indigenous Kanaks say will dilute their voice.
New Caledonia has been ruled from Paris since the 1800s, but many Indigenous Kanaks still resent France’s power over their islands and want fuller autonomy or independence.
AUSSIES ARRIVE HOME
Three repatriation flights from the troubled Pacific Island territory landed in Brisbane last week.
Jacqui Bell, who arrived on the third flight said she arrived in Noumea two days before the unrest began and initially only saw a few things “out of the ordinary”.
“One of the days we were driving in a car and then these two young guys with bandannas sort of wrapped around their heads were gathering different items,” she said.
Chris Salmon was greeted in Brisbane with emotional hugs from his son Freddy and wife Marney.
The owner of a mining machinery company said he was happy to be home but his thoughts were with his friends and staff back in Noumea.
“I just went back for work and got stuck … it’s a terrible situation, pretty sad to see what’s happening,” he said choking back tears.
Australians in need of consular assistance should contact DFAT’s 24 hours consular emergency centre on 1300 555 135 within Australia or +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas. They can also register their details with DFAT at DFAT’s crisis registration portal.
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