New Zealand foreign minister calls for more diplomacy on New Caledonia

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said there needed to be "more diplomacy, more engagement, more compromise" to resolve the crisis in New Caledonia following sometimes violent protests that have been ongoing since May.

Protests have roiled New Caledonia after France voted to approve reforms to allow thousands more French residents who have lived in the territory for 10 years to vote. France sent military to the territory to try to quell the violence.

Indigenous Kanaks are protesting because they fear electoral reform will dilute their vote and make it harder for any future referendum on independence to pass, while Paris says the measure is needed to improve democracy.

Peters said the situation has reached an impasse, and one not easily navigated given the violence and democratic injuries that have reopened old wounds and created new ones.

“In New Caledonia, we hope to see more diplomacy, more engagement, more compromise,” he said in a speech at the PALM10 summit in Tokyo. The summit is a meeting between member countries of the Pacific Island Forum and the Japanese government.

He added the Pacific Islands Forum, which New Caledonia is a member of, needs to find an appropriate mechanism and the best people to help facilitate a resolution.

“Based on our conversations in Tokyo this week, we are confident that the different actors in Noumea and Paris will see any offer of dialogue, engagement or mediation as an opportunity to access the deep wisdom and experience that exists in the Pacific Islands region,” said Peters.

Peters' comments follow a statement released by the Melanesian Spearhead Group, which includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, on Thursday that said they wanted to play a role in bringing “about a conducive environment in New Caledonia for dialogue to resume on the future political status of the non-self-governing territory.”

The group also raised concerns about the militarization of New Caledonia since the protest began in May and the deportation of some protest leaders to France to face trial. At the same time the group condemned the destruction of property and unnecessary loss of lives that caused damage to the economy.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)