MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian military has flown 115 passengers in two flights from France’s restive Pacific region of New Caledonia and would continue to work with France to repatriate any Australians who want to leave, an Australian minister said Wednesday.
Australian nationals accounted for 84 of the passengers flown in two Royal Australian Airforce C-130 Hercules from the capital Noumea to the Australian east coast city of Brisbane late Tuesday, Pacific Island Minister Pat Conroy said.
Conroy did not say which nationalities were among the other 31 passengers. But he said Australia has made reciprocal arrangements with Canada and Japan to help their citizens in crises.
More than 200 more Australians were registered with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to leave the South Pacific territory, where a 12-day state of emergency has been declared.
“We have prioritized the elderly, pregnant women and the most vulnerable,” Conroy told Nine Network Television.
“We will continue to work with the French government to ensure we get everything
Australian from New Caledonia who wants to leave,” Conroy added.
Conroy said he had been told France was planning more flights to Brisbane on Wednesday.
“We are working very hard to ensure as many Australians as possible are on these flights,” Conroy said.
A second round of 100 New Zealanders were flown home from New Caledonia via Brisbane on Wednesday, after about 100 flew to the New Zealand city of Auckland on Tuesday evening, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to land on Thursday in New Caledonia, where indigenous people have long sought independence.
Six people have been killed, including two police officers, and hundreds injured in New Caledonia in armed clashes, looting and arson, raising new questions about Macron’s handling of France’s colonial legacy.
The unrest broke out on May 13 when the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French constitution to make changes to New Caledonia’s electoral rolls. Opponents fear the measure will benefit pro-French politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize the Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.
The road to New Caledonia International Airport remained closed on Wednesday.
