Temaru warns President Tong Sang

Elenoa Baselala
Though he failed to oust Gaston Tong Sang’s government, former French Polynesia president, Oscar Temaru, has not ruled out filing more motions of no confidence against the government.

Temaru has so far filed two confidence motions against President Tong Sang within the six months since Tong Sang took up the presidency. But Temaru was unsuccessful—the vote was two short of the 29 needed.
According to Tahitipresse, the 26-member Union for Democracy (UPLD) opposition led by independence party leader Temaru could only find one extra vote in favour of the censure motion.

Temaru told the newspaper, “We did what we had to do.”

But he added it was “extremely possible” that the opposition would file more new motions of no confidence during the remaining two years of the current government.

Temaru was the only opposition speaker during the voting day held on June 23 and he said his speech in both Tahitian and French.

Tahitipresse said his speech “appeared to be a presentation of the philosophy behind his political “combat” rather than a charge against the Tong Sang government”.

He also denounced what he described as “the Chirac state” manoeuvres which “refused to recognise the choice of the Polynesian people”.

Temaru also revealed some of the contents of the Tahiti Nui Accords that he had talked about during the past two months of campaigning in French presidential and legislative elections.

The accords, originally proposed more than a year ago when he was president, have never been spelt out in any detail. He initially said in March 2006 that they were based on the June 26, 1988 “Matignon Accords” created between the French government and New Caledonia.

During his speech, Temaru said that besides recognising the Polynesian “people” and “language”, the Tahiti Nui Accords would involve an effacing of “disputes from the colonial epoch”, particularly the French nuclear tests conducted in French Polynesia from 1966-1996.

The accords also would freeze the electorate and result in the “transfer of all ‘régaliennes’ powers” of the French state to French Polynesia’s government. This was a reference to such state powers as defense, law and order, justice, foreign affairs, money and citizenship.

“It is not out of animosity that I’m taking this action,” Temaru said of the opposition’s no confidence motion.

“It’s for the men and women of this land,” he said. Temaru described himself as a supporter of independence and one who is also a “republican”, a term normally used to describe someone who supports the French state.

Members of the pro-France, pro-Tahiti autonomy platform of assembly members who elected Tong Sang as the French Polynesia government president in December were not present during the voting.

Tong Sang was the other only other speaker and gave a 30-minute speech defending his government.

“My government has only been in existence for a few months and already there is a second censure motion that the opposition has filed against us.

“Besides the excessive and insulting terms and tone of this motion, it is clear it does not have any serious foundation, no more than that which preceded it last January 12. I prefer not to answer the unjust and unfounded personal attacks contained in this text.”

He insisted that his “government is at work. The land does not have any more time to lose in useless sparring that leads nowhere. We have much more urgent things to do.”

After the vote fell short of adopting the motion of no confidence, Tong Sang told Tahitipresse, “The result was supposed to be that one.

“The rejection of the censure motion pushes (us) to give more, to work harder and especially to accelerate the success of certain dossiers when we know that Paris is quite ready to work with us quickly,” Tong Sang said.