New Caledonia Rebel Leader Slain by Police

Police killed the military leader of the native Melanesian independence movement in a shoot-out today after a day of rioting in the capital, and the government declared a state of emergency.

The high commissioner’s office in the French-ruled Pacific island chain said a large contingent of soldiers and riot police surrounded a group of Melanesian separatists in an isolated area in the western part of New Caledonia.

The police, backed by armored vehicles, demanded that the group surrender, but the only response was gunfire, officials said.

Police and soldiers returned the fire. They later found the bodies of Elio Machoro, 40, and his lieutenant, Marcel Nonaro, when 34 of the separatists surrendered, the high commissioner’s office said. No further details of the incident were available.

Leftist Independence Movement Machoro was named minister of security when the leftist, native-dominated independence movement declared a provisional government last November. He is a former teacher who was reported to have visited Libya twice within the last two years.

About 20 native pro-independence militants have visited the radical North African nation in recent years for “training,” local government officials said.

The territorial government’s official decree, read over Noumea radio, banned demonstrations, public gatherings of more than five people, distribution of leaflets and the carrying of weapons and imposed a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

It also authorized police to search the homes of people suspected of violating the emergency rules and to expel or refuse entry to anyone suspected of planning to “trouble public order.”

On Friday, about 1,500 rioters, reacting to the shooting death of a white farm boy, battled police with rocks and bottles and set fire to seven buildings in the capital. Police said the rioting continued for 16 hours, and 26 people were injured.

Police took 15 native Melanesians into custody for questioning in connection with the shooting. The youth, 17-year-old Yves Tual, reportedly was patrolling the family farm when he was struck in the neck by a bullet. His father told police that he saw three Melanesians flee after the shooting.

At least a dozen people have been killed in clashes between native Melanesians, known as Kanaks, and the majority Europeans, Asians and Polynesians. The Kanaks generally support independence from France, which most non-natives oppose. New Caledonia, an island group east of Australia, has a population of about 142,500.

Of European Descent The rioters, mainly young people of European descent, gathered in Noumea after the shooting of the boy. Police backed by armored vehicles fired tear gas and concussion grenades, and the young people responded with rocks and bottles.

They also set fire to the house of Jean Guiart, a French ethnologist who has supported independence, the office of a Kanak union, and five buildings reportedly owned by members of the Melanesian independence movement, the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front.

Cars owned by a Vietnamese auto dealer, who reportedly has given the Kanak movement financial support, were damaged. Police said shop windows were smashed, and some stores were looted.

One young protester was seriously injured when he was run over by a police vehicle.

The French government last week proposed a July referendum on “independence in association with France,” in which France would retain responsibility for New Caledonia’s security. Some militant Melanesians said they would continue their violent campaign if they did not win the vote.