The World - News from July 25, 1988

Melanesian separatists demanded changes in a plan for New Caledonia’s future that France has hailed as a breakthrough in efforts to end civil unrest in the South Pacific territory. Meeting on the main island of Ouvea, 300 pro-independence delegates endorsed a resolution that criticized the plan for failing to offer “definite guarantees to the Kanak (Melanesian) population,” local radio reports said. Specifically, the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front objected to a proposed 10-year wait for a referendum on independence. The plan calls for direct rule from Paris for a year, followed by a period of limited self-rule and then an independence referendum in 1998.