Death in the Tropics

The new special envoy to New Caledonia arrived in the French Pacific territory last week to be welcomed by an honor guard of French soldiers. But the ceremonial greeting was deceptive. Heavily armed French troops stood guard and were positioned in the nearby bush. Commissioner Edgard Pisani, 66, had been sent from Paris to try to quell the violence that by week's end had left twelve people dead and about a dozen others injured in the island territory 750 miles east of Australia, which was annexed by France in 1853. Pisani's mission is also to find a solution within two months that is acceptable to the factions that are warring over the issue of independence from France.

Pisani's job will not be easy. The territory's French settlers are opposed by the native Melanesians, or Kanaks, who claim sovereignty over the territory and want only Kanaks to vote in the referendum on self-determination, which France had slated for 1989. The Kanaks have already installed Jean-Marie Tjibaou, 48, a former Roman Catholic priest, as provisional President. In order to prevent further violence, Pisani is expected to seek a speedier solution. Said a French government official: "It's obvious that we must move quickly."