17 Feb 2014

Kanak flag triggers New Caledonia newspaper row

2:56 pm on 17 February 2014

Journalists at New Caledonia's only daily newspaper have approved a motion of defiance against its editor, Fabrice Rouard.

The journalists organisation accuse Mr Rouard of being offended by last Wednesday's front page picture of a flag of the pro-independence FLNKS movement.

The organisation says he didn't want to see the FLNKS flag because it doesn't match the newspaper's values.

The journalists say they are against the emergence of a partisan line which would change the territory's only paper to a propaganda tool.

When the paper was sold to local business interests last year almost half the 44 journalists resigned.

The head of the paper, Philippe Demazel, says there are internal problems in the newsroom and the Kanak flag poses no problem.