Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tahoeraa critical of Estrosi’s French Polynesia visit

Posted at 23:02 on 18 December, 2007 UTC

French Polynesia’s biggest opposition party, the Tahoeraa Huiraatira, has criticised the French junior minister in charge of overseas territories, Christian Estrosi, for making a visit only weeks before the election.

It issued a statement, it alleges that this amounts to an intrusion in the campaign ahead of next month’s early election of a new assembly.

The party says the minister is partial towards the newly formed To Tatou Ai’a Party led by the former president, Gaston Tong Sang, by allowing him to fly in a French military aircraft to the Marquesas Islands.

The Tahoeraa as well as the ruling Union For Democracy opposed Mr Estrosi’s plan for political reform in French Polynesia which includes early elections.

Observers notes that Mr Estrosi, who is on his fourth visit to the territory in less than five months, was not met by President Oscar Temaru when he arrived in Tahiti at the weekend.