Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tahiti opposition irked by assembly changes

Posted at 16:49 on 08 October, 2012 UTC

French Polynesia’s opposition has hit out at the President, Oscar Temaru, for changes at the territorial assembly, likening them to a dictatorship by his party that resembles a budding coup.

In a media statement, the Tahoeraa Huiraatira says Mr Temaru has no mandate to take down the French flag as well as the French president’s portrait from the wall in the assembly chamber and put up an imported tapa cloth in their place.

It says the President needs to explain this because it is against the autonomy statute.

The Tahoeraa has also denounced the assembly’s changes to the Tahitian name of the territory, by no longer referring to French Polynesia but to Maohi Nui.

It says this moves things into illegality because the autonomy statute doesn’t recognise a place by the name Maohi Nui.