The Baku Initiative Group has issued a statement on the France supported-documents, which contain one-sided, biased and inflammatory statements full of distortions against Azerbaijan, adopted by the International Organization of La Francophonie within the Francophonie Summit held in the cities of Villers-Cotterêts and Paris.
AZERTAC presents the statement: “The adoption of documents by the International Organization of La Francophonie, which is a culturally-focused organization, against a sovereign country that is not a member of it and, in general, on a topic beyond its mandate, not only seriously undermines the organization’s reputation, but also demonstrates that it is used by France as a means of pressure and playing the role of a political tool against other countries.”
The statement underlines that the Baku Initiative Group, which is operating to advance the process of decolonization worldwide and fight against (neo)colonialism with respect for international law, calls on the International Organization of La Francophonie to pay attention to the crimes committed by the French government in the overseas territories under the French slavery.
The Baku Initiative Group recalls that as a result of peaceful protests that took place in Kanaky (New Caledonia) against the gross violation of the rights and freedoms of the Kanak people by the French government, over 10 civilians were killed by French security forces, while hundreds of people were arrested. About 10 protests’ participants of the demonstrations are subjected to pressure as political prisoners in the prisons of the French metropolis.
The French government is striving hard to shut down Tefana Radio, the voice of freedom and local traditions in Mao`hi Nui (French Polynesia). France also banned on use of the Corsican language in the public institutions on the island of Corsica.
The French government imposes a Balladur visa on the island of Mayotte, which it illegally annexed, preventing Mayotte from interacting with the island's other sister islands, thereby, forcing the indigenous children of Mayotte to forget their culture, language and customs and live by the rules of French culture.
- The French government pursues a policy of assimilation in French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe, relegating their local languages to the background and forcing indigenous children to study in a French education system which ignores local history, geography, and culture.
This is a small list of the countless crimes that France has committed and continues to commit today in its overseas territories.
France is pursuing a policy of purposeful destruction of national identity in its past and present colonies and, unfortunately, it has largely succeeded in its goals.
Taking into account the above-mentioned, the Baku Initiative Group makes the following calls to the International Organization of La Francophonie:
- Issuance of a statement by the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie condemning these crimes of the French Government;
- Holding a special session during the Francophonie Summit on the crimes committed by France;
- Sending a special investigation commission to the territories that remain under the French slavery to evaluate the crimes committed; Submission of a report, which will be prepared by the commission to the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. The Baku Initiative Group is ready to provide expert support to the commission to be sent to the territories.
- Calling on the French government to refrain from the mandatory use of the French language in state bodies, official correspondence, courts and other public places in the French colonies.