La Francophonie summit or France's unceasing anti-Azerbaijan bias
France's pro-Armenian and unjust policies continue to disturb the peace and threaten the South Caucasus. This time, during the International Organization of La Francophonie summit held in Villers-Cotterêts and Paris, documents filled with unilateral, biased, and distorted provocative statements against Azerbaijan were adopted with France's direct support.
It is not surprising that France, which has openly supported the occupation of Garabagh for 30 years and continues to arm Armenia after Azerbaijan's decisive victory, has taken part in this process. The Baku Initiative Group has issued statements against these baseless acts.
The statement emphasizes:
The International Organization of La Francophonie, a culturally oriented institution, accepting documents against a non-member sovereign country and on topics outside its mandate seriously undermines the organization’s reputation, demonstrating its use by France as a tool of pressure against other states and its role as a political instrument.
It has been noted that the Baku Initiative Group, which operates to advance the decolonization process and combat (neo)colonialism within the framework of respect for international law, calls on the International Organization of La Francophonie to pay attention to the crimes committed by the French government in overseas territories under French domination.
The Baku Initiative Group recalls that in response to peaceful protests against the gross violations of the rights and freedoms of the Kanak people in Kanaky (New Caledonia), more than ten civilians were killed by French security forces, and hundreds were arrested. Nearly ten participants in the protests are being subjected to pressure as political prisoners in French metropolitan prisons.
The French government is trying to close "Tefana Radio," the voice of freedom and local customs in Mao`hi Nui (French Polynesia), by any means necessary.
France prohibits the use of the Corsican language in public institutions on Corsica.
The French government illegally applies the Balladur visa on the island of Mayotte, which it has annexed, preventing Mayotte from maintaining connections with its sister islands and thus forcing the local population to forget their culture, language, and traditions while living according to the rules of French culture.
- The French government applies assimilation policies in French Guiana, Martinique, and Guadeloupe, sidelining local languages and forcing indigenous children to be educated according to a French educational system that does not consider their local history, geography, and culture.
This is a brief list of the countless crimes that France has committed and continues to commit in its overseas territories.
France pursues a deliberate policy of destroying national identity in its former and current colonies, and unfortunately, it has largely succeeded in this endeavor.
In light of the above, the Baku Initiative Group makes the following calls to the International Organization of La Francophonie:
- A statement condemning the French government’s crimes should be issued by the Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie.
- A special session should be held during the summit regarding the crimes committed by France.
- A special investigation commission should be sent concerning the crimes committed in territories still under French domination; the report prepared by the commission should be submitted to the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. The Baku Initiative Group is ready to provide expert support for the work of the commission sent to the territories.
- The French government should be called upon to cease the mandatory use of the French language in public institutions, official correspondence, courts, etc., in its colonies.
In a nutshell, an interesting question arises, does France really love Armenia more than Armenians? To believe this, one must either not belong to this universe, or one must know intimately these unbreakable ties that bind France and Armenia.
And we have a clear issue - France's greed for the South Caucasus. After being expelled from Africa, France began to use Armenians more as a springboard to enter the region by various means.
We can say with certainty that even if Armenia wants to or creates the conditions, France will not be able to achieve this - just as it could not achieve this in the islands it colonized.
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