BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. We urge the French government to heed and fulfil the legitimate demands of the colonized people, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) Abbas Abbasov said, commenting on the preliminary report of the French Senate Investigation Commission titled 'Fighting Harmful Foreign Interference. Mobilizing the Entire Nation Against a New Cold War', Trend reports.
"The claims contained in the report regarding Azerbaijan and the Baku Initiative Group are biased, subjective, and unfounded. The statement that Azerbaijan is a 'new rival state threatening from all azimuths' serves to misrepresent the actions of our country for the sake of international peace and stability and intentionally mislead the French public, portraying Azerbaijan as an enemy and deliberately tarnishing the extensive work done by the Baku Initiative Group on global decolonization," he said.
Abbasov noted that the main mission of BIG is to inform the international community about the consequences of colonialism and neocolonialism and to support people suffering from colonialism in their just struggle within the framework of international law.
"Despite the fact that a year has passed since the establishment of BIG, the organization has held more than 10 international conferences at UN headquarters in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, as well as in various countries around the world. At these events, participants presented information exposing France's colonial and neocolonial crimes, and relevant petitions were initiated. BIG is solely committed to combating colonialism and neocolonialism and is by no means aimed at destabilizing French society.
On the contrary, France, seeking excuses to shift its internal problems onto others, pursues a policy aimed at exacerbating international relations and diverting attention from the injustices caused by colonial policies. This policy leads to human rights violations, increased economic inequality, and the disappearance of cultures in regions such as New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Corsica. By ignoring the justified struggle of the peoples in these territories, France attempts to hide its colonial past, which means not fulfilling international obligations," he mentioned.
As the Executive Director of BIG noted, the claim that "activities related to the theme of Islamophobia are being carried out against France" is a new disinformation campaign aimed against the expression of the independent position of our country and BIG.
"These claims indicate an intention to marginalize BIG's activities in a religious context and 'corner it' by framing them with traditional accusations related to religion. We declare that there is no place for discrimination based on religion or ethnicity in BIG's activities, and on the contrary, the organization supports the liberation struggle of all colonial peoples under the aegis of international law, regardless of religion, language, or ethnicity, and encourages cooperation to ensure the freedoms and rights of all peoples.
We urge the French government to heed and fulfill the just demands of people living in the colonies, as well as to accept and comply with BIG's fair remarks regarding the colonies," Abbasov emphasized.
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