BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 13. A thematic conference titled "National Identity, Resistance, and Sovereignty: Prospects for Corsica" kicked off in Rome, Italy, on May 13, co-hosted by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) and Corsica’s Nazione Movement, the event brings global attention to the island’s fight for their fundamental rights of sovereignty, the BIG told Trend.
The event drew prominent figures from the Corsican independence movement, including representatives from Nazione Movement and Tural Ganjaliyev, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament’s Support Group for the People of Corsica.
Opening the event, participants commemorated the Kanak people, who were killed in May 2024 by French law enforcement and militia forces in Kanaky (New Caledonia). Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of BIG, reaffirmed the organization’s support for the legitimate struggles of colonialized peoples, including the Kanak, Corsican, and other nations fighting for self-determination.
The conference focused on the ongoing suppression of Corsican national identity and language by the French government. Nazione Movement leaders sharply criticized France's colonial policies, accusing the state of deliberately eroding Corsican culture through forced assimilation tactics. They also highlighted the economic and social discrimination faced by Corsicans under French rule.
Chilianu Begliomini, head of the Nazione youth section, dedicated his speech to the Corsican language, which he called “the temple of the Corsican people’s national identity,” citing writer Lisandru Bassani. He pointed out that France’s colonial policies have stifled the Corsican people’s right to speak their native language and called for international action to address the issue.
In a stark warning, Nazione Movement members Thierry Casolasco and Jean-Philippe Antolini discussed the ongoing resistance of the Corsican people. They argued that, if the current trajectory continues, Corsica’s unique cultural and historical legacy could be erased. They detailed the efforts by French law enforcement, with the support of unofficial groups, to eliminate those advocating for Corsican independence, noting that some of the perpetrators of these attacks have been honored with medals by the French state.