The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) is calling on the French government to listen to and comply with the legitimate demands of people in its colonies, as well as accept the justified objections raised by BIG regarding colonialism, BIG's Executive Director Abbas Abbasov said commenting on the preliminary report titled "Fighting Harmful Foreign Interference. Mobilizing the Entire Nation Against a New Cold War" published by the French Senate's Commission of Inquiry on Foreign Interference, according to Report.
Abbasov expressed regret that the claims made in the report about Azerbaijan and BIG are "biased, non-objective, and baseless." He noted that the report's portrayal of Azerbaijan as a new rival state threatening "from all azimuths" serves to misrepresent the country's efforts for international peace and stability, deliberately misleading the French public to present Azerbaijan as an enemy while purposefully tarnishing BIG's significant work towards decolonization.
He noted that BIG's main mission is to convey the consequences of colonialism and neo-colonialism to the world community and to support peoples suffering from colonialism in their just struggle within the framework of international law.
Abbasov added that despite being established only a year ago, the initiative group has organized more than 10 international conferences at UN headquarters in New York, Geneva, Vienna, and various countries worldwide. Participants at these events presented information exposing France's colonial and neo-colonial crimes and launched relevant petitions.
Abbasov emphasized that BIG only defends the fight against colonialism and neo-colonialism and in no way aims to destabilize French society.
He said France is looking for excuses to blame its internal problems on others, escalating international relations and pursuing a policy of diverting attention from the injustices caused by colonialism.
Abbasov added that this policy results in human rights violations, increased economic inequality, and the disappearance of cultures in regions like New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Corsica.
France ignores the just struggle of the peoples in these territories, trying to cover up its colonial past, which means not complying with international obligations, Abbasov noted.