Ali Meril: Fight against French colonial oppression continues

The fight against French colonialism continues, and in this process, the policy of assimilation remains a serious threat, Ali Meril, deputy secretary-general of the People's Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe, told Report on the sidelines of the international conference "Decolonization: The Quiet Revolution", organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) at the UN headquarters in New York.

He emphasized that the ongoing fight against French colonialism, in particular, is directed against the policy of assimilation carried out through language and culture.

"We continue to fight against French oppression, because they want to kill us by integrating through assimilation. Since 1946, they have denied our right to self-determination, to create our own organizations. We have never stopped resisting these occupiers," said Meril.

He expressed gratitude to the government of Azerbaijan for its support in conveying the voice of its people to the world community: "We have been closely cooperating with the Baku Initiative Group for about two years. Together with other colonies such as the Canary Islands, Maori, Corsica, French Guiana, Martinique, Bonaire and Saint Martin, we created an initiative called the International Decolonization Fund. We officially established this fund in July 2023 in Kanaky."

Meril added that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the BIG and the Party of the People's Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe in March this year.

"As part of this cooperation, joint actions are planned for decolonization and important steps have been taken to convey our voice more strongly in the international arena," he said.