Freedom fighters of New Caledonia appeal to world from Baku: 'Recognize our independence'

The people of New Caledonia look forward to the day when they will be freed from the colonial oppression of France, Permanent Secretary for Exterior Relations of New Caledonia Mikael Forrest said, according to Report.

Forrest, who is on a trip to Baku to participate in the Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19, emphasized that the speech of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the event was a very positive message for them.

He noted that the people of New Caledonia have been fighting for decades to be freed from the French colonial rule.

"We want our right to sovereignty to be supported in accordance with the principles of Bandung in our liberation struggle against France. We believe that the rights of our people have been violated for years. We consider it important to convey a number of problems related to France and its colonial policy to the world from the Baku platform. Obstacles related to our territorial integrity and sovereignty must be eliminated. Speaking on behalf of our people, I convey to the whole world the deprivations that France has caused us," Forrest said.

He believes that French leadership's talk of brotherhood and friendship between nations is paradoxical and far from reality.

The New Caledonian diplomat cited the French genocide in Algeria as an example.

Forrest said the world should at least not forget the massacres committed by France against the peoples who lived in Algeria and other areas: "Paris continues its neocolonolistic policy in modern times. In his speech, the President of Azerbaijan openly called on the French government to respect the rights of the people of New Caledonia and other peoples in the Overseas Communities and territories of France. The head of state conveyed the difficult situation in these territories to the world community from the international tribune. We hope that the Azerbaijani state will defend our rightful position to the end, and we have high expectations from the international community in this matter."

Speaking about the history of his country, the diplomat noted that New Caledonia has been one of the countries registered by the UN since 1986: "This organization stated unambiguously that French colonization should be stopped. We raise our right voice from the Baku platform and hope for an increase in international pressure on France. The people of New Caledonia are waiting patiently for the day when they will be freed from the oppression of colonialism."

Forrest called on the whole world to support the liberation struggle of New Caledonia.

He said that not only one state, but the entire international community should fight against colonialism: "We have visited Azerbaijan several times. At the same time, we had meetings with the Azerbaijani delegation in the US state of New York. During our meetings, we gave detailed information about the problems we experienced. It is also well known what processes are currently taking place in the southeast of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, at present we do not have the economic or military power to fight actively against French colonialism."

He added that during its chairmanship of the Non-Aligned movement, Azerbaijan has made significant progress in solving the problem facing New Caledonians.

It should be noted that although New Caledonia has expressed a desire to free itself from the colony for almost 50 years, France suppresses this desire. Paris, which supports separatists and criminal regimes in other countries, continues to enslave the Caledonians who long for independence.

According to the Numea agreement signed in 1998, New Caledonia must hold three referendums to achieve independence. Caledonians held the third and the last referendum on December 12, 2021, to achieve independence of New Caledonia, which is located 17,000 kilometers away from France and is considered its overseas territory. The people voted for independence.