Baku hosted Wednesday the opening ceremony of the first Congress of Independence Movements from French-colonized territories.
Organized by the People’s Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe with the support of the Baku Initiative Group, the Congress was attended by leaders from more than 15 political parties and independence movements from Corsica, Melanesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean, and the Antilles islands, all of which are experiencing French colonialism.
The idea of holding the congress originated from the political parties and movements fighting for the independence of the French overseas territories.
Three organizations from the Dutch colonies of Bonaire and Sint Maarten attended the Congress as guests of honor.
In his opening remarks, Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group, said: “Members of the independence movement were illegally arrested by the French police during the recent riots in New Caledonia. They were treated like terrorists and secretly taken to Paris and subjected to various tortures, among whom were also women with young children.”
He underlined that the Baku Initiative Group would provide assistance to the families of political prisoners and lawyers defending them. Noting that the family members of some of these political prisoners also participated in today’s event, Abbasov added: “The Baku Initiative Group announced a scholarship that enables the young people living in French colonies to study in Azerbaijan’s higher educational institutions. Beginning this year, the young people from these areas can benefit from this scholarship.”
Speaking at the event, Jean-Jacob Bicep, Secretary General of the People’s Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe, expressed his gratitude to the Government of Azerbaijan for supporting the organization of such a Congress in Baku.