Baku Initiative Group congratulates Kanaky pro-independence movement

The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) has congratulated the pro-independence movement in Kanaky–New Caledonia following its performance in the provincial elections held on June 28.

According to a statement released by BIG, the official election results demonstrate what it described as the current political reality, with pro-independence parties securing what the group called a strategic and democratically significant victory over conservative and loyalist forces in the French Pacific territory, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The statement said the elections were held in a challenging political climate marked by the unrest of 2024, ongoing debates over the territory's future status, French government propaganda, pressure from local pro-colonial groups, and France's unilateral decision to expand the electorate.

The BIG noted that despite efforts to end the frozen electoral register and weaken the political influence of the indigenous Kanak population, the unity of pro-independence forces resulted in a stronger electoral showing than the loyalist camp. According to the group, supporters of full sovereignty secured 26 seats, strengthening the influence of political forces advocating independence and self-determination in determining the territory's future governance.

The Baku Initiative Group also praised the determination of the Kanak people.

"This new political situation that has emerged in the Kanaky–New Caledonia Congress demonstrates that neither pressures nor Paris's blind support for the interests of the descendants of settler colonizers can extinguish the desire for freedom of a people who stand firm. The political defeat of the loyalists is an important lesson for colonial powers, including with regard to other territories under French colonialism: the right to self-determination is an inalienable right, and historical legitimacy always prevails over the de facto situation created as a result of colonialism,” it added.

According to the group, this matter is not a domestic issue that France can resolve unilaterally in accordance with its own political interests, but rather a matter of decolonisation within the framework of international law.

The group reaffirmed its support for the pro-independence movement in Kanaky–New Caledonia and for all groups pursuing recognition of the right to self-determination and the completion of the decolonization process through peaceful means.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov