Baku Initiative Group rejects French accusations in wake of documentary broadcast Executive director responds to Paris’s allegations

The Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), Abbas Abbasov, has firmly responded to accusations made by French media, following the airing of a documentary titled Complément d’enquête (Further Investigation) on French public television.

The program, which included the article "Foreign Interference: Did Azerbaijan Spark the Riots in New Caledonia in May 2024?", suggested that BIG was involved in the recent unrest in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.

In an official statement, Abbasov criticised the broadcast as biased and misleading, asserting that the allegations had already been disproven by legal and political figures, not by BIG itself. Abbasov pointed to statements from Yves Dupas, the prosecutor of Nouméa, and Mickaël Forrest, the official representative of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), who had already refuted any claims of interference by BIG, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

The documentary aired on April 17, 2025, following an international conference titled Decolonisation: Silent Revolution, which BIG organised at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Abbasov emphasised that the French government's response—publishing an unfounded program on national television—was an attempt to divert attention from its colonial practices and to discredit BIG’s legitimate activities.

Abbasov further highlighted the disparity between the French accusations and the lack of concrete evidence, arguing that if there had been any actual interference by BIG, the French government would have made a much bigger public display of it. Instead, the absence of such evidence, he stated, led to the production of a "hypocritical broadcast" that failed to reflect the reality of the situation.

BIG, Abbasov said, rejects these claims, stressing that the organisation operates strictly within the bounds of international law and continues to support the self-determination of colonised peoples. He also condemned the French government's failure to acknowledge the real issues facing the Kanak people, whose economic and social conditions, as shown in the broadcast footage, remain dire due to ongoing colonial rule.

In an ironic twist, Abbasov criticised French journalists, who had attended an event organised by BIG in Azerbaijan but neglected to seek the group's perspective on the allegations they were presenting. This lack of balanced reporting, he argued, was a clear indication of bias in French media coverage.

Abbasov called on the French government to redirect the significant funds spent on investigating BIG towards improving the living conditions of the Kanak people, and to take meaningful action towards ending the colonial practices that continue to affect various territories under French control.

The Baku Initiative Group also reiterated its commitment to supporting the global decolonisation process in line with the United Nations’ Resolution 75/123, which declared 2021-2030 as the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. As part of its ongoing mission, BIG has offered to act as a mediator in the pursuit of decolonisation for regions such as Kanaky, Maohi Nui, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin, French Guiana, Réunion, Wallis and Futuna, and Corsica, and others still under French colonial influence.

Abbasov concluded with a call for the French government to respect the right to decolonisation and cease its colonial policies, urging an end to the exploitation of the peoples in these territories. BIG remains steadfast in its advocacy for global decolonisation, continuing its mission in support of self-determination and justice.

By Vugar Khalilov