August 9 highlights ongoing consequences of colonialism, Baku Initiative Group says

August 9, the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, is not only a date marking the culture and heritage of Indigenous Peoples, but also an important day that recalls the historical injustices caused by colonialism and its severe consequences that continue to this day, Report informs.

According to the Baku Initiative Group, colonial powers such as France and the Netherlands continue to systematically violate the fundamental rights, cultural and linguistic identities of Indigenous Peoples they kept under subjugation for centuries, ignore their demands for self-determination, subject local populations to forced assimilation policies, exploit the natural resources of their territories and appropriate their lands.

The group said that despite being located in Europe's geographical space, the Corsican people are subjected to pressure by official Paris, while the local Corsican language is being marginalized and armed attacks are carried out against pro-independence parties and movements under the pretext of a "terror threat."

According to the statement, France's long-term colonial policy has led to restrictions on the political, social and economic rights of the Kanak people, the Indigenous people of Kanaky, also known as New Caledonia, which, together with Maohi Nui, also known as French Polynesia, is included in the UN list of territories to be decolonized. The statement said this policy has also resulted in the Kanak people being pushed out of their historical lands and their ability to control land being significantly weakened.

The Baku Initiative Group said Paris has for years pursued a demographic policy that facilitated the planned relocation of people from mainland France to the island and contributed to the Kanak people becoming a minority, while lawful protests against this policy have been met with armed intervention by France.

The statement noted that during peaceful protests by the Kanak people in May 2024 against France's attempt to reform electoral lists, citizens of Kanak origin were killed by French police forces. It added that leaders of pro-independence political forces were illegally arrested, with several of them taken to France.

The group also drew attention to Maohi Nui, where the overwhelming majority of the population is made up of the Indigenous Maohi people. According to the statement, France retains primary control over the maritime resources of this strategic territory, which has an exclusive economic zone of about 5 million square kilometers.

The Baku Initiative Group said the 193 nuclear tests conducted by France there between 1966 and 1996 caused long-term damage to the environment and the health of the local population, describing them as one of the gravest legacies of colonialism and a clear example of the rights and security of the Maohi people being subordinated to France's military-strategic interests.

The statement also cited large-scale environmental pollution caused by the pesticide chlordecone as one of the most severe and long-term consequences of colonialism in Guadeloupe and Martinique. According to the group, the highly toxic substance, used for decades, contaminated soil and water resources and caused serious damage to the region's ecosystem and public health. Chlordecone has been detected in the bodies of more than 90% of the population of the Antilles, it said.

The Baku Initiative Group said the Basques living in southwestern France and the Bretons living in the west of the country have for years faced the risk of losing their national identities, languages and cultural heritage as a result of Paris's centralized and assimilation policies under the slogan of "one nation, one language."

The statement also said the Kali'na, Lokono, Wayana, Wayampi, Teko and Palikur peoples living in French Guiana have become victims of France's long-term colonial policy.

In Mayotte, the Indigenous Mahorais population of Comorian and Malagasy origin is facing the long-term consequences of French colonial rule, as well as the severe impact of vulnerability to natural disasters, the group said.

The Baku Initiative Group also said Indigenous Peoples living in Caribbean territories under Dutch colonial rule, including Bonaire, Aruba, Saba and Sint Maarten, have for many years faced the political, economic and social consequences of colonial administration.

According to the statement, governance and economic policies implemented by the Netherlands have led to the commercialization of land, rapid tourism expansion, growing dependence on foreign capital and rising real estate prices, making it more difficult for local communities to access affordable housing and economic resources on their own lands.

The group said these processes also weaken the national and cultural identity of Indigenous Peoples, reduce their ability to control natural resources and deepen dependence in political decision-making.