Azerbaijan, France’s distant enemy fueling unrest in New Caledonia

Last Friday, France accused Azerbaijan of fanning the fire of unrest in New Caledonia, which remains ruled by France since its colonization in the early 19th century. Paris’ accusation is that the Caucasian country floods social networks with what Viginuma unit of the French government in charge of monitoring disinformation campaigns on the internet, described it as anti-French propaganda and against the country’s institutions.

One of the campaign images included the slogan: “The French police are murderers.” Viginum said that at least 86 messages on the social media platform They used hashtags #RecognizeNewCaledonia and #FrenchColonialism.

“On May 15 and 16, Viginum detected on X and Facebook a massive and coordinated dissemination of manifestly inaccurate and misleading content in which French police accused of killing protesters independence movements in New Caledonia,” said the Viginum report.

Last Thursday, the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin had already accused Baku. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry quickly denied what it called insulting accusations, with its spokesperson reiterating: “Instead of accusing Azerbaijan of supposedly supporting independence protests, France should focus on its country’s failed policy towards the overseas territories which gave rise to such protests. “Once again, we ask France to stop making unfounded claims against our country.”

[Nueva Caledonia, al borde de la guerra civil: Francia envía mil soldados, declara emergencia y… veta TikTok]

“This is not a fantasy. It is a reality”Darmanin declared to the television network France 2 when asked if Azerbaijan, China and Russia were interfering in New Caledonia. “I regret that some Caledonian independence leaders have made an agreement with Azerbaijan. It is indisputable.” But he added: “Even if there are attempts at interference…France is sovereign in her own territory, and so much the better.” Darmanin stated in his speech that the Aliyev Government was a “dictatorship”.

Relations between Azerbaijan and France have not been particularly good in recent years. Baku reacted with anger to French military support for Armenia, from whom Ilham Aliyev’s government seized the disputed region of Armenia last year. Nagorno Karabakh. Last November, Paris asked the Caucasian country for clarification about a campaign directed against the Olympic Games, which are being held this summer in the French capital. On February 7, the diplomatic crisis was confirmed: for the first time in more than a decade, no French observer came to monitor the Azerbaijani presidential elections.

[Varias ONGs presentan un recurso contra Francia por prohibir TikTok en Nueva Caledonia]

According to the authorities, the New Caledonia campaign has been in preparation for several months and Azerbaijan has even organized anti-French networks on the ground, including by financing events. Baku invited separatists from the French territories of Martinique, French GuianaNew Caledonia and French Polynesia to Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, for a conference in July 2023.

The meeting led to the creation of the Baku Initiative Group, whose stated goal is to support “the French liberation and anti-colonial movements.” This week, the group published a statement condemning the amendment to New Caledonia’s Constitution proposed by the French Parliament, which would allow outsiders who had moved to the territory at least 10 years ago to vote in its elections.

[Macron viaja a Nueva Caledonia para una “misión” de diálogo ante la grave ola de disturbios]

The pro-independence forces claim that this would dilute the vote of the Kanaks, who represent around 40% of the population. “We stand in solidarity with our Kanak friends and support their just fight,” declared the Baku Initiative Group.