Africans have been subjected to forced assimilation for centuries, Guadeloupe rep tells Baku conference
Forced assimilation is a weapon of mass genocide, and Africans have been subjected to it for centuries, Jean Jacob Bicep, Secretary General of the People's Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe said on Saturday.
He made the remarks at the international conference on "Colonialism: Erasure of Religious and National Identity" held in Baku, News.Az reports, citing AZERTAC.
“Forced assimilation is particularly dangerous. Our fight against it continues,” Bicep noted.
“Guadeloupe is committed to preserving its culture, heritage, and traditions. Therefore, we must unite with other nations that have suffered from colonialism. Our diversity should become our strength,” the Guadeloupe representative added.
The conference, organized by the Baku Initiative Group, brings together leaders and representatives of independence movements, as well as families of political prisoners, from territories under French and Dutch colonial rule, including Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Kanaky (New Caledonia), Corsica, Martinique, Réunion, Bonaire, French Polynesia, Mayotte, and Wallis and Futuna.
Discussions focus on the erasure of religious and national identity under colonial rule, assimilation policies, restrictions on native languages, suppression of religious beliefs, forced name changes, and the rewriting of history to fit imperial narratives. The conference also addresses the consequences of colonial policies, global anti-colonial movements, preservation of national heritage, the release of political prisoners, and demands for reparations.
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