Baku Initiative Group holds int’l conference on decolonization

By Burc Eruygur and Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) on Saturday kick-started an international conference titled Decolonization: Awakening of the Renaissance in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

The gathering brings together representatives from 13 different countries and four international bodies, featuring delegates from French territories including New Caledonia, French Polynesia, French Guiana, Martinique, and Guadeloupe.

During the conference’s opening remarks, Carlyle G. Corbin, an independent expert to the UN Special Committee on Decolonization, said two developments occurred at the beginning of the 1990s that decelerated the decolonization era, which initially began in 1945.

Expressing these two developments to be the thawing of the Cold War and the independence of Namibia, Corbin said only one territory has been decolonized since the 1990s, namely Timor-Leste in 2002.

Corbin further said that there is a clear need for an “awakening of the renaissance of decolonization,” in terms of which he underlined the need for the UN itself to “recognize its role in its international obligations to advance the decolonization process.”

He also argued that there are signs of a re-emergence of international attention on decolonization, with one of the most sustained initiatives of all in promoting global decolonization being the ongoing efforts of the Baku Initiative Group.

- Türkiye stands against colonialism and its new forms

Speaking at the first session of the conference, the participants discussed the impacts of colonization on national identity, including ethnic, cultural discrimination and political instability, and conflicts in the regions.

“One of the most important reasons for this meeting to be held in Türkiye is that it is one of the rare countries that does not have colonial baggage, both in the past and today,” said Tunc Demirtas, a researcher at Ankara-based SETA foundation.

Demirtas said that Türkiye is a country that stands against colonialism and its new forms.

"France carried out the harshest and most ruthless colonial activities,” he stressed.

Türkiye's and Azerbaijan's African policies also show that activities can be operated in the region with consent, like in a “win-win situation,” he added.

Emphasizing that the unipolar world order established in the Cold War era has been “strongly” challenged over the last two years, Ibrahima Diagne, a panelist at the conference, said that with the appearance of countries such as China, Russia, Brazil, and Türkiye, Africa “can finally be expected to decolonize entirely.”​​​​​​​

The second session of the conference discussed the artificial legal barriers imposed by the French government during the decolonization period, particularly exploring topics such as border issues, security and defense, and economic reforms.