Paris blocks all social media to silence New Caledonia’s voice

By Qabil Ashirov, AZERNEWS

In the face of the protests that flared up in New Caledonia, France has once again shown its true colors. As the saying goes, those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. France has supported separatists around the world under the pretext of self-determination and democracy to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. However, when the pro-independence protests began in New Caledonia, France took the strictest measures that Paris had previously accused other countries of taking for similar initiatives to suppress separatism.

In 2020, when Armenian separatists attacked Azerbaijan together with the Armenian Republic to seize more territory, the French parliament recognized the self-proclaimed Artsakh. When Azerbaijan later set up the border checkpoint in Lachin, French politicians interpreted this as “restricting the freedom of the local population.” In other words, in the opinion of French politicians, Azerbaijan should not set up a border checkpoint on its territory. And when Azerbaijani law enforcement arrested the leaders of the separatists who had decimated hundreds of people and looted their property, Paris again criticized Baku.

However, France sent its army to New Caledonia when local pro-independence Kanaki protested against new changes that would give Paris the upper hand in a possible referendum. In addition, the police suppressed civil protests and several civilians lost their lives. In addition, France detained an Azerbaijani journalist who tried to shed light on the process. It goes without saying that such actions violate international norms and violate freedom of speech. In addition, France detained pro-independence supporters and their leaders and brought them to Paris. So France can suppress the civil protests of the local population, arrest pro-independence New Caledonia supporters and detain foreign journalists, but other countries, including Azerbaijan, cannot do this. In addition, it should be emphasized that unlike Qarabag, which was an integral part of Azerbaijan throughout history, New Caledonia became part of France in the 1870s. All historical sources, including Armenian ones, confirm that Qarabag was part of states such as Albania, Shirvanshahs and khanates, which are considered the precursors of modern Azerbaijan. However, all historical sources confirm that France invaded New Caledonia in the 1870s and has been exploiting it since that time.

France’s brutality is not limited to the above. To limit the spread of police violence against civilians, Paris blocked social media such as TikTok. Additionally, X and other Western social media deleted the accounts of people who shared posts on the subject at Paris’s behest.

By the way, the West strongly rebuked Egypt when Hosni Mubarak’s government blocked the then-Twitterer (X) during the protests that led to the coup in the country. The West itself went even further and praised the role of social media in overthrowing the legal government in Egypt. But now the same social media is doing a U-turn, deleting the accounts of the protesters and acting in concert with the government. All this proves once again that there is no pure democracy in the world, only imitation or imposition of democracy. More precisely, Azerbaijan cannot take the same measures on its historical territories that France took in its colony. When Azerbaijan takes certain measures, it is interpreted as undemocratic, but when France does it, it is fine.

It reminds me of the phrase from an American film that all ships must sail in the same direction. If that is not the case, Western hegemons try to punish the ship that has its own course. Unfortunately, democracy and human rights have become part of the punitive measures of Western hegemons.

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