On July 5, a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement's Coordinating Bureau on "Non-Aligned Movement: joint and decisive fight against emerging challenges" is being held at the Baku Congress Center, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also participated in the meeting.

Aliyev stated, "Azerbaijan is very worried about the growth of neo-colonialism tendencies. The Non-Aligned Movement, born out of the decolonization process, must fight resolutely against this shameful legacy of the past and contribute to its complete elimination."

"One of the countries that continues neo-colonialism is France. About 1.5 million Algerians were killed during the genocide-filled rule of France. The skulls of Algerian freedom fighters are still kept as war trophies in a Paris museum. This is a shameful and disgusting act. We demand the French President Emmanuel Macron to hand over the remains of those heroes to Algeria," he added.

"France should apologize to African, Southeast Asian, and other countries that are members of the Non-Aligned Movement for their colonial past, bloody colonial crimes, and acts of genocide. A few days ago, the king of the Netherlands officially apologized for his country's colonial past and the slave trade. We call on his French counterpart to do the same. Better late than never. Apologizing in front of millions of people whose ancestors were subjected to colonial policies, enslaved, killed, tortured, and humiliated will not only be an acknowledgment of France's historical guilt but also help to overcome the consequences of the deep political, social, and humanitarian crisis that France is facing after the brutal killing of the Algerian teenager," Aliyev emphasized.

"In France, persistent and widespread racist and discriminatory comments against certain ethnic minorities, particularly in the media and on the Internet, and racially hate speech by officials and members of both houses of parliament are on the rise. The recent killing of a 17-year-old Algerian teenager by French police is yet another sign of racism and Islamophobia in the country. In this regard, we support the UN statement condemning police shootings and calling on France to seriously address the deep problems of racism and discrimination in law enforcement," he stated.

"France even bans the Corsican language and does not accept the concept of ethnic minorities, but at the same time, tries to show itself as the defender of the Armenian national minority in Azerbaijan. This is nothing but hypocrisy and double standards. Instead of trying to lecture others, the French authorities should fight such disturbing trends in their own country," Aliyev said.