Algeria's Parliament Passes Law Designating France's Colonisation a Crime
Algeria’s parliament has unanimously approved a piece of legislation stating French colonial rule of the nation a criminal act and called for an apology and compensation.
Legislators, standing in the chamber adorned with scarves in the colors of the national flag, shouted “vive l'Algérie” on Wednesday as they celebrated the approval of the bill, which declares that France holds “accountability for its history of colonisation in Algeria and the atrocities it caused”.
A Diplomatic Strain and a Political Gesture
The both nations are locked in a major diplomatic crisis and observers note that while Algeria’s move is mostly symbolic, it is still politically significant.
“a clear message, both internally and internationally, that the nation's historical memory is neither erasable nor subject to negotiation.”
The law lists the “atrocities of French colonisation”, which include atomic tests, summary executions, “physical and psychological torture” and the “systematic plundering of resources”.
Demand for Reparations
It asserts that “full and fair compensation for all physical and psychological harms caused by French colonisation is an inalienable right of the state and people”.
France’s rule over Algeria from the 19th century until 1962 was a era characterized by widespread deaths and large-scale deportations, all the way up to the bloody independence war from the mid-1950s to 1962.
- Algeria says the war killed 1.5 million people.
- Historians in France estimate the fatalities at half a million in total, 400,000 of them Algerian.
Official Reaction and Historical View
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has previously recognized the colonisation of Algeria as a “crime against humanity” but has declined to offer an apology.
Questioned recently about the parliamentary decision, a diplomatic representative stated he would not comment on “political debates taking place in other nations”.
Hosni Kitouni in colonial history, commented that “from a legal standpoint, this law has little international force and therefore is not enforceable for the French state”. However, “its political and symbolic importance is considerable: it signifies a break in the ties with France in terms of historical memory,” he said.
