Algeria’s parliament has passed with full support a piece of legislation affirming French colonial rule of the nation a criminal act and called for an official apology and compensation.
Lawmakers, standing in the chamber wearing scarves in the colors of the Algerian flag, shouted “vive l'Algérie” on the session day as they applauded the approval of the legislation, which declares that the former colonial power holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused”.
A Significant Strain and a Symbolic Move
The two countries are embroiled in a major diplomatic crisis and analysts say that while Algeria’s move is largely gestural, 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 enumerates the “crimes of colonial rule”, which include atomic tests, extrajudicial killings, “torture” and the “widespread looting of resources”.
Demand for Compensation
It states that “complete and just reparation for all material and moral harms caused by colonial rule is an fundamental entitlement of the state and people”.
French governance over Algeria from 1830 until 1962 was a era characterized by widespread deaths and large-scale deportations, all the way up to the violent independence war from 1954 to 1962.
- Algerian officials states the war killed 1.5 million lives.
- French historians put the death toll at 500,000 in all, four hundred thousand of them from Algeria.
Official Reaction and Academic View
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has previously acknowledged the colonisation of Algeria as a “grave injustice” but has stopped short of an apology.
Questioned last week about the vote, a diplomatic representative stated he would not discuss “political debates taking place in other nations”.
Hosni Kitouni in the history of colonisation, commented that “from a legal standpoint, this legislation has no international scope and therefore is not binding for France”. However, “its political and symbolic significance is considerable: it marks a rupture in the ties with France in terms of historical memory,” he said.
