Algeria's Parliament Passes Law Declaring France's Colonisation a Criminal Act
The Algerian legislature has voted unanimously for a piece of legislation stating France’s colonisation of the country a criminal act and called for an apology and compensation.
Legislators, gathered in parliament adorned with scarves in the colors of the national flag, chanted “vive l'Algérie” on Wednesday as they celebrated the passage of the legislation, which declares that France holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the atrocities it caused”.
A Significant Strain and a Political Move
The two countries are embroiled in a significant diplomatic crisis and observers note that while Algeria’s move is mostly gestural, it is still politically significant.
“a clear message, both domestically and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable.”
The legislation lists the “atrocities of colonial rule”, which encompass nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, “physical and psychological torture” and the “widespread looting of resources”.
Demand for Reparations
It states that “full and fair reparation for all material and moral damages caused by colonial rule is an fundamental entitlement of the state and people”.
French governance over Algeria from the 19th century until 1962 was a era characterized by widespread deaths and large-scale deportations, culminating in the bloody independence war from the mid-1950s to 1962.
- Algeria says the conflict claimed 1.5 million people.
- Historians in France put the death toll at half a million in all, four hundred thousand of them from Algeria.
French Response and Historical View
The head of state, Emmanuel Macron, has in the past recognized the colonisation of Algeria as a “crime against humanity” but has declined to offer an official apology.
Questioned last week about the vote, a French foreign ministry spokesperson said he would not discuss “political debates taking place in foreign countries”.
Hosni Kitouni in colonial history, commented that “legally, this legislation has little international force and therefore is not binding for France”. However, “its political and symbolic significance is important: it marks a rupture in the ties with France in terms of memory,” he said.
