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In 2017, Emmanuel Macron admitted that French colonization was a “crime against humanity” while campaigning for the French presidency. However, Algeria expected France to officially apologize for these crimes. France has yet to do so. In fact, President Macron dared to question if Algeria would have existed if it had not been for the “French colonizers.”
In the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962, France committed unimaginable atrocities against Algerians in both Algeria and France. Algerians who cooperated with French forces were often captured and killed by their countrymen fighting for independence. Many escaped and sought asylum in France, where they were then put in camps and denied basic human rights and access to education. Those in Algeria fighting against the French were subject to horrific crimes such as systematic torture, which often resulted in deaths that were labeled as suicides.
In 1961, a year before Algeria gained independence, thousands of Algerians peacefully protested in Paris. In this event that became known as the Paris Massacre, French police killed over 100 of the demonstrators, shooting some and throwing others into the river. The French government covered up such atrocities by censoring the media and destroying archival evidence.
On September 20, 2021, President Macron condemned the “massacre of Algerians in Paris.” He issued an apology to the Algerians who fought alongside the French forces and to the families of those whom the Algerians captured as traitors and killed during the fight for independence.
Over the course of the conflict, the French colonization of Algeria is estimated to have cost up to 1.5 million Algerian lives. In 1962, an agreement was finally reached calling for a cease-fire, and Algeria gained independence after 132 years of French rule.
For the last five hundred years, Algeria has had a turbulent past. Around the turn of the seventh century, Arabs first conquered the region today known as Algeria. At the time, it was home to an indigenous group called the Berbers, known for their bravery and independence. However, that conquest was short-lived, and upon a second attempt, the Arabs were defeated by a Berber warrior queen named Kahinah.
In 705, the conquest finally succeeded. Arabs settled in the region and Berbers gradually became Muslims, adopting Arabic as their language. In 711, Berbers joined the Arabs in the conquest of Al-Andalus, present-day Spain and Portugal.
In 742, the Muslim Berbers rebelled against Arab rule and succeeded. By 907, much of North Africa came under the control of the Fatimids, a Shia sect. Over time, local rulers began to follow Sunni Islam and from that event to the 15th century, the area lived in turmoil.
Then, the Europeans arrived. In 1471, the colonization of Africa began with the Portuguese taking some of the Moroccan coastlines. In the early 16th century, Algeria came under the Ottoman Empire.
Although Algeria was under the Ottomans, that did not stop colonists from attacking it. The French invaded Algeria in 1682, the Dutch in 1715, the Spanish in 1775 and the US in 1815, to name a few. In 1830, the French conquered Algeria and it eventually became a French colony.
When the French invaded again in 1830, it took them nearly 20 years to conquer Algeria. The occupation was bloody and brutal, resulting in a substantial reduction in the local population. Some even consider the conquest genocide.
As the French struggled to gain control, they deliberately killed, raped, tortured, and buried unarmed civilians alive. Out of a population of three million, French forces caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Algerians, some occurring as the result of disease and famine. Around two million civilians were kept in prison camps. French officer Lucien de Montagnac, who was sent to assist in the colonization effort, wrote that the French must “annihilate all that will not crawl beneath our feet like dogs.”
The legacy of colonization in Algeria goes far beyond mass killings. The French stole religious endowments, restricted movement and confiscated fertile lands which they then gave to settlers. The French also plundered gold, iron, coal and other minerals, some of which are still in France.
Over the next century, France struggled to maintain control of Algeria. In 1911, a group of upper-class Muslims labeled themselves “Young Algerians” and demanded representation in the French National Assembly, which was duly declined. Not long after, when France began drafting Muslims to fight the Germans in WWI, many Algerian Muslims took up arms and resisted the law. In the following decades, tensions continued to boil over between Algerians and the French.
By 1945, encouraged by the 1941 Atlantic Charter, Algerians demanded full independence. When Nazi Germany accepted defeat, Algerians gathered in large numbers to not only celebrate the fall of the Nazi regime but also to garner attention during the United Nations Conference in San Francisco. They wanted the delegates to know that Algeria existed and was ready to be an independent nation. In May, after the conference commenced, mass protests broke out in cities across Algeria.
Like all other mass protests, some violence occurred. The French reacted with aggression, and by the end of June had massacred several thousand Algerians. Many of those Algerians had fought side-by-side with France against Germany.
From their experience in 1945, Algerian patriots realized the only way to gain their freedom was through armed struggle. In 1954, unable to make progress, young Algerian patriots formed the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action (CRUA). They tried to unite the Algerians to fight the French and liberate their country. The CRUA created the National Liberation Front (FLN) to direct the Algerian War of Independence, which in turn created the National Liberation Army (ALN). So began the Algerian War.
Protests continued throughout the country, and as France suppressed uprisings, violence broke out. French brutality angered more peaceful civilians to join the revolutionaries, and the movement grew.
In 1958, France offered Algerian Muslims an opportunity to become equal with the French settlers. After so much bloodshed, it was too late, and revolutionaries rejected the offer and asked for independence. By March 1962, the French agreed to grant independence after the 132-year struggle.
Despite admitting their atrocities, the French maintain that they will not offer any “repentance or apologies.” To regain some respect, France could acknowledge, apologize and make reparations for the crimes against humanity they committed during colonial times. Importantly, reparation payments should go directly to victims and their descendants, not to the coffers of the Algerian government. To compensate for the ravages of colonization, the French could additionally allocate a sum for education and infrastructure.
Support should also be offered by organizations like the UN. Despite its mission to support peace and security, the UN has consistently failed to stop genocide, prevent ethnic cleansing or sufficiently support victims such as those in Algeria. Consider the ongoing example of the innocent Palestinian men, women and children being butchered daily by US-backed Israel. From Cambodia to Sudan, the UN has let down countries and communities across the world.
In the case of Algeria, the UN heard the cries but failed to provide justice. Even with denials and cover-ups, evidence of the French atrocities were overwhelming. To right these wrongs, a UN organized International Tribunal for Algeria (ITA) would be a good first start. Just as victims of the Holocaust have been compensated, Algerians must also receive compensation.
While no sum of money can ever erase the suffering of Algerians, reparations are an important step. First, victims get justice. Second, poor countries and victims get valuable financial support. Third, they set an important precedent for holding colonizers accountable. France must take responsibility and action to rectify the country’s dark history in Algeria.
[Emma Johnson edited this piece.]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
Travis King, the US soldier who fled from South to North Korea last year before being returned home, has been sentenced to one year of confinement on charges including desertion and assault of a non-commissioned officer.
But with time already served and credit for good behaviour, the 24-year-old Army private walked free, his legal team told the BBC.
At Friday’s hearing at Fort Bliss, Texas, he pleaded guilty to five of the original 14 military charges that had been filed against him. The other charges were dismissed.
He was questioned by the military judge about his decision to flee across the border into North Korea in July 2023. King joined the army in January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of a unit rotation when he crossed into North Korea.
At his hearing on Friday, King told military judge Lt Col Rick Mathew that he had decided to flee the US Army because he was “dissatisfied” with work and had been thinking about leaving for about a year before he bolted into North Korea.
“I wanted to desert from the US Army and never come back,” King said, according to reporters inside the courtroom.
He also said he had been diagnosed with mental health conditions, though he maintained he was fit to stand trial and understood the charges.
King illegally crossed into North Korea while on a civilian tour of the village of Panmunjom, located on the heavily guarded Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.
FT Crossword: Number 17,848
BRITISH commandos are on standby ready to airlift civilians from Lebanon if ratcheting tensions between Israel and Hezbollah escalate to full-blown war.
The military has been placed on high alert to launch an emergency evacuation with two ships also on standby in the region.
A defence source told The Telegraph the British government “stands prepared” to pull Brits to safety if the situation explodes.
Foreign secretary David Lammy outlined the preparations in an emergency Cobra meeting.
He yesterday warned Brits living in Lebanon to leave immediately while “commercial options remain”.
Officials are also planning to rent aircraft which could be used to carry out the emergency plans.
The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to the country since October last year – when war between Hamas and Israel exploded in Gaza.
In the year since, conflict between Israel and Hezbollah – Hamas’ Iran-backed ally in Lebanon – has spiralled, culminating in massive airstrikes and unprecedented deadly cyber attacks this week.
Now the Israeli military is poised to invade Lebanon – with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing for all-out war.
Some British nationals in Lebanon have decided to remain there – including an unnamed charity worker who said he felt he could not abandon his colleagues.
He said: “I felt it would somehow be wrong to cut and run at the first moment when things go wrong.”
Several international airlines including Delta, AirFrance and Lufthansa have axed flights to Beirut amid the chaos.
Israel launched a double-tap hack in Lebanon, detonating Hezbollah pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic devices earlier this week.
Some 37 people were killed and 3,600 injured in the fatal explosions, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
On Thursday the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) unleashed airstrikes over Lebanon itself, before Hezbollah launched at least 140 rockets back in a revenge strike on Friday.
The IDF responded with more strikes on Beirut, killing at least nine and wounding 60 more – and taking out Hezbollah second-in-command Ibrahim Aqil in the process.
Some 10 other senior chiefs from the terror group were killed alongside Aqil, Israel said.
Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the border almost daily in parallel with the war in Gaza.
Hezbollah has reportedly killed 26 civilians and 20 soldiers and forced another 80,000 Israelis to head south to escape the blitz.
Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return the evacuated Israelis “securely to their homes”.
The UN has previously said over 90,000 people in Lebanon have been forced from their homes, with some 100 civilians killed by Israeli strikes.
The US, UK, UN and other Western country have urged calm and restraint from all parties amid fears of an all-out war.
Hezbollah, an ally of terror group Hamas, has said it is attacking Israel in support of them and won’t stop until the war in Gaza ends.
Israel has vowed to continue fighting in the Strip until Hamas is destroyed and its hostages are returned home.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The Foreign Secretary has chaired a meeting of Cobra this morning on the latest situation in Lebanon and to discuss ongoing preparedness work, with the risk of escalation remaining high.
“The safety of British nationals is our number one priority which is why we’re continuing to advise people to leave Lebanon now while commercial routes remain available.”
The US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Jordan, and Turkey have also warned their citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.
The Leopards are in the six, and Beaumont made sure to remind the Sky Sports team of their pre-season predictions!
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By Joe Brock and David Shepardson
(Reuters) -Boeing said on Friday the head of the company’s troubleddefense, space and security unit is leaving the planemaker effective immediately.
New Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg in his first significant move since taking over in August, said Ted Colbert would be leaving and Steve Parker, the unit’s chief operating officer, would assume Colbert’s responsibilities until a replacement is named at a later date.
Boeing’s space business has suffered setbacks, notably NASA’s recent decision to send Boeing’s Starliner capsule home without astronauts that followed years of missteps.
Starliner has cost Boeing $1.6 billion in overruns since 2016, according to a Reuters analysis of securities filings.
“Historically, Boeing held a superior reputation for our ability to manage programs, and we need to ensure it remains a key differentiator for us in the future,” Ortberg wrote in an email to employees.
He added he had learned “more about the future investments we need to make to be competitive and define our future, as well as about some of the more near-term hurdles engineering faces with first-time quality and execution.”
Boeing’s defense, space and security unit, one of its three main businesses, has lost billions of dollars in 2023 and 2022, which executives attributed in large part to cost overruns on fixed-price contracts.
Such contracts have high margins but leave defense contractors vulnerable to inflationary pressures that have dented U.S. corporate earnings in the last few years.
Colbert’s departure comes at a time when Boeing has been trying to save cash by announcing furloughs amid a strike by more than 32,000 of its workers.
Boeing’s shares closed down about 1% on Friday and have lost about 41% so far this year.
(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru, David Shepardson in Washington and Joe Brock in Los Angeles; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Marguerita Choy)
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