French President Recognizes 'Brutal' Rule of Algeria
French President Francois Hollande on Thursday acknowledged France's "brutal" colonial rule over the Algerian people, without having to apologize, as he sought to launch a new era in ties on a two-day visit.
"Over 132 years, Algeria was subjected to a profoundly unjust and brutal system," Hollande told the Algerian parliament on the final day of a landmark visit to the North African country, to applause from MPs.
"This system has a name: it is colonialism and I recognize the suffering that colonialism inflicted on the Algerian people," he said.
In the audience were numerous mujahedeen veterans who fought in the vicious 1954-1962 war of independence from France that killed an estimated 1.5 million Algerians.
The French president said after arriving in Algiers on Wednesday that he had not come to say sorry for the crimes committed during the colonial period, as some, including a dozen political parties, have demanded.
But he stressed the importance of recognizing what happened as a way of beginning a new era in bilateral relations, saying nothing would come from "forgetfulness or denial".
Hollande referred to specific atrocities, notably the massacre at Setif, where nationalist unrest that broke out at the end of World War II was brutally suppressed by French forces, leaving thousands dead.
"On May 8, 1945, when the world triumphed over brutality, France forgot its universal values," Hollande said.
The truth should also be spoken about how Algeria gained its independence, "in this war whose name was not mentioned in France for a long time."
"We have a duty to speak the truth about the violence, injustices, massacres and torture," he said, adding that doing so strengthened French-Algerian ties.
Algeria's Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, in a first official reaction, welcomed Hollande's words for emphasizing "the culture of peace and of respect for others" that he said were "two basic principles" of Algerian diplomacy.
Algerian MPs also broadly saluted the speech as a step forward, despite some regretting the lack of an apology, and others cautious about the promise of change.
Hollande has "signaled a willingness to work with Algeria in a partnership between equals and to finally put an end to this neocolonialist spirit that has tinged relations," said Zohra Drif, vice president of the Algerian Senate.
The two countries are bound by human, economic and cultural ties.
More than half a million Algerians live in France, and nearly 200,000 Algerians receive French visas every year, but many are also frustrated at not being able to obtain them to seek a better life in Europe.
Hollande promised on Thursday to "better accommodate" Algerians seeking to move to France and to streamline the visa process.
But he said France expected Algeria "to open its doors more widely to the French who wish to come to your country," alluding in particular to former French settlers in Algeria and the pro-French Algerians, known as "harkis", who moved to France after the war.
On arrival, Hollande was received with full honors by his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and said he wanted relations between their countries to be a "strategic partnership between equals".
The leaders signed a declaration of friendship and cooperation, one of six accords inked on Wednesday, including for the construction of a car factory by French vehicle manufacturer Renault near the western city of Oran.
The socialist president, accompanied by a 200-strong delegation including nine government ministers and around 40 business leaders, visited Algeria after a period of lukewarm ties under his right-wing predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy.
His trip to the oil-rich country also comes at a time when the French economy is sorely in need of a boost.
In his address to parliament, Hollande stressed France was ready "to go further" in its cooperation with Algeria in the energy, healthy, environment, construction and transport sectors.
Source: Agence France Presse
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