Macron Admits France Murdered Algerian Independence Figure

In this file photo taken in 2001 Malika Boumendjel, widow of Algerian lawyer Ali Boumendjel gives an interview at her home about her husband's death. (Getty Images)
In this file photo taken in 2001 Malika Boumendjel, widow of Algerian lawyer Ali Boumendjel gives an interview at her home about her husband's death. (Getty Images)
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Macron Admits France Murdered Algerian Independence Figure

In this file photo taken in 2001 Malika Boumendjel, widow of Algerian lawyer Ali Boumendjel gives an interview at her home about her husband's death. (Getty Images)
In this file photo taken in 2001 Malika Boumendjel, widow of Algerian lawyer Ali Boumendjel gives an interview at her home about her husband's death. (Getty Images)

President Emmanuel Macron has admitted for the first time that French soldiers murdered a top Algerian independence figure then covered up his death, in the latest acknowledgement by Paris of its colonial-era crimes.

Macron met four of the grandchildren of Ali Boumendjel and admitted "in the name of France" that the lawyer had been detained, tortured and killed in Algiers on March 23, 1957, his office said Tuesday.

French authorities had previously claimed that he had committed suicide while in detention, a lie that his widow campaigned to be overturned up to her death in August last year.

"Looking our history in the face, acknowledging the truth, will not enable us to heal all of the still open wounds, but it will help to create a path for the future," the statement from Macron's office said.

As the first French president to be born in the post-colonial era, Macron has made several unprecedented steps to face up to France's brutal fight to retain control of its north African colony, which won independence in 1962.

In 2018, he admitted that France had created a "system" that facilitated torture during the war and acknowledged that French mathematician Maurice Audin, a Communist pro-independence activist, was also murdered in Algiers.

In July last year, he tasked French historian Benjamin Stora with assessing how France has dealt with its colonial legacy.

Stora's report in January made a series of recommendations, including acknowledging the murder of Boumendjel and creating a "memory and truth commission" that would hear testimony from people who suffered during the war.

It did not suggest a formal state apology, however, and Macron has said there would be "no repentance nor apologies" but rather "symbolic acts" aimed at promoting reconciliation.

Confessions
Boumendjel was a French-speaking nationalist lawyer and intellectual who served as a link between the moderate UDMA party and the National Liberation Front (FLN), the underground resistance movement.

Macron praised his "humanism" and his "courage" in his statement, adding that Boumendjel had been influenced by French Enlightenment values in his fight against "the injustice of the colonial system".

His grandson Mehdi Ali Boumendjel, who met Macron on Tuesday, called the admission "a big step forward for our family and for the thousands of people who experienced the same atrocities."

He added that he along with fellow relatives stressed that "Ali Boumendjel was not the only one, and this message was heard and confirmed by the President."

In 2001, the former head of French intelligence in Algiers Paul Aussaresses published a book called "Special Services 1955-1957" in which he described how he and his "death squad" tortured and killed prisoners, including Boumendjel.

Aussaresses wrote that the government, notably the then justice minister Francois Mitterrand, who later became president, was informed about and tolerated the use of torture, executions and forced displacements.

Last month, Boumendjel's niece Fadela Boumendjel-Chitour denounced what she called the "devastating" lie the French state had told about her uncle, which had never been officially corrected.

Macron also said on Tuesday that he would continue to open national archives and encouraged historians to continue researching Algeria's independence war, which saw atrocities committed by all sides.

Deep wounds
Paris ruled Algeria for more than a hundred years and the independence war from 1954-1962 left 1.5 million Algerians dead, leaving deep scars and a toxic debate about the legacy of colonization.

During his 2017 election campaign, Macron declared that the occupation of Algeria was a "crime against humanity" and called French actions "genuinely barbaric".

But despite his outreach efforts, he has been criticized for ruling out a state apology, with the Algerian government calling the most recent report by Stora "not objective" and "below expectations".

On France's right and far-right, many politicians object to raking up the past, with French colonialism still defended as a "civilizing" enterprise that helped develop occupied territories.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose father was a soldier in Algeria, commented that Macron continued to send "disastrous signals of repentance, of division and hatred."

Writing on Twitter, she added: "We need to quickly return to feeling proud to be French at the summit of the state."



Egypt, Iran to Hold Regular Political Consultations to Develop Relations

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)
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Egypt, Iran to Hold Regular Political Consultations to Develop Relations

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Cairo on Monday. (Egyptian presidency)

Egypt and Iran agreed on Monday to continue discussions to develop their relations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Cairo for talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty.

During a press conference with Araghchi, Abdelatty announced the launch of political consultations between Egypt and Iran to discuss bilateral ties.

An Egyptian presidency statement said Sisi and Araghchi stressed the importance of continuing efforts to “explore prospects of developing ties between their countries.”

Abdelatty confirmed that there was a mutual desire to develop relations.

For his part, Araghchi said this was his fourth time meeting Sisi and that he had met the foreign minister of Egypt over ten times, reflecting Iran’s keenness on developing ties.

“There is a desire to expand relations, political consultations and cooperation on the political and economic levels and all others,” he added.

“We have a desire to overcome obstacles that have been impeding these ties. The opportunity is available now more than ever,” he stated.

“Trust between Cairo and Tehran has never been this high,” he noted.

Egypt and Iran had severed diplomatic relations in 1979 before restoring them to the level of charge d’affaires eleven years later. Egyptian and Iranian officials have met several times over the past two years to tackle the possibility of developing relations.

The Iranian presidency in May 2023 ordered that the necessary measures be taken to boost ties with Egypt. Sisi and late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met in Riyadh in November 2023.

Huda Raouf, head of the Iranian Studies Unit at the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Araghchi’s visit to Cairo sought to explore just how much rapprochement can be achieved with Egypt.

Iran has been trying to improve relations in recent years, while Egypt has been reluctant, she noted.

The FM’s visit is a notable development, which may lead to greater rapprochement in the future, especially when it comes to tourism, trade and cooperation in regional files, starting with the war on Gaza and Red Sea security, she remarked.

Sisi and Araghchi also discussed the “rapid developments in the region.”

Sisi expressed Cairo’s rejection of the “expansion of the conflict,” urging a de-escalation “to avert a regional war that will have dangerous repercussions on the security of all regional countries and their people.”

He therefore underscored the “importance of the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States” over Tehran’s nuclear program, said an Egyptian presidency spokesman.

Sisi stressed the need for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid.”

Talks between Araghchi and Abdelatty also tackled Gaza, as well as the developments in Syria and Lebanon and Red Sea security.

Abdelatty stressed the need to “protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the importance of restoring calm in the region.”