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France to open qualified archives of Algerian war | News

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The files include judicial proceedings conducted by the French police and military forces during the 1954-1962 war of independence.

The French government has said it will soon open the most classified parts of its national archives to the public about the Algerian war of independence in the twentieth century in France. illuminating some of the darkest chapters in the history of the twentieth century.

Between 1954 and 1962, France waged war against a pro-independence movement in its former colony. Hundreds of thousands of Algerians were killed, and French forces and their officials used torture against their opponents, according to historians.

Algerian fighting has shaken France and led to a failed coup attempt against then-President Charles de Gaulle to stop the end of French rule. Nearly 60 years after its end, the conflict is still a very sensitive and divisive issue in France.

“We need to have the courage to look the historical truth in the face,” French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot said when she announced the opening of the archives on Friday.

Declassification is an important step in better understanding the war, as well as giving meaning to some deaths that have not been clarified to date, according to Algerian chief historian Benjamin Stora.

“You can find out who was in custody, go ahead, arrest him,” Storak told Reuters. “The whole chain of repressive measures is what can be disclosed.”

Algeria lived under French rule for 132 years, until it won the war of independence in 1962.

“We have things to rebuild with Algeria. They can only be rebuilt according to the truth, ”Bachelot told BFMTV.

“It simply came to our notice then. We can’t build a national story on a lie. “

Asked about the possibility of torture appearing in the archives, Bachelot said: “It is in the interest of the country to recognize them.

“We should never be afraid of the truth. We have to put it in context. ”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made the trip to Algiers and made the announcement two days later. He held talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to revive talks between the two sides.

Relations deteriorated sharply in October after French President Emmanel Macron accused him of rewriting the history of Algeria’s “political-military system” and inciting “hatred of France”. In a statement to the descendants of the independence fighters, Le Mond reported that Macron also questioned whether Algeria existed as a nation before the French invasion in the 1800s.

One month after Paris decided to significantly reduce visa fees for Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian nationals, there was a strong reaction from Algeria. he withdrew his ambassador and banned French military aircraft from its airspace.

Tebboun also boycotted a major summit in November in Paris, a Libyan neighbor devastated by the Algerian war, saying his country would not take a “first step” in resolving ties.



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