Lawmakers are due to vote on a proposed law that they say denounces a historical system rooted in oppression and injustice<\/p>\n
Algeria\u2019s parliament has opened debate on a draft law that would criminalize more than 130 years of French colonial rule in the North African country, a move reflecting deep historical grievances and intensifying tensions with Paris.
\nIbrahim Boughali, speaker of the People\u2019s National Assembly, Algeria\u2019s lower house, presented the bill during a plenary session on Saturday, where lawmakers discussed its framework ahead of a vote expected on December 24.
\n\u201cThe issue of criminalizing colonialism is a cause for the entire nation,\u201d Boughali said, describing the proposal as a \u201cdefining milestone in modern Algeria.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Africa demands accountability for colonial crimes<\/p>\n
In a speech during the debate, Abdelmalek Tachrift, the minister for independence war veterans and their families, said the proposed measure showed Algeria would not \u201ccompromise\u201d on its national memory or accept any challenge to what it calls the country\u2019s historical facts.
\n\u201cThis qualitative step \u2026 embodies the condemnation of a defunct colonial system based on oppression and injustice, and at the same time confirms that victorious Algeria will never \u2026 accept any tampering with or relinquishment of the facts of its history,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Former colony demands truth, France prefers amnesia<\/p>\n
The draft comes amid a growing reparations\u2019 drive across Africa, with the African Union calling for slavery, colonialism, and racial segregation to be recognized and criminalized.
\nFrance colonized Algeria from 1830 until the African state won independence in 1962 after a bloody war and years of repression. Relations between Algiers and Paris have soured in recent years over disputes including Western Sahara and historical memory.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
La Colonisation: French history of death, torture and indescribable violence in the pearl of its evil empire<\/p>\n
France has acknowledged responsibility in specific cases linked to the war in Algeria, including the 2018 admission by President Emmanuel Macron that the state bore responsibility for the torture and death of Algerian nationalist Maurice Audin. Paris has stopped short of issuing a full, official apology for the broader history of colonial-era abuses.
\nAccording to local media, the proposed legislation seeks to classify crimes committed during the 132-year period of French rule, including killings, forced deportations, discrimination, torture, and nuclear testing, as crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lawmakers are due to vote on a proposed law that they say denounces a historical system rooted in oppression and injustice Algeria\u2019s parliament has opened debate on a draft law…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t