Algeria commemorates, for the first time, the "Day of Remembrance"
Photo taken on May 15, 1962. A French soldier in a street in Oran.
AP - Horst Faas
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
This is a first in Algeria.
The country commemorates, this Saturday, May 8, the National Day of Remembrance.
This day of remembrance, decided a year ago by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, will now honor every year the victims of the bloody repression launched on May 8, 1945 by France against independence demonstrators.
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This is a historical commemoration.
For the first time since 1945, Algeria officially honors the thousands of victims of this bloody repression.
The official festivities took place in the city of Sétif, located 300 km east of Algiers which was then the epicenter of the violence.
And 66 years after the events, Algeria is not giving up.
The country has again recalled its demand for a "
repentance
" - this is the word used - of France for the crimes committed during the 132 years of colonization that it has suffered, despite a series of
"
symbolic acts.
"Engaged for a few months by the French President, Emmanuel Macron, in an attempt to"
reconcile memories
"between the two countries.
The Algerian government spokesperson today conceded to him "
gains that are admittedly modest
" but of "
great moral value
". Ammar Belhimer cites in particular the recovery of the skulls of nationalists killed at the start of colonialism. But it could not be clearer: "
Algeria remains attached to the global settlement of the memorial file
" which must be based, according to him, on "
the official, definitive and global recognition by France of its crimes, repentance and by fair compensation
”.
Another issue at the heart of the dispute between the two capitals, that of the nuclear tests that France carried out in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1966. Algiers also demands that the consequences of these explosions be taken care of in order to settle the memorial issue definitively.
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To read also
: The teaching of the Algerian war in France: between history and memory
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