Bouteflika, president of Algeria, embraces François Hollande Algiers – Hocine Bousalah 11 Algerian political parties renewed their call for sending a unified message to French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday, hoping to pressurise the French government into apologising for war crimes committed during Algeria’s turbulent transition from colonialism to independence.
Director General of the Ennahda Movement Fateh Rabei said acknowledging the “memory issue” would open the door to a new era of relations with France. The Hollande administration would have “no legitimacy” in this week’s scheduled negotiations until this happened, he said.
Head of the Party of Algerian Renewal Jamal Bin Abdul Salam revealed that the 11 political parties and civil authorities assembled to draft a unified position against France’s refusal to recognise war crimes. This would be followed by executive measures, including sending a message to the President Hollande through the French embassy in Algeria, Salam added.
Algerian politicians have called for an apology from the French government after around one million people died in independence clashes between 1954-1962. Some believe French President Francois Hollande is visiting the country to blackmail the Algerian government towards a military intervention in Mali while bolstering French economic interests in the region.
However, Dr Fawzy Osdik, a human rights activist and professor in humanitarian law, criticised Algeria itself for a human rights situation he said was yet to meet acceptable  international standards.
Bribery, corruption and illiteracy have filled a “legal vacuum” in the country, the professor said, stressing the importance of an independent judiciary as the cornerstone of any democratic regime.
A recent spike in the national suicide rate reflected a profound crisis in Algerian society, Dr Osdik claimed, based on inflation, poverty and unemployment.