Algeria should issue a law incriminating colonial crimes before asking for repentance, official says

Asked to comment on the immoral behavior of the former French defence minister Gerard Longuet toward Algeria, the leader of the National front party Marine Le Pen replied that she would not hesitate a second to act similarly if she was a man.

• In declarations made to the French news channel Beur FM TV, she has expressed her support for the former minister and blasted the Algeria for requesting repentance from the French authorities for the crimes perpetrated against the Algerian people during the colonial period.
• The president of May 8, 1945 Association, Abdelhamid Selakdji considers the campaign launched by the extremist groups against François Hollande as a means to pressure him in order not to make further steps toward reconciliation during his scheduled visit to Algeria next month.
• In a declaration to Echourouk, Slakdji commented on the campaign that recently targeted the French president saying” What happens these days in France is a reaction from the right extremist party against François Hollande fearing that this later would take further actions toward the acknowledgement of the French crimes during the colonial period”.
• He expressed his hope that the French president would make abstraction of the series of critics toward him and pave the way for a new departure in the relationships between the two countries.
• “ We sincerely hope that the visit of the French president would give a fresh impetus to the relationships following the historical move he did recently when he formally acknowledged the crimes perpetrated against innocent civilians in Paris during the bloodshed of October 17, 1961.
• But, M Slakdji went on saying, the acknowledgement of the colonial crimes should be preceded by the issue of a law in Algeria incriminating these atrocities. A draft law is still blocked at the level of the Algerian parliament since 2007, he added.