Criminalizing Colonialism Opens The Door To Prosecuting Criminals In The War On Algeria

The anticipated formalization of the draft law criminalizing French colonialism in Algeria opens up the possibility of prosecuting parties involved in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Algeria during the dark colonial era. French authorities had previously expressed fears of this happening when they intervened with Algerian authorities on previous occasions to prevent the passage of this law more than once.

A parliamentary source familiar with the details of the draft law told “Echorouk” that the prosecution of all French soldiers and officers involved in crimes of all forms in Algeria, especially genocide and crimes against humanity, is included in the text of the draft under consideration, and he referred to this as “establishing responsibilities.”

The right to judicial prosecution against those involved in war crimes, according to the same source, is based on the proposed draft law’s affirmation that the heinous crimes of French colonialism against the Algerian people “do not lapse by prescription.” It also directs the charge of “high treason” against those who fought in the French army against their Algerian brethren, referring to the “Harkis,” whom the French state honored on more than one occasion, after internal accusations of abandoning them.

France had issued amnesty laws to protect its officials, officers, and soldiers from prosecution (such as the laws of 1962, 1968, 1982) to prevent the trial of war criminals in Algeria during the occupation era, including members of the terrorist Secret Army Organization (OAS) who shed much Algerian blood, especially after the ceasefire decision on March 19, 1962. Algeria considered this an escape from punishment.

While some French people who long for “French Algeria” argue that the Evian Accords and subsequent independence arrangements granted immunity to those involved in war crimes in Algeria from judicial prosecution, relevant international laws confirm that war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity do not lapse by prescription, according to the source.

Based on Article 29 of the Rome Statute, perpetrators of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity can be prosecuted at any time regardless of the passage of time. This approach is also reinforced by other international agreements, such as the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, and the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which confirms that they do not lapse by prescription, thus ensuring that those involved do not escape punishment.

It is also not excluded that there will be symbolic trials for criminals and murderers from the French occupation army who have passed away, especially the extremist officers of “French Algeria,” such as Generals Raoul Salan, Edmond Jouhaud, Jacques Massu, and Maurice Challe, who founded the terrorist Secret Army Organization and provided its leaders with protection, funding, and armament, as well as anyone proven to be involved in crimes that do not lapse by prescription.

Although the political level in Algeria has not officially demanded compensation from the French state for murder, genocide, and the theft and looting of Algerian wealth, and has only demanded recognition, the parliamentary source confirmed that compensation is a fundamental item in the draft under consideration, through “the necessity of taking sovereign measures indicated by the clauses and articles to hold parties accountable and compensate victims and their families, especially regarding nuclear explosions,” which continue to kill to this day, nearly six decades after the end of the war.

In 2010, France tried to mitigate the intensity of criticism directed at it regarding its failure to take responsibility for compensating Algerians, so it decided to enact what is known as the “Morin Law” to compensate victims of nuclear tests. However, it restricted it with procedures and measures that are difficult to overcome, so this law remained mere ink on paper.

Not only that, but it continued its intransigence by refusing to hand over maps of the burial sites of its nuclear and chemical test waste in the south of the country, and also by not responding to Algeria’s demands to clean up the sites of those tests that left deadly radiation for humans, nature, and animals, a stance that can only come from a rogue state.