France Negotiates With Algeria: Skulls Of Martyrs In return For Allowing Harkis To Return Homeland

Despite the messages that preceded the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Algeria, which aimed to keep away the specter of “memory” from controlling the files of the visit, but this did not prevent him from being held like a hostage to this file, which confounded him when facing journalists.

Macron tried to escape from this file and resorts to the economic file and the regional issues, but he was unable, as he could not find anything to say but to emphasize that his position on the colonization of his country to Algeria is not contradictory, which id considered by observers a conviction of the master of the Elysee Palace, that he will remain hostage to the statement which he made In February 2017 from Algeria, when he described the French colonialism of Algeria as “a crime against humanity and a war crime.”

French president said that his country refuses to pledge bilateral relationships to the colonial past, but he later confirmed that this file is heavier than any other file in the relationships between Algeria and Paris, even if it involves the temptation of young people to projects that have often stopped halfway.

Macron explained that he called on Algerian officials to enable the French born in Algeria to visit this country, which is an old demand that began in the first term of President Bouteflika, with the case of the French singer of Algerian origin, Enrico Macias, but this demand was not realized on the ground because of popular rejection against this requirement.

He did not disclose the position of the Algerian authorities on this demand, which is very sensitive to the Algerians, who refuse any tolerance with those who stained their hands with the blood of the Algerians during the liberation revolution, like the Harkis and Pieds Noirs (OAS).

This demand was only a swap for another demand that was raised by Algeria months ago, which is the retrieval of the skulls of Algerian martyrs from the French museums, which will be issued later on, as Macron said, which means that the French President discussed with his advisers before his visit to Algeria, on how to deal with this issue, which seems to have become the doctrine of some of the French “lobbies” that are capable of causing “political unrest” to any French president who may retreat.

Macron’s offer to the Algerians to retrieve the skulls of the martyrs, despite its importance, but does not require, in the opinion of observers, more than signing a decree that does not have any embarrassment with the French, but the demand that Macron raised about granting amnesty for “Harkis” and Pieds Noirs, by allowing them to return to Algeria, even to visit their hometown and meet with their relatives, seems difficult, because it is not just a matter of enacting a law, but persuading the families of all those who lost their lives by this group who chose to stand alongside the French army.

Observers believe that Macron is well aware of the difficulty of responding to this demand, which is a “trap” that he made during the visit, to later lament his country’s weak position on the colonial past, which summarizes all the tragedies of memory, which remain the ghost that continues to undermine the bilateral relationships, even if both sides insist on excluding this file from any convergence between the two countries in the future.