French Law on Criminalizing Insult on Harkis humiliates Algeria history, War Veterans say

Algiers (21/01/2012)-French Senate adopts the Law on Criminalizing the “Insult of Harkis” (People who supported the French presence in Algeria) following the statements of the PM Ahmed Ouyahia which attacked the Turkish government after condemnation of the crimes committed by French colonialism in Algeria, war veterans said.

The Algerian war veterans added that the French government could humiliate and criminalize even icons of the revolution and martyrs in the future.

Lakhdar Bourekaa, a war veteran and leader of the fourth region during the revolution told Echorouk that; “France was waiting for the right time to challenge Algeria memory and history. Statements of the PM Ahmed Ouyahia are disappointing and came as a green light for the French authorities to enact more hostile laws against Algeria history. The French Senate adopted on Thursday the draft law on criminalizing the insult of “Harkis”-Algerians who served the French army and stood against their fellow citizens during the Algerian Liberation War”.

“Ouyahia’s statements increased the conviction of France that the Algerians wiped their hands of defending their history, especially as France is known with its style which aimed to test the pulse of the street and identify the position of power before beginning any process. If the reaction is strong you just wait and if the response is cold then it continues its policy”, he added.

“France was waiting for a decisive Algerian reaction following Erdongan’s statements, however; the official response by the PM Ouyahia, which condemns the Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, glorifies colonialism, and this encourages France to dare and adopt the law on criminalizing the insult of “Harkis”. I call upon war veterans and the civil society to launch a war against France, coinciding with the 50^th anniversary of Algeria Independence, because the issue of history is not an issue of a government or a certain political party”, he explains.

For his part, the Secretary General of the Organization of Mujahidin (war veterans), Said Abadou, told Echorouk that the law on criminalizing the insult of “Harkis” is applied to Article 5 of the Act of February 23,2005, known as the law of glorifying colonialism, which serves prison sentence and fines on anyone who commits a misdemeanor libel against Harkis.

Abadou asserted the French law is contrary to the slogans of “Justice, Fraternety and Equality” established by the French Republic. French officials are not in the level of the French people and bilateral ties with Algeria. This law serves only the French interests in Algeria. It is a stumbling stone to the progress of Algeria-France ties”.