French Nuclear Testing In Algeria: An Unforgettable Crime Against Humanity
Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights announced that it filed a lawsuit against France because of the French nuclear tests in Algeria between the years 1960 and 1966.Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights announced that it filed a lawsuit against France because of the French nuclear tests in Algeria between the years 1960 and 1966.
On the eve of the 57th anniversary of the French nuclear tests in the southern Algerian Sahara, that were carried out on February,13, 1960, the ALDHR called on, in a statement, which copy is available to Echorouk Online, the international and national organizations to move the lawsuits against France because of the French 17 nuclear tests, which it conducted between 1960 to 1966, causing the deaths of more than 42.000 Algerians and thousands of injured due to the nuclear radioactivity, in addition to the extensive damage against the environment, population and life destroyer of all the living creatures above and below the ground, and that were alive for thousands of years.
The statement said: “This tragic event is considered a crime against humanity by the French colonialism with the participation of the Israeli entity. Today, the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights decided to file a lawsuit before all international bodies against these anti-humanity crimes, and therefore to respond to compensate the victims of the French nuclear tests including disabled and chronically ill people due to the nuclear radiation”.
“France should first recognize these crimes which it committed in the old colonies, and compensate the victims financially and morally according to the danger of crimes and their impact on the concerned communities, and on the life environment in the areas of the nuclear explosions”.
“French state will be judged by the law of the International Court of Justice for its crimes against humanity, as we work in coordination with organizations that have the same goals in many regions of the world, for the lawsuit against France on charges of conducting nuclear explosions, which is considered a war crime and a crime against humanity”.
National Secretary in charge of the files of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, Houari Kaddour said: “It is our duty and our responsibility to make it imperative to work hard in order to uncover the truth with regard to the nuclear tests’ victims file, after we noticed that the Algerian successive governments, since independence, did not pressurize France to recognize, apology and compensate for the nuclear tests’ crimes, but we are celebrating each anniversary of this occasion in the form of popular folkloric celebrations, while France is celebrating its entry in the barn of powerful countries in the nuclear club, to achieve success in its nuclear tests”.
“Our organization is not ready to cope with France in its misleading, and follow the escape policy to the front with the denial, ignorance, and avoiding responsibility until the time, our objective is to inform the national and international opinion about everything that is related to the French nuclear explosions, as France still insists on keeping the nuclear tests’ file in the Algerian Sahara is full confidentiality, despite the numerous attempts by jurists and associations of victims of French nuclear tests in Algeria, which sought to retrieve the archives as it is the property of the two countries, at least to determine the locations and the field of experiences, and the real explosive energies to take the necessary measures to protect the environment and the population as a preventive measure, for fear of exposure to radiation in the areas where the number of cancer patients of all kinds is rising, and the repeated abnormal births and congenital malformations that are recorded in those areas and other disturbing pathological phenomena”.
“Morin military law, January,5, 2010, on the compensation for victims of nuclear tests, is vague, elusive and contradictory because it clearly explains that there is no responsibility and bad intention of the French authorities to compensate victims who are suffering from the diseases due to nuclear radiation, as it marketed to the international community the idea that it offered $ 100 million euros for anyone who proves a nuclear radiation in the place and time of the bombing, but in fact it was just throwing dust in the eyes of Algerians and an attempt to escape punishment before the international bodies”.
“International community should launch an investigation in order to uncover the truth of the victims of French nuclear tests in Algeria. This heavy file is still open, and is not yet closed, because France signed on the Criminal Court Act in 2001”.
“Nuclear bombings are a crime against humanity that cannot become obsolete and will remain in the memory from generation to generation, and the issue exceeds compensation for people as France believes, and is elusive in an attempt to throw dust in the eyes of Algerians, with evidence that the files that were submitted by the victims, which are more than 730 files, were rejected by the compensation Committee, because of the impossible conditions it imposed on the victims, and no victim obtained recognition, despite the presence of non-official figures about the existence of more than 150.000 victims of radiation and nuclear bombs that are still mired in sub-Saharan regions searching for evidence in the areas where nuclear tests have been carried out, although the nuclear radiation extends for years and has no specific time to stop, as France is trying to impose the contrary on Algeria to escape responsibility since 1962 “.