Memory File Will Never be a Subject of Concessions in the New Algeria

The new Algeria would not abandon the file of national memory that would never be subject to concessions, the Minister of Mujahideen (war veterans) and People of Rights, Laid Rebigua, said on Thursday.

In a symposium organized by the National Museum of the Mujahid, in commemoration of the International Day for Awareness of the Danger of Mines, under the slogan “Laying mines is a continuing crime against humanity and the environment,” the Minister stressed the importance of adhering to the file of national memory and the duty of loyalty to the martyrs of the popular resistance and the glorious liberation revolution, as confirmed by the President of the Republic, Abelmadjid Tebboune, in his last regular meeting with the national media.

He explained that Algeria’s ratification of the implementation of the Ottawa Agreement constitutes “an expression of sincere will, firm awareness, and explicit commitment to the values of the November Revolution, as well as a firm belief in the sacred right to life and in the humanitarian duty that requires international cooperation to defend human dignity.”

Laid Rebigua said that Algeria, which “lived through the effects of this tragedy and harnessed significant capabilities to clear its lands, is the country most aware of the importance and value of raising awareness of its danger,” noting the role of the People’s National Army in clearing the country of anti-personnel mines along the eastern and western borders, adding that “ANP forces succeeded ably and competently in saving the lives of Algerians by recovering millions of mines, and rehabilitating thousands of hectares so that citizens can benefit from them by establishing agricultural and economic projects, to become a source of growth, prosperity and well-being”.

For his part, the head of the National Association for Mine Victims, Mohamed Djawadi, focused on the dire effects that resulted from the explosion of mines, leaving many victims, stressing that “history will remain a witness to the crimes committed by French colonialism.”

Djawadi thanked the President of the Republic after establishing the “Memory” channel, which highlights the path of the national struggle and the various crimes committed by the French occupiers against the Algerian people. In a related context, he praised the decision to reconsider the disability grant for mine victims and provide psychological and health care for them.

Based on studies and research in this field, French colonialism planted approximately 11 million mines along the Challe and Maurice lines in the border areas east and west, leaving 7,300 victims, including 2,470 after independence. In contrast, those who survived death as a result of the explosion of these mines were exposed to physical disabilities and psychological trauma.

Algeria has continued to renew its loyalty to its international obligations by embodying the national program for the removal and destruction of anti-personnel mines, which has allowed the clearing of lands and their exploitation in agriculture and the implementation of development projects that serve the public interest and made them a source of prosperity and development after they were areas that claimed lives.

Algeria joined early in the United Nations Development Programme, related to the Mine Ban Convention, providing all available capabilities for this purpose and harnessing its pioneering experience in transforming minefields into fields of life and hope by effectively contributing to reducing the humanitarian and economic threats from land mines.

On October 20, 2007, French General Jean-Louis Georgelin, Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, officially handed over to his Algerian counterpart, General Ahmed Gaid Salah, the map of antipersonnel mines laid by the French army between 1956 and 1959.

This decision, “which was expected by Algeria, marked the desire of the French authorities to make progress in removing the obstacles inherited from the past and their desire to build relationships of trust with Algeria.” The French chief of staff, who made a four-day official visit to Algiers, also “reiterated to his counterpart the availability of the French army to deepen military cooperation between the two countries.”

Algeria had been demanding these plans since the country’s independence in 1962. In November 2005, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had thus “denounced the past of colonial France, given the significant number of mines anti-personnel and mines in general’, which were sown across the national territory, regretting at the same time ‘the fact that France has not designed to provide us with the cartography that could facilitate the demining of these regions'”.

The minefields were installed between 1956 and 1959 along the 460 km border with Tunisia, and the 700 km border with Morocco. Nearly 62 years later, they still kill regularly, “especially children and shepherds” for whom the number of victims, since independence, would exceed 40,000 dead, and 80 000 injured.

These landmines also caused fires and the destruction of the fauna and flora in Algeria.

The Algerian authorities estimate having defused 8 million of these mines between 1963 and 1988, and a little more than 218,000 since 2004. But 3 of the 11 million antipersonnel mines hidden by the French army have still not been defused.

This approach is part of a pure security framework, at a time when France displayed a great desire to collaborate with the Algerian services to face the terrorist threat, both in Algeria and in the Hexagon. Antipersonnel mines were also one of the main sources of ammunition for armed groups. Terrorist networks extracted explosive material from these mines to then make homemade bombs. The National Gendarmerie has seized 108,000 antipersonnel mines (“1957 model”) each containing more than 100 grams of TNT.

The issue of the outstanding memory files with the French party is considered a “priority” for the Algerian authorities and it is not possible to talk about “reconciliation at the expense of the Algerian collective memory, and this issue cannot be tolerated,” noting that “our relations with any party must be built primarily on the principle of respecting history, identity and national memory”, the Minister of Mujahideen reiterated since 2021.