Parisian Memory Initiatives Are Just Futile Condemnations

French historian, Benjamin Stora, said that the steps taken by the French authorities regarding the colonial past in Algeria remain politically limited, given the extent of the pain and tragedies inflicted by French colonialism on the Algerian people throughout 132 years of hateful settler occupation.

The advisor to the French presidency for memory affairs noted that “mere and general condemnation of colonialism is not politically effective. Apology speeches have already been delivered, including, for example, those by François Hollande before the National People’s Assembly (the lower house of the Algerian parliament). A lot has been said. Why? Because the issue is to clarify the true nature of colonial history, and its depth, case by case, step by step. This can only be achieved through specific and concrete examples and cases, not by resorting to abstract ideology.”

In a lengthy interview with Belgian French-speaking radio and television on Monday, September 15, Stora praised the steps taken by Paris so far, such as recognizing the assassination of both the Algerian revolution activist, Maurice Audin, and one of the most prominent political leaders of the liberation revolution, Ali Boumendjel. However, he stressed that what is required is to take practical steps that match the level of repression suffered by Algerians throughout the colonial era, because “abstract condemnations,” as he said, are nothing more than a “war of memories.”

Benjamin Stora added: “Abstract condemnations sometimes please us, but they do not contribute to the advancement of true knowledge,” while he was talking about the repercussions of French and Belgian colonialism in the African continent, and answering the big question for which no answer has been formulated to this day, which is “Should we apologize for colonialism?”, which was the title of a book co-authored by historians Benjamin Stora and Pascal Blanchard.

Regarding the nature of Algerian demands, which some malicious French circles are trying to shift the discussion about, Benjamin Stora said that “Algerians are not demanding financial compensation. They are simply demanding more respect at the symbolic level, i.e., symbolic recognition. However, they have not bothered to estimate the cost of colonial penetration, for example, which led or would have led to their economic marginalization. So, let’s not exaggerate things.”

The head of the memory file research committee from the French side was asked about his position on those who say that colonialism had many positive effects? Here Stora replied: “Those who lived through colonialism, i.e., those who were formerly colonized, should be asked.” He added: “When France passed its law in 2005, (glorifying colonial practices), which was passed by the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), and then rejected by Jacques Chirac, the first question that came to my mind was very simple: “Did you ask the point of view of the formerly colonized?” to know whether it was positive or not.”

It is known that the law of February 23, 2005, enacted by the right with the support of Sarkozy at the time, praised French colonial practices, which caused a crisis with Algeria. Among its repercussions was the cancellation of the friendship treaty, which was scheduled to be signed by then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, who intervened by virtue of his powers and dropped provocative articles from this law through the Constitutional Council, but that did not repair the repercussions it caused on bilateral relations at the time.

In Benjamin Stora’s opinion, “understanding and knowing the history of others will allow countries like France and Belgium to regain their place in the community of nations. But if we do not want to look at the history of others, we will confine ourselves to the past in its grandeur as seen by the colonizer,” unlike the colonized who considers it a dark era of injustice and tyranny.

Stora also paused at the uproar caused by the statements of historian and activist Jean-Michel Abati about the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, following his comparison of the massacres of the French occupation of Algeria to Nazi practices, and said: “Jean-Michel Abati wanted to shed light on facts unknown to the public. Certainly. The general public in France is unaware of the conditions and circumstances of the invasion of Algeria between 1830 and 1880.

This war can be described as the first Algerian war, which has been completely forgotten. We have not yet touched on the beginnings of this story. And this means, of course, a misunderstanding between the French, on the one hand, who build their memory on the end of the Algerian war with the Pieds-Noirs and the Harkis.”