Richard Demarcy to Echorouk: “Former French President Jacques Chirac obviously lacked political courage”

French playwright, movie director and sociology specialist, Richard Demarcy, has said that the French state authorities should find an adequate formula whereby they will duly apologize to the Algerians for all the ill-treatment and heinous crimes committed during the French colonial era in Algeria.

• In an exclusive interview with the newspaper “Echorouk” here in Algiers, Richard Demarcy bitterly criticized former French President Jacques Chirac saying that the latter lacked political courage, and that this had precluded the official signing of a friendship treaty between Algeria and France.

• Richard Demarcy also indicated that it was now impossible that the Algerian-French relations would get back to normal as long as President Sarkozy and his collaborators remained at the helm at the Elysée Palace.
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• Echorouk : How do you regard the nefarious impact on the French-Algerian relations brought about by the inflammatory statements to the French media made by Bernard Kouchner?
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• Demarcy : Frankly, I guess that the problem is even deeper.
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• History is a very sensitive track and when we talk about a friendship treaty between two nations, big calculations come into play.
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• One thing is certain; I believe that the French side should first stop talking about the pseudo “merits” of French colonialism in Algeria in order to dispel all the ill- feelings and grudges and to clear the air for a salutary rapprochement between the two countries.
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• Echorouk : It seems that the ambiguous policy adopted by France towards Algeria has bolstered the dissensions between the two countries …?
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• Demarcy : To recognize one’s mistakes is a good deed. The French state authorities should find a way or a formula to apologize for the blameworthy misdeeds committed during the French colonial occupation of Algeria.
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• The Algerians should also pave the way for an appropriate climate of confidence without hurting the pride of the French side.
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• But, I don’t think that the French-Algerian relations will witness a positive breakthrough under the era of President Nicholas Sarkozy.
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• What worsened, in fact, the situation was the adoption in France of the vile law glorifying French colonialism. It was a gross blunder with untold repercussions.
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• Echorouk : Do you think that former President Jacques Chirac could have done something likely to promote French-Algerian relations for the mutual benefit of the two nations and the two peoples?
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• Demarcy : Actually, Chirac could have done a lot during his official visits to Algeria but he fell through because he clearly lacked the necessary political courage to demand notably from the former French colonial settlers to stop bragging about their so-called good deeds in Algeria.
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• Chirac was even unable to compel the leader of the far-right party, Jean Marie Le Pen, from going back on his proposed law extolling the harsh French colonial yoke in Algeria.
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• It is obviously clear that Chirac’s policy was faulty and helpless in this very sensitive file which could have been settled by a leader having political courage, insight and wisdom.
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