Tayeb Zitouni: “France Should Recognize Its Crimes, Compensate Algeria”

France should recognize its crimes that were committed against the Algerian people and then apologize and provide compensation, in order to purify the relationships between the two countries of the impurities that they encountered, War Veterans (Mujahideen) Minister, Tayeb Zitouni, said on Monday, on the 1 Algerian Radio.

“Some French accepted the idea of ​​an apology as an awakening of the mankind conscience, and some French media revealed, on Monday, that about 50% of French people approved of the idea of ​​France’s apology for its crimes during the occupation of Algeria”.

“This acceptance represents a reawakening of the human conscience in first place. We are not against the French people because some of them took honorable positions with the Algerian revolution, and some of them have struggled with Algerian freedom fighters, and sacrificed for our country, and we have future relationships, but the main focus is the memory focus which should not be ignored or neglected”.

“Special Committee, which was created recently, holds the mission of retrieving Algeria’s rights from France. Algiers Declaration, which was signed during the visit of the French President to our country, then the visit of the French Minister for Veterans, which were followed by my visit to France, represent the proof of the good faith of Algeria to reach a solution for the files between the two sides along the lines with the Archive, Nuclear Explosions and the Missing, which represent over 2,000 missing, including the Arabi Tebessi, Maurice Audin, Djilali Bounaamah, Ahmed Bougherra and others, because these files become an obstacle to the development of the relationships, as we agreed to create a joint committee between the two countries, and actually the Committee met more than once and it will meet again soon, but the meetings did not exceed the limits of the discussions and talks, and I hope that larger confidence will be realized between the parties to enable the progress of our objectives”.

“Recent statements by some French politicians against Algeria is a pre-election campaign. These statements represent a pre-election campaign in France, and I hope that the French politicians will not use the Algerian memory to distract the French people from its real problems”.

“Algeria’s demands, since independence, are well-known, legitimate and they aim to improve relationships between the two countries, like what was done between France and Germany, and here we must point to the existence of French official statistics which show that more than 138.000 Algerians defended France during World War II, and France should not forget This”.

“Our duty as Algerians is defending our historical rights. We will not be silent about crimes against millions of Algerians and the displacement of thousands. We will not be silent about nuclear bombs and mines, and Algerians still suffer from these tests in the border. These crimes must  be recognized by France, and it should  apologize and compensate Algerians; just like what Germany did and other countries”.

In response to the French Defense Minister, who called for calming memories and orientation towards the future, Tayeb Zitouni, said: “Our position is clear .. We do not jump on history, because it is part of the French-Algerian relationships. We can not turn a blind eye to the crimes that were committed against the Algerians, as they must must be studied extensively, and without this we can not build strong relationships between the two countries. Today, we have 3,000 disabled, widows of martyrs, war veterans (mujahideen and Majahdat) men and women who suffer from incurable diseases, and this can not be tolerated”.