France To Open early Classified Algerian War Archives

The French Government says it will open classified police files from the Algerian war 15 years ahead of schedule in order to look the truth in the eyes and confront it.

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FILE - In this May 27, 1956 file photo, French troops seal off Algiers' notorious casbah, 400-year-old teeming Arab quarter. French President Emmanuel Macron announced a decision to speed up the declassification of secret documents related to Algeria's seven-year war of independence from 1954 to 1962. (AP Photo, File)

The French Government says it will open classified police files from the Algerian war 15 years ahead of schedule in order to look the truth in the eyes and confront it.

Speaking to News correspondents, Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot said they have things to rebuild with Algeria which can only happen based on the truth.

The files cover judicial proceedings by the French police and military forces during the 1954-1962 war of independence and are likely to confirm widespread use of torture and extra-judicial killings by French forces.

The announcement comes as France seeks to defuse a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

It was triggered in October when President Emmanuel Macron accused Algeria’s “political-military system” of rewriting history and fomenting “hatred towards France”.The trauma of the Algerian War has poisoned French politics for more than half a century.

A key strand of today’s far-right nationalism has its roots in the war and former president Charles de Gaulle’s abrupt decision to grant Algeria independence in 1962 — for which he faced assassination bids and attempted military coups.

Asked about the likelihood that incidents of torture will be uncovered in the archives, Bachelot said: “It is in the interest of the country that they are recognised.

Macron, France’s first leader born after the colonial era, has made a priority of reckoning with its past and forging a new relationship with former colonies.


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