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Fifty years ago, in 1962, the ‘Algerian war’,
one of the longest and bloodiest anti-colonial
conflicts, ended with the victory of the
Algerian fighters against French imperialism.
Algeria had been under French colonial rule
for 132 years. It was the ‘flagship’ of the
French colonial empire. A policy of racial
segregation and massive land dispossession was
to the detriment of indigenous people. The
vast majority of Algerians were kept in poverty
and suffered systematic wage discrimination,
which guaranteed huge profits for French big
business.
The overwhelming majority of settlers
were poor. By the 1950s, their average
living standards were 20% lower than
in France. Following World War Two
nationalist militancy and struggles rose
steadily throughout the country, in the
context of pro-independence struggles
erupting internationally. This coincided with
unprecedented waves of workers’ strikes and
an overwhelming desire for social change. In
many cases, these disputes involved Algerian
and French workers.
http://www.socialistparty.net/theory/1049-algerian-war-of-independence-1954-1962
1830 ALGIERS IS OCCUPIED BY FRANCE.
1839 ABD EL-KADER DECLARES WAR ON THE FRENCH AFTER THEIR
MEDDLING IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF HIS TERRITORY.
1847 ABD EL-KADER SURRENDERS. FRANCE FINALLY SUBJUGATES
ALGERIA.
1848 ALGERIA IS RECOGNIZED AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF FRANCE. THE
COLONY IS OPENED TO EUROPEAN SETTLERS.
1871 COLONIZATION OF ALGERIA INCREASES IN RESPONSE TO THE
LOSS OF THE ALSACE-LORRAINE REGION TO THE GERMAN EMPIRE.
1936 BLUM-VIOLLETTE REFORM IS BLOCKED BY FRENCH SETTLERS.
1937 THE PARTI DU PEUPLE ALGERIEN (PPA, ALGERIAN PEOPLE’S PARTY)
IS FORMED BY THE VETERAN ALGERIAN NATIONALIST MESSALI HADJ.
1938 FERHAT ABBAS FORMS THE UNION POPULAIRE ALGÉRIENNE (UPA,
ALGERIAN POPULAR UNION).
1940 WORLD WAR II -- FALL OF FRANCE.
1942 ALLIED LANDINGS IN ALGERIA AND MOROCCO.
1945 WORLD WAR II -- VICTORY IN EUROPE.
INDEPENDENCE DEMONSTRATIONS IN SÉTIF TURN VIOLENT. FRENCH
AUTHORITIES RESPOND WITH SEVERE REPRISALS LEADING TO
THOUSANDS OF MUSLIM DEATHS.
1946 THE MOUVEMENT POUR LE TRIOMPHE DES LIBERTÉS
1947 THE ORGANIZATION SPÉCIALE (OS, SPECIAL ORGANIZATION) IS
FORMED AS A PARAMILITARY ARM OF THE MTLD.
1947 SEPT- A NEW CONSTITUTION FOR ALGERIA IS ESTABLISHED. ALL
ALGERIAN CITIZENS ARE OFFERED FRENCH CITIZENSHIP (OF EQUAL
STATUES TO THOSE OF FRANCE). HOWEVER, WHEN AN ALGERIAN
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IS CONVENED IT IS SKEWED TO SETTLERS
COMPARED TO INDIGENOUS ALGERIANS -- TWO POLITICALLY EQUAL
60-MEMBER COLLEGES ARE CREATED, ONE REPRESENTING THE 1.5
MILLION EUROPEAN SETTLERS, THE OTHER FOR 9 MILLION ALGERIAN
MUSLIMS.
1949 ATTACK ON THE CENTRAL POST OFFICE OF ORAN BY THE
ORGANIZATION SPÉCIALE (OS, SPECIAL ORGANIZATION).
1952 SEVERAL LEADERS OF THE ORGANIZATION SPÉCIALE (OS, SPECIAL
ORGANIZATION) ARE ARRESTED BY FRENCH AUTHORITIES. AHMED BEN
BELLA, HOWEVER, MANAGES TO ESCAPE TO CAIRO.
1954 THE COMITÉ RÉVOLUTIONAIRE D’UNITÉ ET D’ACTION (CRUA,
REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE FOR UNITY AND ACTION) IS SET UP BY
http://www.socialistparty.net/theory/1049-algerian-war-of-independence-1954-1962
COLONIALISM
legitimized racist ideologyhuman zoos
political freedom suspendedriots
Crops were burnt and granaries emptied and unarmed men, women and Children were seized.
COLONIALISM
The unparalleled savagery deployed
on Algerian soil by the authoritarian regim
e of Charles de Gaulle - w
ho had taken pow
er in France through a parliam
entary coup in 1958 - could not end the w
ar. The offensive
launched by the French troops in 1959 had alm
ost finished the ALN, the
armed w
ing of the FLN, as a fighting
force. But the heavy price, politically
!!!On 1 November 1954, the FLN
launched a series of guerrilla type
attacks in different parts of the
territory, targeting the bases of the
colonial power. ‘Front de Liberation
Nationale’ was a nationalist
organisation composed of radical
activists who, fed up with the
growing conservatism and reformism
of the traditional nationalist forces,
had decided to ‘light the fuse’ of a
general revolt against French rule.
The French army responded with
systematic terror, involving burning
down villages, creating makeshift
concentration camps, summary
executions and torture on a mass
scale. This violence exposed the
brutal face of French capitalism - the
so-called France of ‘human rights’.
http://www.socialistparty.net/theory/1049-algerian-war-of-independence-1954-1962
2.Exteneded Introduction of the Algerian War of Independence
!!! !!
The controversy during the war: Systematic use of torture created a national controversy which has had lasting effects on French and Algerian society.
French Use of Vulgar Torture: Troops threw Algerians in the sea from helicopters, which resulted in brutalized corpses, found in open waters and
nicknamed “crevettes Bigeard”.
http://www.socialistparty.net/theory/1049-algerian-war-of-independence-1954-1962
ALGERIAN WAR=TORTURECreating an ongoing public controversy. G.Aaboud
The systematic use of torture created a national controversy which has had lasting effects on French and Algerian society
ALGERIAN WAR=TORTUREthis extensive use of extreme violence = death of innocent civilians
The systematic use of torture created a national controversy which has had lasting effects on French and Algerian society
GueRRiLLa waR resulted in acts of sadistic torture and the
most brutal violence against al l, including
women and children.
Today, despiTe iTs rich oil reserves, mosT
algerians are blocked from any semblance of
decenT living condiTions. for The majoriTy
of algerians, whose counTry is buffeTed by
poverTy, corrupTion and violence.
MILITARY B
AT
TL
E
MILI
TARY