Algerian War of Independence

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.

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