French colonial violence remembered
Today is the 60th anniversary of the massacre of Sétif, a town in a remote area of eastern Algeria where in May 1945 the "Free French" colonial forces decided to enact a colonial massacre against the indigenes.
Here's an account (in French) of an appeal that Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika launched to mark the occasion today.
Here's the Babelfish translation of the lead to that piece (as improved by myself):
- ALGIERS (Reuters) - Abdelaziz Bouteflika called this weekend on France to recognize its responsibility forthe massacres for tens of thousands of Algerians who had gone out into the streets, May 8, 1945, to claim their independence at the time when Europe was celebrating the victory over the Nazi Germany.
"The Algerian people await from France a gesture which would liberate the French conscience", stated the Algerian president in a speech delivered Saturday evening in Sétif and published [in Algiers] Sunday.
"The paradox of the massacres of May 8, 1945 is that at moment when the armies of heroic Algerian combatants returned from the frontlines of Europe, of Africa and others where they defended the honor of France and its interests (...), the French administration shot at peaceful demonstrators", he added.
The French colonial troops launched on May 8, 1945 a vast air and terrestrial offensive against several cities of the east of Algeria, in particular Sétif and Guelma, after anti-French demonstrations which had caused the death of a hundred Europeans.
Repression lasted several days, resulting in, according to Algerian authorities', 45,000 deaths. European historians estimate for their part that there were between 15,000 and 20,000 killed there.
This episode remains one of the darkest chapters of the relations between France and Algeria, which finally obtained its independence in 1962 at the price of a bloody war.
I think we have to conclude that the sufferings of the non-'white' peoples somehow don't count as much for unthinkingly provincial white politicians like GWB as those experienced by articulate and white-complected peoles like the Latvians, Poles, or other Balts.
And GWB is far from the only white leader suffering from a similar kind of "color blindness."
What strikes me in the history of the past 150 years is that in the second half of the nineteenth century, at one and the same time that (predominantly) white political leaders from Europe and North America were codifying the "Laws of War"-- that is, the whole body of international law that sought to outlaw all kinds of unnecessary violence and collateral damage whenever white countries' armies might fight against each other... At exactly that same time, many of those very same European political leaders were initiating new and horrendously violent colonial expeditions against the indigenous peoples in various non-'white' parts of the world...
The dividing-up of most of continental Africa among the European powers didn't even really get underway till 1885. Over the 23 years that followed, in the "Congo State" that was completely controlled by Belgium's King Leopold II, an estimated ten million people met violent deaths at the hands of an extremely brutal, gun-backed system of sheer colonial looting. At the same time, the British, French, Portuguese, and Germans were all also getting into the same game, in Africa and elsewhere. (I think all US citizens should read Sven Lindqvist's reflection on this era, 'Exterminate the brutes'.)
What use were the 'Hague Conventions' and the 'Geneva Conventions', etc., to the peoples of Africa, Asia, and South America in those days?
None at all.
So what happened in Setif and elsewhere at the hands of European colonial armies in the post-1945 era was nothing new...
And now, the US finds itself in colonial-style control of distant Iraq. This is truly an old, old story.
Ou bien, "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
(By the way, thanks to commenter Salah for reminding me that today is the anniversary of the Setif massacre. My spouse Bill was recently in Setif-- and our friend Landrum Bolling was the first western news correspondent able to get into the Setif area back in the early days of May 1945. Wow. Landrum is 91 years old now. Someone should try to contact him to do an interview about that. If you want to try, email me and I can help put you in touch.)
----
I think we have to conclude that the sufferings of the non-'white' peoples somehow don't count as much for unthinkingly provincial white politicians like GWB as those experienced by articulate and white-complected peoles like the Latvians, Poles, or other Balts.
----
this sentence here is, i'm sorry, complete b.s.!
I dont wann hurt any feelings with that but the fact that noone cares, even when they should, as you rightly pointed out, has in my oppionion nothin do to with any racial reason at all.
GWB doesnt care about Algiers becouse algiers has no political, industrial or military weight at all.
Polen in contrast to that is atm very immportant to GWB not only as a ally in Iraq but allso as a member in the EU with gainig influence and importance (political industrial and in military means).
It is not right but still very much common to not care about the weak which algiers is.
I dont see any reason why we should conclude that GWB is in any means racial motivated. If he is a sozial-darvinist we would have remarked that earliyer.
sincerly a regular reader of your very inforamtive blog
“Can we escape? Can we one day say--both the West and the peoples of the Middle East--"Enough! Let us start again!'' I fear we cannot. Our betrayals and our broken promises-- created a kind of irreversible disease, something that will not go away and cannot and will not be forgiven for generations.”
By Robert Fisk in Baghdad - 11 October 2004
http://www.robert-fisk.com/
Future generations will struggle to escape the legacy of the disaster in Iraq
Our betrayals and broken promises have created a kind of irreversible disease that cannot be forgiven
“Algeria noted its mine problem dating from “colonial times” and stated that “the number of these mines reached 13 millions and 3,000 victims have been deplored [sic] since the independence, in 1962”
http://www.icbl.org/lm/2001/algeria/
In Arabic text
http://www.swissinfo.org/sar/swissinfo.html?siteSect=121&sid=5764168&cKey=1115579125000
A blog-pal of mine, who is married to an Algerian, has recorded some thoughts on Setif here:
Just to make things a bit more complicated, for the historical record, many of the "colonial troops" involved in the May 8 violence in Setif were Senegalese tirailleurs. Colonialism, then and now, is not just a white/non-white conflict but a complex, one might argue perverse, system of control.
Kaspar Görlach
”GWB doesnt care about Algiers becouse algiers has no political, industrial or military weight at all.”
GWB care about mastering the world. This should hold the power and the Oil both hold in one hand, back to 1990 when the G. Brittan looked to expanded South East of Asia and Pacific went to WWI to invaded the rich Middle East areas which hold most valuables quantity of CHEAP OIL and in very strategic region (Geographical location) that the British colonist needed to expand and master the world at that time. Now GWB do same thing but in different time.
Algeria one of the major exporters with OPIC, also it has a good resources of Phosphates and other mining in addition to agricultures production (it’s the top of the list of countries in Dates production Olive and others).
Allan Christelow
“is not just a white/non-white conflict but a complex, one might argue perverse, system of control.”
What’s make you saying that? What’s American and Britt’s are doing in Iraq? Is it a typo of Colonialism? All the Arab countries got independent in mid of last century from white Colonialism, same in Africa and so, unless you think US Army personal its a mixed of Black and white? Do you believe in this Allan?
Thanks for the post, Helena. I never heard of Sétif, though five times as many people were killed there than died at the WTC. It puts the various 20th century British massacres of Indians completely in the shade.
Setif and its aftermath are covered in great detail by Alistair Horne's "A Savage War of Peace", perhaps one of the finest accounts of any conflict anywhere. The lucid prose does not make any less heart wrenching today. I think an important dimension implicit in Alistair Horne's account is that the violence unleashed then, both French -Algerian and Algerian-Algerian, foretold the conflict in the 90's between the Islamist and the Algerian government. Issues including the Arab Islamic identify of algeries, the military takeover of the FLN, the distribution of wealth amongst the Algerians, the continued French hegemony over North Africa all remain with us today and can be traced in many ways to issues fought over during the war of liberation in Algiers.
What are you meaning exactly, No Preference ?
Not much, Simple Mind. Just that one's perspective about atrocities can change depending on one's nationality.
This is the "mote" which everyone sees in his brother’s eye, but never regards the beam in his own.
Helena's outrage at GWB's "Racism" makes perfect sense -- if you ignore the elephant in the room.
The elephant in the room is the Cold War. The US and the USSR faced off against each other in the verge of nuclear armaggeddon for fifty years. I think that caused enough negative feelings in the US (and GWB) to account for the focus on the wrongs of the Soviets rather than the French. The French were allies of the US in the Cold War, which tends to make one "Forget" some French faults. It has nothing whatever to do with the color of the victims in Algeria.
Also, President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, a year after the tragedy in Sétif, so he probably doesn't remember reading the headlines. The Cold War existed and made headlines all through W's formative years, ending in the 1990's, when W was in his forties. Helena
The analogy between the French role in Algeria and the US role in Iraq is equally weak. The French were attempting to retain direct control for nationalistic reasons. The US is trying to remove a threat to world peace and encourage Iraqi freedom, democracy and independence. The main similarity is the Color of the various armies. The Algerians and Iragis are tawny and the French and Americans generally lighter.
Did Helena forget about the Cold War? Did Helena rush to judgement based on the skin color of the participants in two different conflicts?
Sigh... it's not even a mote, it's a semi-trailer.
what is xenical xenical prescription http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/16/cheapest_online_xenical.html xenical no prescription xenical weight loss http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/16/use_xenical.html and .... xenical drug drug interaction xenical http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/16/xenical_users.html study xenical xenical 120mg http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/16/xenical_online_uk.html ingredient xenical xenical tablets http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/16/orlistat_xenical.html.Thanks.
bowling for soup a hangover you dont deserve hangover helper http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/8/hangover_cafe.html hangover relief green hangover tea http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/8/hangover_prevention.html and .... hangover nausea b12 vitamin hangover http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/8/wine_hangover.html hangover quote hangover drink http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/8/honky_tonk_hangover.html over a hangover hangover solution http://gorlumvladebanat.ddo.jp/8/moonshine_hangover.html.Thanks.