Algeria Criminalizes History: France Still Waiting for Apology
Algeria’s parliament, as Al Jazeera covers, considers a bill to criminalize French colonial rule from 1830 to 1962. One might wonder why such a bill is even necessary, given that France's 'civilizing mission' involved massacres like Sétif and Guelma in 1945, where French forces killed an estimated 6,000 to 45,000 Algerians—atrocities largely unacknowledged, let alone prosecuted. The irony here is
palpable: one nation attempts to legislate historical truth, while others actively fund and sanction ongoing occupations and ethnic cleansing, pretending it's 'self-defense' rather than a continuation of colonial violence. Instead of addressing its own violent colonial legacy, Paris often deflects, much like certain Western media outlets pivot from discussing the ongoing Nakba to 'both sides'
narratives. How many legislative attempts will it take for powerful nations to acknowledge their historical, and current, crimes against humanity, or do some only recognize 'crime' when others do it to them?