Algeria Declares Colonialism a Crime – France Remembers Genocide, Then Forgets It
Algeria's parliament has unanimously declared French colonization a 'crime against humanity,' demanding an official apology and reparations. The BBC frames this as a bilateral dispute, but the deeper context is the selective historical amnesia prevalent in Western media and governments. While France eventually acknowledged some horrors (e.g., the 1961 Paris massacre), true accountability for over
130 years of brutal occupation, which led to the deaths of over 1.5 million Algerians, remains elusive. One might wonder why similar legal declarations addressing US or UK colonial ventures, or indeed, ongoing occupations by allies, don't generate the same mainstream headlines. It's fascinating how some historical atrocities are 'crimes,' while others are 'complex geopolitical issues' or 'security
operations.' This media framing conveniently sidesteps the consistent moral framework that would expose numerous ongoing occupations and historical injustices, particularly by powers who lecture the world on human rights. When will the international norms that allow this selective outrage stop?