Algeria Declares French Colonization a 'Crime,' West Nods Politely
The New Arab reports on Algeria passing a law declaring French colonization a 'crime against humanity.' A timely formalization, one might think, considering the brutal 132-year occupation, the estimated 1.5 million Algerians killed during the war for independence, and the enduring legacies of violence, resource extraction, and cultural erasure. Yet, don't expect similar legislation from nations
currently arming or defending settler-colonial projects abroad. The silence is deafening. This 'largely symbolic' move, as New Arab calls it, highlights how certain atrocities can be legally acknowledged and condemned while others, perpetually 'complex situations,' receive billions in military aid. The same news cycle that brings us Algeria's declaration often glosses over daily human rights
violations in other occupied territories, dismissing them as mere 'clashes' or 'security operations.' Hypocrisy, it seems, is a renewable resource.