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ALGERIA TO FRANCE: RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN GENOCIDE
Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
Algerian Prime Minister Abdulaziz Belkadem has called on France to
"accept that it carried out genocide" in Algeria, an announcement
that carries particular weight as French Interior Minister Nicolas
Sarkozy leaves today from France for a 2 day visit to Algeria.
Belkadem recalled French President Jacques Chirac's statement that
"Countries are called on to accept the dramas and mistakes that
they have led the way to" in reference to Armenian claims against
Turkey, and said "We call on France to accept that what it carried
out was a genocide during the years between 1830 and 1962 when it
occupied Algeria. This identification of genocide includes not only
genocide itself, but the attempt to wipe out our cultural and national
identity. They need to remember that in addition to massacring people,
they also erased the cultural wealth of a country."
Meetings between the central-right Sarkozy, who is seen as a likely
candidate for president next year, and Algerian officials are now
expected to take place in the shadow of these calls for genocide
recognition on the part of France.
Hurriyet, Turkey
Nov 13 2006
Algerian Prime Minister Abdulaziz Belkadem has called on France to
"accept that it carried out genocide" in Algeria, an announcement
that carries particular weight as French Interior Minister Nicolas
Sarkozy leaves today from France for a 2 day visit to Algeria.
Belkadem recalled French President Jacques Chirac's statement that
"Countries are called on to accept the dramas and mistakes that
they have led the way to" in reference to Armenian claims against
Turkey, and said "We call on France to accept that what it carried
out was a genocide during the years between 1830 and 1962 when it
occupied Algeria. This identification of genocide includes not only
genocide itself, but the attempt to wipe out our cultural and national
identity. They need to remember that in addition to massacring people,
they also erased the cultural wealth of a country."
Meetings between the central-right Sarkozy, who is seen as a likely
candidate for president next year, and Algerian officials are now
expected to take place in the shadow of these calls for genocide
recognition on the part of France.