The amendments included by the Equal Member Committee of my chambers ranged Parliament Between amendment and repeal, as four articles were canceled from the text of the law criminalizing colonialism, and seven other articles were amended that were the subject of disagreement between the two chambers: the National People’s Assembly and the National Assembly, in the final report that “elhiwar usOn a copy of it,As we published previously, Article 1 was canceled and merged Its content is included in Article Two, while an amendment was included in Article Five by adding “sexual exclusion” to the list of colonial crimes.
Article 5 of the draft law stipulates, according to the amended wording, acts that are considered colonial crimes, including aggression against the Algerian state, for example premeditated murder, directing military attacks against the civilian population, excessive use of armed force, use of unconventional and internationally prohibited weapons, planting mines, chemical experiments and nuclear explosions, extrajudicial executions, in addition to theft of the state treasury and the systematic plundering of wealth.
Drop the demand for apology
The list of crimes includes: subjecting Algerians to exceptional laws, practicing physical and psychological torture, racial discrimination and inhuman treatment, deliberate deprivation of basic rights, exile outside the country, illegal deportation of the civilian population to mountains and arid areas and confiscation of their property, kidnapping and forced disappearance, detention outside legal frameworks, gathering the civilian population in camps and turning them into human shields, forced conscription to serve in the French armed forces, and the establishment of special courts without guarantees. Judicial, destruction or confiscation of property, deprivation of freedom of opinion and expression.
The phrase “great” was deleted from Article Seven, so that the new wording stipulated that the crime of treason includes all forms of cooperation of the movement and those in their rank with the colonial authorities against various forms of struggle and struggles to restore national sovereignty and independence. In Article Nine, the phrase “and apology” was deleted, so that the new wording stipulated that the Algerian state seeks by all legal and judicial means and mechanisms to ensure official recognition by the State of France of its colonial past.
Article 10 of the draft law was cancelled, while Article 15 was amended by deleting the reference to Article 61 of Law No. 99-07 of April 5, 1999 relating to the mujahid and the martyr, so that the wording stipulates that the state guarantees the dignity of all Algerians who have contributed directly or indirectly to the confrontation. French colonialism During the popular resistance, the national movement, and the liberation revolution.
Punishments for those who glorify colonialism
A set of penal provisions were included in Article 16, which stipulates that anyone who glorifies colonialism through speech, action, writing, or publishing photos, videos, or audio recordings aiming to justify French colonialism or praise it, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of three to five years and a fine ranging between 100,000 and 500,000 dinars, with the penalty doubled in the case of recidivism.
As for Article Seventeen, it stipulates more severe penalties of up to five to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine ranging between 500,000 and one million dinars, in addition to deprivation of the exercise of national, civil, and family rights, for anyone who promotes colonialism through media, academic, cultural, or political activity aimed at reviving or disseminating colonial ideas, praising them, or denying that they are considered a crime.
It was also decided to cancel Articles 20 and 25 of the text, while Article 26 was amended by replacing the phrase “including civil society” with the phrase “with the contribution of civil society organizations,” to stipulate that state institutions work, with the contribution of these organizations, to preserve and enhance the national memory and ensure its transfer to successive generations within the framework of protecting and strengthening the historical, cultural and national identity of the Algerian people. The report indicated that the text’s articles will be rearranged and renumbered after incorporating the amendments approved by the equal-member committee, before presenting it to the National People’s Assembly. To decide on it during the session scheduled for March 9.
Consolidating “the sovereign position of the Algerian state in Memory file
In submitting its report, the committee appreciated the high spirit of responsibility and high moral commitment that characterized its work, and explained that the members conducted an honest and extensive discussion to comprehensively understand the various historical and legal dimensions. In its work mechanism, the Committee was also keen to improve the texts of the law and improve its wording and content, in a way that ensures the consistency of its provisions and the accuracy of its legal construction. These sessions were dominated by an atmosphere of cooperation and interaction in which the supreme interest of the national memory prevailed over any circumstantial or personal considerations.
The report strongly defended the work accomplished in the face of the criticism to which the committee was subjected after reservations about the requests for an apology and compensation, as the committee explained that it paid special attention to the provisions in question in a manner consistent with the effort to consolidate the sovereign position of the Algerian state in the memory file.
The committee stressed that this legislation embodies the transition of the demand for official recognition of colonial crimes from the scope of moral or symbolic obligation to a clear legal and institutional framework, and also aims to establish historical facts and preserve the dignity of martyrs. In doing so, the members relied on the principles of historical right and justice as a stable pillar of national identity and a framing reference for dealing with this issue, while being careful to frame historical and legal responsibilities in a way that reflects the gravity of the violations committed during the colonial era.
Fouad Q
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