MADRID Nov. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has published a statement on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the popular uprising that culminated in the independence of Algeria in which he recognizes that the independence leader Larbi Ben M’hidi was executed by the French military and did not commit suicide, as until now it maintained the official French version.
“The President of the Republic considers that the work of truth and recognition must continue. He recognized today that Larbi Ben M’hidi, a national hero of Algeria and one of the six leaders of the FLN (National Liberation Front) who gave beginning of the insurrection of November 1, 1954, he was murdered by French soldiers under the command of General Paul Aussaresses,” the Elysee Palace published in a statement.
In a long statement from the French Presidency it is thus recognized that Ben M’hidi was executed on the night of March 3 to 4 by hanging, as Aussaresses himself did in 2001, when he reported that it was he who ordered his death and which was later disguised as suicide. Aussaresses was the head of French military intelligence in Algeria.
Macron’s stated objective with this measure is to “achieve the formation of a calm and common memory” between the two countries. “He considers that his duty is to always look for a way to reconcile the memory between the two countries,” he added.
The gesture has been interpreted from Algeria as an attempt to improve bilateral relations, affected by the recent change of position of Paris, which now supports the Moroccan autonomy plan as a solution to the Western Sahara dispute, which implies antagonizing Algiers. However, experts cited by the Algerian portal Echoruk emphasize that the initiative has no historical or political value because it does not provide anything new.
“The announcement by the French Presidency of its responsibility in the murder of Ben M’hidi has no political or material repercussions and is therefore insignificant,” said a professor of History at the Jemis Miliana University quoted by the portal.
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