Overview The war involved a large number of rival movements which fought against each other at different moments, such as on the independence side, when the National Liberation Front (FLN) fought viciously against the Algerian National Movement (MNA) in Algeria and in the Café Wars on the French mainland; on the pro- French side, during its final months, when the conflict evolved into a civil war between pro-French hardliners in Algeria and supporters of PresidentCharles de Gaulle. The French Army split during two attempted coups, while the right- wingOrganisation de larmée secrète (OAS) fought against both the FLN and the French governments forces. Under directives from Guy Mollets French Section of the Workers International(SFIO) government and from François Mitterrand, who was minister of the interior, the French Army initiated a campaign of pacification of what was considered at the time to be a full part of France. This public-order operation quickly grew to a full- scale war. Algerians, who had at first largely favored a peaceful resolution, turned increasingly toward the goal of independence, supported by Arab countries and, more generally, by worldwide opinion fueled by anti-colonialist ideas. Meanwhile, the French were divided on the issues of French Algeria (lAlgérie Française), specifically, concerning whether to keep the status-quo, negotiate a status intermediate between independence and complete integration in the French Republic, or allow complete independence. The French army finally obtained a military victory in the war, but the situation had changed, and Algerian independence could no longer be forestalled. Because of the instability in France, the French Fourth Republic was dissolved.Charles de Gaulle returned to power during the May 1958 crisis and subsequently founded the Fifth Republic with his Gaullist followers. De Gaulles return to power was supposed to ensure Algerias continued occupation and integration with the French Community, which had replaced the French Union and brought together Frances colonies. However, de Gaulle progressively shifted in favor of Algerian independence, purportedly seeing it as inevitable. De Gaulle organized a vote for the Algerian people. The Algerians chose independence, and France engaged in negotiations with the FLN, leading to the March 1962 Evian Accords, which resulted in the independence of Algeria. After the failed April 1961 Algiers putsch, organized by generals hostile to the negotiations headed byMichel Debrés Gaullist government, the OAS (Organisation de larmée secrète), which grouped various opponents of Algerian independence, initiated a campaign of bombings. It also initiated peaceful strikes and demonstrations in Algeria in order to block the implementation of the Evian Accords and the exile of thepieds- noirs (Algerians of European origin). Ahmed Ben Bella, who had been arrested in 1956 along with other FLN leaders, became the first President of Algeria. To this day, the war has provided an important strategy frame for counter-insurgency thinkers, while the use of torture by the French Army has provoked a moral and political debate on the legitimacy and effectiveness of such methods. This debate is far from being settled because torture was used by both sides. The Algerian war was a founding event in modern Algerian history. It was not until June 1999, 37 years after the conclusion of the conflict, that theFrench National Assembly officially acknowledged that a war had taken place,[9] while the Paris massacre of 1961 was recognized by the French state only in October 2001. On the other hand, theOran massacre of 1962 by the FLN has also not yet been recognized by the Algerian state. Background: French Algeria Main articles: French rule in Algeria and Nationalism and resistance in Algeria Conquest of Algeria On the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded Algiers in 1830.[10] Directed by Marshall Bugeaud, who became the first Governor-General of Algeria, the conquest was violent, marked by a scorched earth policy designed to reduce the power of the Dey; this included massacres, mass rapes, and other atrocities.[11] Applauding Bugeauds method, liberal thinker Alexis de Tocqueville declared, War in Africa is a science. Everyone is familiar with its rules and everyone can apply those rules with almost complete certainty of success. One of the greatest services that Field Marshal Bugeaud has rendered his country is to have spread, perfected and made everyone aware of this new science.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 06:24:58 +0000