This November 1 marks the 70th anniversary of the insurrection of November 1, 1954 which opened the Algerian War and ended with the independence of Algeria.
Since 2017, the President of the Republic has sought to look at the history of colonization and the Algerian War in its truth, with the aim of achieving the creation of a peaceful and shared memory. This ambition, whose founding act is the Joint Declaration of Algiers, is also that of President TEBBOUNE.
The President of the Republic considers that the work of truth and recognition must continue.
He recognizes today that Larbi BEN M'HIDI, national hero for Algeria and one of the six leaders of the FLN who launched the insurrection of November 1, 1954, was assassinated by French soldiers placed under the command of General AUSSARESSES .
Larbi BEN M'HIDI, was born in 1923 in Constantinois, had obtained a school certificate there and continued his studies in secondary school. He joined the Muslim scouts and then became a nationalist activist. The massacres in Constantine in May-June 1945 strengthened his convictions in favor of the independence of Algeria. After the launch of the insurrection, he was put in charge of Oranie before becoming the architect of the first congress of the FLN, held in the Soummam valley on August 20, 1956. This congress founded the program of this new party, giving priority to political action and the strengthening of the resistance from within.
Appointed responsible for the Autonomous Zone of Algiers in 1956, he was thus one of the main actors in “the battle of Algiers” launched in January 1957, where, in the words of Albert CAMUS, “the bloody weddings” took place. urban terrorism against civilians and army repression.
As the President of the Republic has already recognized for Maurice AUDIN and Ali BOUMENDJEL, this repression was accompanied by the establishment of a system outside the society of Human and Citizen's Rights, made possible by the vote “special powers” to Parliament, giving carte blanche to the Government to restore order in Algeria and allowing the adoption of a decree authorizing the delegation of police powers to the army, declined by prefectural decree, first to Algiers, then throughout Algeria, in 1957.
In this context, among the many people, innocent or guilty, who were arrested was Larbi BEN M'HIDI.
Images taken of him during his arrest in February 1957 show him handcuffed but smiling, with a proud look on his face. The French soldiers who knew him by reputation were impressed by his charisma and courage. Thus, the men of Colonel BIGEARD's 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment stood at attention and presented their arms to him.
This is officially handed over to Commander AUSSARESSES who is responsible for finding a safe place to keep it. Officially, Larbi BEN M'HIDI attempted suicide in secret from his guards. Officially, he died during his transfer to the hospital. But this version was immediately contested, as it was for Ali BOUMENDJEL and Maurice AUDIN, both in Algeria and in France. At the beginning of the 2000s, General AUSSARESSES finally admitted that he had assassinated him.
In 2002, General BIGEARD even planned to go to Algiers to lay a wreath in tribute to Larbi BEN M'HIDI, declaring: “When we fight against a worthy enemy, camaraderie is often born.”
The recognition of this assassination attests that the work of historical truth, which the President of the Republic initiated with President Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE, will continue. This is the role assigned to the joint commission of historians, set up by the two heads of state, and whose conclusions the President of the Republic recently validated.
It is also with future generations in mind that the Head of State makes it his duty, again and again, to seek ways of reconciling memories between the two countries.
