Emmanuel Macron will be on an official visit to Algeria from August 25 to 27. Following this announcement, a dozen organizations of the Algerian diaspora urged the French president not to “hide” during his trip the question of the “degradation” of human rights in this country.
The French president will make an official visit to Algeria from August 25 to 27. This announcement caused the country’s representatives living in France to react.
Thirteen organizations – including Debout l’Algérie, Citizen Action for Algeria, Groupe Algérie Droit Devant, the Collective of Families of Disappeared in Algeria, or the Coordination of Algerians of the World – sent Mr. Macron this open letter, including AFP became aware on Sunday.
A visit in the wake of the Hirak
These organizations say they “hope” that this visit “will be fruitful for the two countries, strongly linked by history, geography, culture, language and all the exchanges and partnerships woven since independence”, they declare in the open letter.
“Mr. President, there is nevertheless a serious subject which should not be overlooked during this visit: that of the current state of human rights in Algeria”, they call out.
“Nearly ten thousand arrests followed by at least a thousand abusive pre-trial detentions in violation of the criminal code have been to the credit of this regime since the beginning ” of the pro-democracy demonstrations of Hirak (launched in February 2019) which shook power, denounce these organizations.
Algerians in France but also Franco-Algerians fear retaliatory measures in their movements in Algeria and are thus limited in their freedom of movement
Open letter from 13 organizations of the Algerian diaspora in France
“The response of the Algerian authorities to popular aspirations has been an unprecedented repressive policy through its strategy of terror to silence the populations in a situation of rupture with the supporters of the political system in place “, according to the letter.
Today, “the few achievements obtained at the cost of decades of struggle and civic engagement (…) on freedom of expression, organization, demonstration, press, and political activity clearly decline, even in the process of disappearance ” and ” all forms of expression outside the line of power are systematically repressed”, castigate the signatory organizations.
On April 2, 2021, thousands of Algiers are demonstrating not far from the Grande Poste to demand more democratic freedoms.
A repression that also concerns Algerians living abroad
They note that the “Algerian diaspora is not spared because of its involvement and its massive and continuous support for the popular movement”, stressing that ” Algerians in France but also Franco-Algerians fear retaliatory measures in their movements in Algeria and are thus limited in their freedom of movement “.
We, organizations of the diaspora, deeply concerned about this very authoritarian evolution of the Algerian political system, have the duty to express to you our deep concern about this dangerous situation of fundamental freedoms in Algeria under the current regime.
Open letter from 13 organizations of the Algerian diaspora in France
“Travellers whose only fault was to have expressed an opinion, have been victims of arrests and decisions banning them from leaving Algerian territory. Activists, political activists, and journalists residing on French territory are being prosecuted by the Algerian justice and their families residing in Algeria are sometimes worried”, criticize these signatory organizations.
“Mr. President, you cannot support this despotic drift of the Algerian regime “, they call out. “We, diaspora organizations, deeply concerned about this very authoritarian evolution of the Algerian political system, have the duty to express to you our deep concern about this dangerous situation of fundamental freedoms in Algeria under the current regime,” they add.
The memory burden still at the heart of relations between Paris and Algiers
Emmanuel Macron’s visit comes at the end of a symbolic sequence with the 60th anniversary of the Evian Accords (March 18, 1962), which ended more than seven years of war between Algerian insurgents and the French army, and the independence of Algeria (July 5, 1962) after 132 years of French colonization.
Algiers, July 5, 2022. Children take part in celebrations to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Algeria’s independence.
Paris and Algiers hope to turn the page on a series of misunderstandings and tensions that culminated in the recall of the Algerian ambassador in October 2021 after remarks by the French president on the Algerian “politico-military” system and the Algerian nation.
