From the start, the diaspora – whose most numerous representatives are in France – has been evolving according to the Algerian Hirak. The movement, which erupted in February 2019, has aroused unprecedented enthusiasm, mobilizing on Sundays in Paris up to 30,000 Algerians from France, unheard of on French soil since the 1960s and pro-independence protests.
The diaspora has taken over, it “keeps the flame alive” and gives “continuity to Algerian demands”, because “the authorities take advantage of this period to put pressure, repress people who come out to claim, they make arbitrary arrests”, denounces Faïza Menaï, co-founder of the collective “Debout l’Algérie”.
According to the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD), nearly 90 people are currently detained for crimes of opinion in Algeria.
For Meziane Abane, of the “Double Rupture ni Islamiste nor Militaire” collective, with the resumption of its demonstrations in September, the diaspora “gave hope to the people in Algeria who are suffering from power, the corona, the economic crisis and the confinement that has lasted too long ”.
The diaspora is not only mobilizing in Paris, where around thirty collectives are represented, but also in the provinces and abroad.
“Wanted” posters
Place de la République, everyone knows it. Nasser Yanat, a caped Kabyle giant, who arrived in France in 1992, is the Hirak poster propagandist in France. This anarchist became famous for his “Wanted” posters bearing the effigy of Algerian generals and caciques.
The “Wanted” support, according to him, the current “revolution” “because people identify with each other, because I denounce injustice, when people dare not,” he explains.
For Didier Le Saout, teacher specializing in social movements in the Maghreb at the University of Paris-Saint-Denis, the participation of the diaspora in Hirak has passed “to a phase of professionalization” with the multiplication of collectives and the appearance of ‘”Agoras” on the Place de la République.
And it seeks “to diversify its modes of action” with occasional demonstrations in front of the Algerian consulates, the Quai d’Orsay, or by mobilizing for the release of journalist Khaled Drareni, sentenced to two years in prison.
“Pressure on decision-makers”
For the diaspora, the Hirak must enter a new phase and acquire, according to Omar Bouraba, an activist of Acda (Agir pour le change et la democratie en Algeria), “a political instrument, either a meeting or a congress. , to bring down the regime ”.
“Demonstrating is not enough”, adds Meziane Abane: “We have to impose a debate; we could take the example of the insurrection in Algeria which, in two years with the Soummam congress (1956-1958), had acquired a tool “laying down” the principles of a democratic and republican Algeria ” .
Other activists would like a charter around a few pillars (freedom of expression, equality between citizens, democracy) and a transitional government.
Another vector of action involves more in-depth mobilization, in particular millions of binationals. Because “the support movement from France is also a movement to affirm its Algerianness on French soil”, notes Mr. Le Saout.
“It includes all categories of people who have a relationship with Algeria”, through their career or that of their family, observes the professor, stressing that the Hirak mobilizes even “those who had put aside the idea of issuing an opinion on what is happening in Algeria ”.
According to Faïza Menaï, the diaspora must “put pressure on decision-makers here in France and on foreign states so that they stop supporting a mafia and illegitimate power”.
It is in this context that Algerian emigrants and their descendants, who are believed to be at least 2.5 million in France, can play a role, she believes.
“We have Franco-Algerians in town halls where there are a lot of citizens,” for example Aubervilliers or Bonneuil-sur-Marne, who have supported “the Algerian cause”, rejoices Faïza Menaï. The fact that “French elected officials challenge their president is beneficial for us”.
The cause is also crucial for the “hirakists” in Algeria.
“Even if the comparison is not correct, our diaspora today plays the same role as during the war of liberation [against the French colonial power]. It gives a strategic depth to the struggle of the Hirak in Algeria “, welcomes the university professor Kaddour Chouicha, activist of human rights.
