A few months ago, the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, had announced the creation of a commission to explore and update the colonial archives. Both countries contributed equally by providing a team of experts from each side. After the announcement of the names of the chosen historians, now the committee begins its work by a first official meeting.
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Algeria’s colonial history: the joint committee meets for the first time
This Thursday, April 20, the very first meeting by videoconference of the joint committee Algeria-France for colonial memory took place. The opportunity for members of both parties to discuss the outline of the project to begin. The Algerian team presented a first worksheetdrafted in accordance with the declaration signed by the President Tebboune in august 2022.
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According to official sources, the first axes approached by the joint team will relate to the period between 1830 and 1850, that is to say the first years of colonization in Algeria. The colonial period, the revolution and the war of independence will thus be dissected by experts on both sides. The commission hopes to put official archives relating the colonial history available to the public after the operation.
The first meeting resulted in the programming of other meetings, in visio and in person, in Algiers and Paris and the establishment of a first work plan.
Mixed Commission Algeria-France : experts selected from both sides
If France did not reveal the names of its historians only recently, Algeria published the list in November 2022. The Algerian group is thus composed of:
- Mohamed El Corso ;
- Between Hachi ;
- Abdelaziz Fillali ;
- Djamel Yahiaoui ;
- Mohamed Lahcen Zighidi.
The latter presides over this team of seasoned historians. On the French side, the historian and writer Benjamin Big ones takes the reins of the group. It is accompanied by Foreign quemeneurJacques FremeauxJean-Jacques Jordi and Florence Hudowicz.
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