In today’s debate, Anwar Malik,a French-Algerian journalist, debated ”Jahid Younisi” a leader of the Algerian Reform movement, who wants the Algerian government to pass a formal law condemning French imperialism. General debate question: Is there anything to be gained by passing symbolic laws ”criminalizing” the conduct of their former colonial overlords?
Younisi- arguing in favor (paraphrased)
-Responding to an accusation that his movement is the only Arab movement trying to pass such a measure, he said “We are not just defending Algeria-rather we are defending the honor of the whole Muslim and Arab umma which suffered and as France was the “father of Imperialism” it is only appropriate to hold it to account”… and since the French Parliament passed a law stressing the ”positive aspects” of colonialism its fair to answer with a law of our own.
-disputed a claim that French imperialism ended in 1962, saying it that it continues today lingusitically through emphasis on the French language at the expense of Arabic.
Malik- Arguing Against
-Responding to his opponents claim that France desecrated Algeria, he said look- Imperialism was a crime. But France left a system of government and economy and without this aid Algeria would not have been able to govern itslef. By contrast, look at Iraq which would fall apart if the US left.
-criticizes the focus on “external imperialism” saying we have to focus on taking care of our own affairs first. And if Younisi is so interested in holding the French to account for massacres they commited in the 1950s and 1960s, what about the Algerian generals who were implicated in similar violence during the 1990s? Will they be held to account by Younisi’s group?
-Q: Ok but Isn’t it inconsistent that France has a law against questioning the Holcaust and the French government has been active in forcing Turkey to recognize Armenian Genocide, so why can’t Algeria pass a similar law against the French? “Man, we’ve got to move on. This stuff happened 40-50 years ago. We need to fix our more pressing problems. The Algerian youth don’t care about big-pictures issues like US imperialism in Iraq. They simply want to eat and live and if given the chance, 99% would leave for France.
-The French government can morally pass formal laws condemning Turkish genocide because the West cares about humanity, whereas Arab governments don’t care about their individual citizens
On an unrelated note, both Algerians, but especially Younisi spoke excellent Classical Arabic.
Filed under: Al-Itijah al-Mu'akis Weekly Report | Tagged: Algeria, French in Algeria
[...] the topic of the most recent episode of the Al-Jazeera Talk Show Al-Itijah Al-Muakis. Mohamed Jahid Younasi, head of the Algerian Reform Movement and former Vice-President of the Algerian [...]