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After 60 Years of Sovereignty, Is Algeria Truly Independent?

© AP Photo / Toufik DoudouA man waves an Algerian flag as war planes fly during a military parade to mark the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Algiers.
A man waves an Algerian flag as war planes fly during a military parade to mark the 60th anniversary of Algeria's independence, Tuesday, July 5, 2022 in Algiers.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 02.11.2022
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Having been independent for decades, how do Algerians experience this separation from France today? Speaking to Sputnik, an Algerian historian explains that Africans' frustration with the French presence can be explained by "contempt" and the "mentality of superiority" emanating from France.
The Algerian Revolution is celebrated on November 1. What are the memories and the aftertaste that the country retains 60 years after choosing independence?
Speaking to Sputnik, former Minister of Industry and Mines Ferhat Ait Ali explained that some people "experience the end of colonialism as a kind of divorce, not as liberation from an intruder."
At the same time, for Ahmed Rouadjia, an Algerian historian and sociologist, "this independence is not obtained overnight.”
He noted a certain discrepancy in this regard: on the one hand, Algerian leaders resist "obtaining more autonomy from foreign powers," and on the other, there is "a constant and renewed desire to be politically and economically independent.”

Technology Transfer

In addition, Ferhat Ait Ali highlighted the possible problems of "technology transfer."

"The colonial, exploitative vision of the world is displayed in the acts, in the aggressive diplomacy of these countries (ex-colonizers – ed. note Sputnik). I don't think there is even a single country that could try to transform its ex-victims and auxiliaries into future allies and economic and commercial rivals," he told Sputnik.

To give an example, he said that "if Western car manufacturers ever relocate, you will be left with a wasteland," since "there is no African car industry."

‘Africans Are Fed Up with France’

60 years after their independence, some African countries, such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger, are opposed to the French presence. According to sociologist Ahmed Rouadjia, "Africans are fed up, their disaffection with France is essentially linked to the exploitative and domineering presence" of France in Africa.
Pointing out the "mentality of superiority" and the "contempt displayed on the surface of political and social life," two traits supposedly always specific to France, the historian indicated:
"[The French] still consider themselves in Africa [...] as if these countries were French colonies and that Africans must obey every command of the French."

Sympathy for Russia

After having discovered, over the years, that their independence "was only formal," "the military and political elites are beginning to wake up, to become aware of this French domination that is now visible everywhere in Africa," the historian continued.
This is where the revolt took root, both among the Malian elite and among Africans in general, "hence the sympathy they felt for Russia," according to Ahmed Rouadjia.
"Russia says: Stop, we are fed up with having the same world power since [19]45, which imposes its laws and gives orders to all other nations. There is a clear political change at the global level, there is an upheaval, a refusal of the order led by the Americans," he concluded.
In this photo distributed by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, and Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum shake hands as they leave a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. - Sputnik International, 1920, 10.10.2022
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Historical Issue with France

As for the famous “reconciliation of memories,” the French line of conduct, after successive governments, leaves a "half-hearted impression," the historian believes, and further explained:

"Sometimes they recognize that there were crimes, sometimes they deny what they have declared," Ahmed Rouadjia noted.

He also pointed to "an incurable paradox" of France, for whom "the victims are 'bilateral'" and the Stora Report commissioned by Emmanuel Macron turned out to be "one-sided," everything tarred with "the same brush":
"It is as if Algeria were equal to France, as if Algeria was not dominated, colonized, tortured, massacred. That's the problem with the reconciliation that has been proposed by Macron and his experts."
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