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Fathi, Laila (2018) Forgetting the unforgivable: amnesties following the Algerian war of independence (1962-

2012). PhD thesis. SOAS University of London

. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26174 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s.

The content must not

be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium wi thout the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Forgetting the unforgivable: Amnesties following the Algerian war of independence (1962-2012) LAILA FATHI

Thesis

submitted for the degree of PhD

2016 School

of Law SOAS,

University of London

1

2 Acknowledgements The writing of this thesis h

as been a fascinating journey that was only possible with support, p atience and guidance. It is I believe, pressing to explore unheard narrative and continually challenge dominant discourses. My deepest therefore thanks go to every single person who graciously shared parts of their story with me. I am eternally grateful to each person that have made this research. Thank you. I h ave been incredibly lucky to be surrounded by people so generous and kind that supported me along this process. I am greatly indebted to the wonderful p eople who made the do ctoral journey possible. First and foremost, I sincerely thank my parents

Saadia Fathi and Mustapha Fathi,

my brothers Fahd and Karim, whose unconditional love and support has enabled me to embark upon this insightful path. My PhD superviso rs, Professor Chandra Sriram and Matthew Craven, who have been extremely generous with their time, advices and support.

They have not only been

great mentors, they were also very understanding and supportive. I owe a great deal of gratitude to Sylvie Thenault and Raphaelle Branche for their invaluable insights and kindness and belief in my project enabled much of this reflection. Field research for this p roject was possible because of the generosity of remarkable individuals whose accounts was the most inspiring. Their guidance d uring fieldwork has immensely facilitated the research journey and enabled me to ov ercome numerous obstacles. din, Sanaa Alimia, Shazia Ahmed and Virginie Rouas who have believed in my project and encouraged me during the difficulties of the PhD journey; I direct this work to my great grandmother whose passing will always leave a gap in my life and in my heart; I hope that the quality and impact of my work can reflect the amount of support that I have received in the last four year. 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... 6

Glossary ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 8

I. Why the Amnesty Laws? ..........................................................................................................................................10

II. Amnesty and the Discourses of transitional justice ...................................................................................11

A. Re-conceptualizing the Paradigm of Transitional justice ............................................... 13

B. Amnesty and Collective Memory of Past Events ..................................................................... 16

C. Domestic Approach Towards Amnesty ...................................................................................... 18

III. Transitional Justice and the Decolonization of Algeria ...........................................................................19

IV. Objectives of Research ...........................................................................................................................................20

V. Research Questions and Summary of the Argument .................................................................................24

VI. Preliminary Considerations ................................................................................................................................25

VII. Structure of the Thesis .........................................................................................................................................27

VIII. Note on Methodology ............................................................................................................................................30

IX. Ethical review: Doing Research on a Sensitive Issue ...............................................................................32

Chapter 2 Amnesty Legislations ............................................................................................. 35

I. The Promises of Amnesty ........................................................................................................................................36

A. The Meaning of Amnesty .................................................................................................................. 36

B. The Amnesty Debate in Transitional Justice Scholarship .................................................. 40

C. Amnesty and the Politics of Memory ........................................................................................... 51

II. Analytical Framework ............................................................................................................................................54

III. Judicial Capacity of Domestic Legal Proceedings to Produce a Narrative ......................................55

A. Law as a Narrative ............................................................................................................................... 56

B. Rules of Proceeding on the Admission of Evidence .......................................................... 58

IV. Amnesty and the Contentious Politics Model ..............................................................................................60

A. Social Movements of Change ...................................................................................................... 60

B. Political Participation of Individual in the Reconciliation Process ............................. 61

C. Memory as a Strategy for Contentious Politics .................................................................... 62

Šƒ"-‡" ͵ǣ Dzƒ 3ƒŽ‡

1962) ................................................................................................................................................. 68

I. The end of French colonial rule (1945-1954) ................................................................................................69

A. The Colonial Administration of Algeria ...................................................................................... 69

B. The Outbreak of the War .................................................................................................................. 73

C. French Counterinsurgency Warfare: La Guerre Révolutionnaire ..................................... 76

4

II. The Thorny Issue of Torture ................................................................................................................................79

A. An Organized Practice........................................................................................................................ 79

B. The Status of the Conflict .................................................................................................................. 82

C. The controversy Over the Use of Torture .................................................................................. 87

III. Polarisation of the French people.....................................................................................................................91

A. Crisis of May 1958 ............................................................................................................................... 92

B. The OAS .................................................................................................................................................... 95

Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 96

Chapter 4: The amnesty process: transition and the rehabilitation of ex-

combatants (1962-1982) ........................................................................................................... 98

I. Amnesty in ihe Aftermath of the Algerian War: Genesis and Initial Scope .......................................99

A. Negotiating Peace: The Evian Agreements 19 March 1962 ............................................... 99

B. Restoration of Order: The Tribunal of Public Order and the Military Court of Justice:

........................................................................................................................................................................ 105

C. The Amnesty Clause(S) in the Evian Agreements ................................................................ 107

II. Implementation of the Amnesty and Extension to the OAS (1962-1968) .................................... 108

A. Decrees Implementing the Amnesty Clause in the Evian Accords ................................ 109

B. 1964-1966: Amnesty Legislation and Presidential Pardons ........................................... 111

C. The 1968 Amnesty Law ................................................................................................................... 115

A. The Repatriation of The Pieds Noirs ........................................................................................... 118

B. Compensation of the Pieds Noirs ................................................................................................. 118

C. The Courrière Law: Grant of Pensions to the Veterans ...................................................... 128

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................129

Chapter 5 : Judicial Capacity of the French Courts to Prosecute War Crimes

and the amnesty following the Algerian war ....................................................................131

I. The Aussaresses Affair: Torture and the French Army ........................................................................... 132

II. Influence of the Amnesty on the Interpretation of the French Provisions on Crimes Against

Humanity .............................................................................................................................................................................. 140

A. Non Prosecution on the Basis of French Provision on Crimes Against Humanity .. 141

B. Application of the Amnesty Laws ................................................................................................ 147

III. Contemporary Challenges of Investigating and Prosecuting Historical Crimes ....................... 151

A. Attempt to Prosecute Acts of Torture after 1994 ................................................................. 151

B. The Risk ‘ˆ Ǯ0‘Ž‹-‹...‹œƒ-‹‘ǯ ‘ˆ -Š‡ 4"‹ƒŽ ...................................................................................... 155

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................161

Chapter 6: Investigating the past: access to information on the Algerian war ............163 5

I. The Einaudi Affaire .................................................................................................................................................. 164

A. Prologue: The Battle of Paris, 17 October 1961 .................................................................... 164

II. Hearing the Evidences: the Good Faith of the Historian ....................................................................... 170

A. Epilogue to the Einaudi Affair: The Responsibility of the Archivists ........................... 174

B. Reactivating Silenced Memories .................................................................................................. 180

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................189

Chapter 7: Dealing with the legacy of past conflict and amnesty ..............................190

I. Official History, Collective Memory and Sites of Memory ...................................................................... 191

A. Mapping The Political Discourse on the Legacy of Past Conflict (1970-1990) ........ 194

B. The Official Recognition of the War: the 1999 Law ............................................................. 204

II. Attempt to Reunify Fragmented Memories: 2005 Law on the Positive Aspects of Colonialism 207
A. 2005 Law On The Recognition of the Positive Aspect of Colonialism ......................... 208

B. The Potential of Sites Of Memory ................................................................................................ 213

III. The Role of Social Movements ........................................................................................................................ 215

A. Contestation of Meaning ................................................................................................................. 216

B. The Raspouteam Project ................................................................................................................. 219

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................221

Chapter 8 : Conclusion ................................................................................................................223

I. Value of research ...................................................................................................................................................... 223

II. Main findings ............................................................................................................................................................ 224

A. Transition and Continuities of past injustices ....................................................................... 224

C. Judicial capacity in the post-transitional phase .................................................................... 226

III. The Construction of a Collective Narrative on Past Events ................................................................ 229

IV. Evaluating Continuities of Colonial Settlers Harm ................................................................................. 230

A. Measuring the Impact of Colonial Settlers Injustices.......................................................... 230

—•-‹...‡ ............................................................ 231

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................232

Annexe 1 : List of Participants ................................................................................................236

Annexe 2 : interviews ................................................................................................................237

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................240

6

Abstract

This thesis investigates the amnesty process in France between 1962 and 2012, following the Algerian War of Independence. The research focuses on two questions. First, what was the role of the amnesties in the context of the Algerian war? Second how do amnesties affect the prospect of post-transitional justice? This thesis contends that the impact of amnesty legislations is both integral and reactive to political dynamics of post-conflict transformation. Through the use of historical archives as well as semi-structured interviews, this thesis reaches the following conclusions. Firstly it suggests that understanding the role of amnesty laws during political transformations requires looking beyond traditional approaches of accountability in post-conflict settings. Second, the symbolical dimensions of the French amnesty and their evolution over time emphasises the interactive dynamics between transitional justice mechanisms and aspirations of political transformation. In the case of France, these interactions are enters in competition with ideas and representations of the past held by social and political actors. The amnesty process has been an important feature of the political reconstruction of France and notably of restoration of national cohesion. It is also a nexus for contentious politics. Since the

1990s the emergence of a social movement rallying victims, human rights activists

and researchers challenge the official narrative on the conflict endorsed by the amnesty. It focuses on two major actions: disclosing the past of those responsible for the crimes, but who were never prosecuted nor disqualified from playing a role in the colonial repression, and the official recognition of forgotten episodes of the conflict through the creation of alternative initiatives of commemoration. Beyond the French case, this thesis addresses issue of contemporary demands for accountability and the role of legal institutions in managing conflicting interpretations of the past. Examining this role helps reach a better understanding of how amnesty legislation evolves overtime and how they affect the outcomes of post-transitional justice. 7

Glossary

C.A Cour dµAppel C.A.C Centre des Archives Contemporaines Cass.Crim Chambre Criminelle Court de Cassation Cons. Const Conseil Constitutionel E.C.H.R European Convention of Human Rights E.Ct.H.R European Court of Human Rights

F.I.D.H Fédération Internationale des droits de Oµ+RPPH

F.L.N Front de Libération Nationale

G.A.P.R Governement Algerien Provisoire

J.O.F.R Journal Officiel de la République Française

L.D.H Ligue des Droits de lµHomme N.C. Pen. Nouveau Code Pénal O.A.S Organisation Armée Secrete T.G.I Tribunal de Grande Instance 8

Chapter 1

Introduction

contemporary case study, this thesis examines the impact of amnesty laws on the politics of memory of conflict. President François Hollande in his presidential address to the Algerian Parliament on 20 December 2012.1 With these words, President Hollande inaugurated the commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the end of the war on the independence of Algeria (1954-

1962) under the sign of appeasement. For decades France and Algeria had disputed the

legacy of the conflict; social and political tensions exacerbated a sentiment of unfinished business. The significance of this political address is that it marks a distinct break from Algerian War, as it is commonly called, was the theatre of a brutal confrontation between the French army and a nationalist Algerian movement over the independence of opposed the French army against a people fighting for the recognition of their right of self-determination and the end of the colonial rule. The means used by France to qualm the Algerian insurrection extended beyond the traditional borders of legality. However, reinforce police operations to restore order and qualm an insurrectional terrorist movement. The French army, granted police powers, developed a counterinsurgency strategy based on torture, rape and assassination of opponents. After the war, the grant of amnesties sought to close the Algerian chapter. Indeed, the grant of amnesties, both to the Algerian fighters and the French who fought to maintain Algeria as French, facilitated the peace negotiations and helped French society to move on from the trauma of the war. Decades later, the absence of legal proceedings and the political silence 1 algerien/ [last accessed 13 December 2013] connaissance 9 around the use of torture by the French army gave the impression that the war was to remain a denied event, and its darkest episodes better-off forgotten. For decades the acts perpetrated by the French army and the French colons during the War on the Independence of Algeria were not discussed publicly. It took the interest of historians and journalist to open this dark period of French history. The silence was often attributed to a political willingness to turn the page. Yet the Algerian War has had an important impact on the political transformation of France and came to affect the sacrosanct republican ideal of the unity of the French Nation. It split French opinion over the question of the legitimacy of the French operations and led to the termination of the Fourth Republic in 1958. The issue of torture itself has deeply divided French society. Since the 1990s, dealing with the Algerian past has undergone a quiet but significant transformation. This has been the outcome of a combination of two important factors. First, the official recognition of the Algerian war on October 18, 1999, by the National Assembly2 and the liberalisation of the archives Consequently, the wider public and historian were getting more interested in this period of French history that was until then inaccessible. The production of works of investigative history notably triggered an intense debate about the methods used by the French army and the degree of the violence unleashed against Algerian nationalists. While some of these debates catalysed official gestures of recognition, the persistence of the amnesties still prevented the approach towards the Algerian past is characterised by a range of distinct and unstructured processes. Journalists and historians attempted to further the recognition process by publicly disclosing information that was until then inaccessible to the public. The courts did not sanction these efforts and despite signs showing the readiness of French society to revise its history, France has yet to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the issue of past violence. My interest in conducting research on the Algerian War as a case study to understand the impact of amnesty laws was initially aroused by the contradictory impression of, on other hand, the absence of formal process of revision of the French colonial past. I was struck by the persistence of use of amnesty laws enacted during the colonial period as a

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