| Submit your comments on this article |
| North Africa |
| Chirac Algeria trip ends triumphant, but... |
| 2003-03-04 |
| ORAN, Algeria, March 4 (AFP) - Thousands of Algerians packed the streets of the city of Oran Tuesday to welcome French President Jacques Chirac on the last day of a historic visit marked by the signing of a pact that signalled the start of "an exceptional partnership." Chirac had been greeted by huge crowds in the capital Algiers on Sunday, the first day of his three-day visit during which he signed a friendship pact with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, paving the way for what the French leader called "an exceptional partnership" between the two countries. On Tuesday, the Algerian press toned down the unstinting praise for Chirac that had characterised its pages Monday, saying that his visit - the first official one by a French president since the north African country gained independence in 1962 - had not completely broken down the wall of mistrust between the two countries. "The trust spoken of in eloquent speeches is a good thing but it would be better if it were felt at all levels of relations between the French and Algerians," La Nouvelle Republique said in an editorial. Full trust will only be restored once Air France resumes flights to Algeria - suspended in 1994 after an Airbus belonging to the French carrier was hijacked by Islamists at Algiers airport on Christmas Eve - and requests for military equipment are met, the paper said. Just off the top of my head, I'd guess that hijacking airplanes generally is a fairly bad means of inspiring lasting trust. "Mistrust persists and we don't yet know at what price our country can hope for a true return of trust with its former guardian. This is, indeed, the mystery surrounding the grandiose return of France to Algeria this week," it wrote. L'Authentique newspaper said Chirac had failed to meet Algerians' expectations. "Unless there is a miracle by tomorrow, Mr Chirac's visit will be over before it began. It was just an exercise in hospitality," it said. Le Matin noted that, in his speech to Algeria's parliamentarians, Chirac had not "broached the contentious history of the war, replete with torture, missing persons, massacres of which he did not utter one word..." Arabic language newspaper Sawt El-Ahrar urged France to ask forgiveness of Algerians, to show that it truly wants reconciliation with its former colony. "If the French state truly wants to purge its past, it should officially recognise that Algeria existed as a country before it was attacked militarily by France and transformed into a French province," wrote the newspaper, close to the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party. But France's Algerian-born secretary of state for war veterans Hamlaoui Mekachera, who was part of the entourage of political figures, business leaders and artists who accompanied Chirac to Algeria, said in the Al-Fadjr newspaper that the time was now to "build the future rather than cry about the past." |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #3 I'm sure that there a lot of Algerians that want to move over to France (remember the cries of "Visa, Visa" yesterday). The bigger the enclave, the more pressure for Sharia Law in their area. Froggie Boy (TM) better watch what he is doing. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-04 17:58:43 |
| #2 That works for them in the short term... Problem is, they're already on a collision course with Islam over the 'cites'. I'd give even odds for something really nasty happening as soon as we hit Iraq. |
| Posted by: Dishman 2003-03-04 16:01:03 |
| #1 This is a good example of how France's policy isn't really as nuts as it may appear from this side of the pond. Remember, France fought an incredibly brutal colonial war in Algeria way back when. And now the Algerians seem to love them. The French are earning big points from the Islamic world for standing up to the "big, bad US" in the UN. Combine that with a general willingness to see Israel die, and you're now very popular with 1/6th of the worlds population. And what did it cost them? Next to nothing -- for now. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-03-04 15:25:08 |