fyeahafrica: Harkis were indigenous Muslim soldiers in Algeria who, organized into units called harkas, served in the French army during the colonial period in Algeria (1830–1962). By extension, all Algerians who favored to some degree the French presence in Algeria—as opposed to the movements for independence whose supporters called for total withdrawal—came to be called harkis. According to a 1962 report presented to the United Nations by Christian de Saint-Salvy, the general controller of the French army, 230,000 indigenous Algerians were engaged on the French side during the Algerian war of independence (1954–1962), including 60,000 active-duty soldiers; 153,000 civilian employees; and 50,000 Francophile public servants. The Algerian National Liberation Front (Front de libe´ration nationale, or FLN) called them all harkis. The word thus became a pejorative term signifying submission to the colonial power and symmetrical betrayal of the aspiration of nationalist Algerians. The harkis and their families added up to about one million indigenous Muslim Algerians (of a total population of eight million) sympathetic to France. From the point of view of the independence movements, all these people were guilty of collaboration with the colonial oppressor, hence of treason to the fatherland. At a deeper, cultural level, they were accused of treason to their Algerian identity as they colluded with a European power to impose a Western model on Algeria. This view was reinforced by the French state’s attempt to count Algeria as a French province (de´partment), rather than a colony. Both of these interpretations made the harkis subject to the scorn of the FLN and other Algerian nationalist forces. In spite of their loyalty to France, the Accords of Evian, signed by French president Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) on March 19, 1962, which put an end to the war and recognized the independence of Algeria, left the harkis and their families at the mercy of the FLN. As French armed forces left Algeria and the pieds noirs (literally, ‘‘black feet,’’ a term used to refer to French citizens who had settled in Algeria) were evacuated, the harkis were disarmed and abandoned. Although the Accords of Evian paid lip service to national reconciliation and amnesty, the retribution was swift and cruel. A low estimate puts the number of harkis massacred in the immediate aftermath of Algerian independence at tens of thousands. Harkis associations cite much higher figures. The charges of treason brought against them often combined with accusations of violence committed on behalf of France against their fellow Algerians. Harkis were therefore despised and executed both as political offenders (i.e., traitors to the country and to Algerian national identity as defined by the FLN) and as bloodthirsty criminals. This massive collective punishment was typically executed without trials and without any right to defense. It is therefore difficult to determine if and to what extent the harkis committed crimes. The widespread view of most survivors is that harkis became the victims of revenge killings and also of political settling of scores. The killings were particularly gruesome. Eyewitnesses and official documents catalog a long list of refined forms of torture. The extreme suffering and humiliations had the pedagogical purpose of convincing the majority of Algerians of the evils of collaboration with the French and of the usefulness of pledging full allegiance to the new authorities. Some harkis managed to escape Algeria and enter France, where they encountered a chilling welcome. More often than not they were arrested and returned to Algeria to face torture, imprisonment, and death. Many individual French officers tried to help their former allies. In doing so, they disobeyed the orders of the high command, which considered such actions as infractions of the military code, carrying various punishments. A note from the minister of the French army, Louis Joxe (1901–1991), dated May 12, 1962, threatened further sanctions against French military personnel engaged in helping the flight of harkis towards France, and decreed that all harkis caught on French territory would be returned to Algeria. (continue reading) View high resolution

fyeahafrica:

Harkis were indigenous Muslim soldiers in Algeria who, organized into units called harkas, served in the French army during the colonial period in Algeria (1830–1962). By extension, all Algerians who favored to some degree the French presence in Algeria—as opposed to the movements for independence whose supporters called for total withdrawal—came to be called harkis.

According to a 1962 report presented to the United Nations by Christian de Saint-Salvy, the general controller of the French army, 230,000 indigenous Algerians were engaged on the French side during the Algerian war of independence (1954–1962), including 60,000 active-duty soldiers; 153,000 civilian employees; and 50,000 Francophile public servants. The Algerian National Liberation Front (Front de libe´ration nationale, or FLN) called them all harkis. The word thus became a pejorative term signifying submission to the colonial power and symmetrical betrayal of the aspiration of nationalist Algerians.

The harkis and their families added up to about one million indigenous Muslim Algerians (of a total population of eight million) sympathetic to France. From the point of view of the independence movements, all these people were guilty of collaboration with the colonial oppressor, hence of treason to the fatherland. At a deeper, cultural level, they were accused of treason to their Algerian identity as they colluded with a European power to impose a Western model on Algeria. This view was reinforced by the French state’s attempt to count Algeria as a French province (de´partment), rather than a colony. Both of these interpretations made the harkis subject to the scorn of the FLN and other Algerian nationalist forces.

In spite of their loyalty to France, the Accords of Evian, signed by French president Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) on March 19, 1962, which put an end to the war and recognized the independence of Algeria, left the harkis and their families at the mercy of the FLN. As French armed forces left Algeria and the pieds noirs (literally, ‘‘black feet,’’ a term used to refer to French citizens who had settled in Algeria) were evacuated, the harkis were disarmed and abandoned.

Although the Accords of Evian paid lip service to national reconciliation and amnesty, the retribution was swift and cruel. A low estimate puts the number of harkis massacred in the immediate aftermath of Algerian independence at tens of thousands. Harkis associations cite much higher figures. The charges of treason brought against them often combined with accusations of violence committed on behalf of France against their fellow Algerians. Harkis were therefore despised and executed both as political offenders (i.e., traitors to the country and to Algerian national identity as defined by the FLN) and as bloodthirsty criminals.

This massive collective punishment was typically executed without trials and without any right to defense. It is therefore difficult to determine if and to what extent the harkis committed crimes. The widespread view of most survivors is that harkis became the victims of revenge killings and also of political settling of scores. The killings were particularly gruesome. Eyewitnesses and official documents catalog a long list of refined forms of torture. The extreme suffering and humiliations had the pedagogical purpose of convincing the majority of Algerians of the evils of collaboration with the French and of the usefulness of pledging full allegiance to the new authorities.

Some harkis managed to escape Algeria and enter France, where they encountered a chilling welcome. More often than not they were arrested and returned to Algeria to face torture, imprisonment, and death. Many individual French officers tried to help their former allies. In doing so, they disobeyed the orders of the high command, which considered such actions as infractions of the military code, carrying various punishments. A note from the minister of the French army, Louis Joxe (1901–1991), dated May 12, 1962, threatened further sanctions against French military personnel engaged in helping the flight of harkis towards France, and decreed that all harkis caught on French territory would be returned to Algeria.

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  1. searchingforknowledge reblogged this from dynamicafrica
  2. dynamicafrica reblogged this from karnythia and added:
    Harkis were indigenous Muslim soldiers in Algeria who, organized into units called harkas, served in the French army...
  3. queernonymoose reblogged this from note-a-bear and added:
    I wanna see a documentary on this.
  4. note-a-bear reblogged this from karnythia
  5. This was featured in #History