The Algerians are willing to give militants another chance, but they are less keen to forgive the French for past colonial injustices, writes Nabil Fawwaz Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika has said that he intends to declare a general amnesty in the country in order to end current fighting. Recalling the crimes committed by the French during their occupation of the country between 1832 and 1962, Bouteflika called for France to apologise for the atrocities it committed. In a speech delivered on his behalf during a rally marking a key battle against the French, Bouteflika said that the "strategic choices the people have made through public referendum or parliamentary representation are common principles that assert the unity of the national stand... and we are going to follow this path to the very end." What is meant by "strategic choices" is that terror ends and normalcy is restored in the country. The Algerian government is now preparing to hold a referendum on general amnesty. After the referendum, Bouteflika is expected to take further action to end the cycle of violence that has left more than 100,000 dead so far. Observers expect the referendum turnout to be high. But things may not go exactly as Bouteflika hopes. There is no guarantee that militant groups will lay down their arms, as many of them doubt the real intentions of the government. Bouteflika chose to declare the initiative in Ramadan for one obvious reason. The holy month has been traditionally among the bloodiest in the country's history of domestic strife. Many Algerians support the declaration of amnesty, hoping that it will end the fighting and put the country back on the path to peace and prosperity. This is not the first such initiative of Bouteflika. In 1999, he proposed a referendum for "civil accord", and six years later he organised another referendum on "national unity". Both initiatives helped reduce the level of violence. One of the militants who renounced violence in response to earlier initiatives is Madani Mezraq, former leader of the Islamic Salvation Army. He is now asking authorities for permission to engage in peaceful politics. Mezraq and the former militants of his group want to have their own party and to be integrated into the country's political scene. With regard to Bouteflika's call for France to apologise for the crimes it committed during its occupation of Algeria, some see this as an answer to Nicolas Sarkozy's demand that the Algerian government disclose the circumstances of the death of seven monks in Algeria in 1996. Rumours have it that the Algerian army had a hand in the monks' murder. But the Algerian president may also be jealous of Libya, which made Italy apologise for its years of occupation. The Swiss have also apologised to the Libyans for arresting leader Muammar Gaddafi's son. The Algerians have also taken note that France was pressing Turkey to apologise to the Armenians. Some observers note that the Algerian authorities like to bring up the matter of a French apology from time to time. But so far Algeria hasn't made any official request to France in this regard. Algerian-French relations have been strained since French authorities arrested an Algerian diplomat in connection with the murder of an Algerian activist in France. The diplomat was later released, but the incident left the Algerians with a bitter taste.
