Introduction
The Day of the Moudjahid refers to the double anniversary of the attacks of August 20, 1955 and the convening of the Soumam Conference, on August 20, 1956 or the two most prominent events after the outbreak of the victorious Algerian Revolution, whether from the angle of the historical context, or from the perspective of the meticulous organization that reflected the militant genius of the Algerian people through the wisdom of its revolutionary leaders, or with regard to its tremendous strategic outcomes on the path of national and Maghrebian emancipation.
In the first place, it must be noted that the November Revolution, in contrast to the popular uprisings that preceded it, was a national, non-regional revolution that gradually spread throughout the Algerian territory, and the French brutal repression had no effect but rendering it more powerful and reinforcing the conviction of the Algerians that what was taken by force can only be recovered through it.
The attacks of August 20, 1955
These attacks were carried out in a sensitive context characterized by great dangers looming over the Revolution, starting with the terrible siege imposed on the Fist Wilaya (Aures-Nemenchas) and its region, the tightening of the screws around it, and the attempt to crush the Revolution in its first year. That aimed at turning the Revolution into a mere uprising, suppressed by isolating it from its natural matrix through (its people) through collective punishment and asphyxiating its epicentre in the Aures and the accumulation of tens of thousands of soldiers and destructive warmachines as well as by the destruction of villages and towns and the confinement of their inhabitants in mass detention canters, separating them from the Moujahidines, thus depriving the National Liberation Army from support and supplies. In addition, the Revolution suffered a series of setbacks represented in a campaign of arrests among militants which limited the possibilities of recruitment, and the early martyrdom of some senior leaders of the Revolution such as Abdelmalek ben Ramadan, Badji Mokhtar, Grine Belkacem, and Didouche Mourad, respectively, on November 4, 19, 29, 1954, and January 18, 1955, and others, and the arrest of the leaders Mustafa ben Boulaid and Rabah Bitat, respectively, on February 11, 1955, and March 23, 1955.
The Revolution was threatened by a malicious policy of integration that sought to reduce the Algerian Revolution to a mere social and economic demands and to make it seem as a mere manifestation of an isolated terrorist minority cut off from the people. A policy which put into question the idea and goal of independence as a solution to the Algerian problem, trying to find a third way through negotiation and whose ultimate purpose is to subjugate Algerian sovereignty and enshrine forever the French hegemony in Algeria. The attacks of August 20, 1955 were the fatal blow that put an end to these colonialist plans and ambitions and a response to the plea for help made by the leaders of the besieged first Wilaya, headed by the heroic martyr Chihani Bashir. This was made possible thanks to faultless preparation and organization, especially in terms of choice made by the leadership of the Wilaya II, headed by the martyr Zighoud Youssef, for the launching day of these attacks, which was the end of the week and the beginning of holidays and vacations for the French army, gendarmerie and police forces.
Indeed, the martyr Commander Zighoud Youssef considered that involving the people collectively and comprehensively in armed actions had become an inescapable political and strategic necessity, in particular, to break out the encirclement of the Wilaya I, ease the pressure on in mountains and villages in general by transferring the war to cities and by affirming the Revolution’s leaders ability to supervising and organizing the Algerian masses and putting a clear delineation between colonialism and its protagonists and those who want to achieve the honour and dignity of Algeria and boycott of half-solutions and the idea of negotiations and reforms and the consecration of armed struggle as the only option to achieve complete and undiminished independence. These attacks were also a strong expression of solidarity Algerians towards their Moroccan brothers on the anniversary of the deportation of King Mohammed V in 1953 and giving a North African dimension to our glorious Revolution.
Thus, thousands of peasants and rural residents supervised by the elements of the National Liberation Army, launched, in broad daylight, so that the masses could see their soldiers and unite with them. Over the course of three days, shaky attacks targeted the various colonial institutions, including barracks, military sites, police stations, economic institutions, and settlement strongholds, and included about 3,000 sq.km from the northern Constantine region (Skikda, Guelma, El Qol..).
The criminal colonial reaction and its collective punishment was expected from the beginning. And after depicting these events as “a collective criminal Muslim madness instead” of being a political act, the savage hordes of paratroopers and soldiers poured into the region and began, together with the militias of the hateful Europeans colonists, supported by a racist and denigrating discourse whose slogan at times was the “Arabs hunting campaign" and, at other times, "a campaign to eradicate the rats (Ratonnades)", killings and extermination of all those found in their path. Its brutality has reached an extent that is inconsistent with human nature, and even with that of the savage beasts that have no mind or conscience, to the point of gathering in the stadiums, executing them by dozens, and removing their remains with bulldozers. Tens of thousands of martyrs fell, and villages, shops, and farms were destroyed and vandalized.
The brutal reaction had adverse effect, as mass killings, detention camps, and barbed wire besieging, only increased the Algerians determination to continue the armed struggle. The brutal repression only showed the world the ugly face of colonial France and gave the Revolution a strong diplomatic impetus in international fora.
In matters of fallouts, these attacks represented a qualitative leap in the armed struggle which put the hesitant Algerian people in front of only two options. Faced with the mass killing, the Algerians had nothing left but to join the mountains or to be exterminated by their French executioners. The people fully embraced their revolution which spread, and grew more and more strengthened, thus increasing the strength of the mujahideen, lifting the siege on the Wilaya I, and inciting the other regions to rise so that the Revolution would spread to the entire country. Henceforth, the French Army was dispersed, stretched and lost its efficiency. So did the tendentious colonial propaganda had fallen silent together with its quackery which tried to attribute the Revolution to external activities that were disconnected from the core of the Algerian people. Likewise, the western media blackout on the Revolution was ended, the latter’s resounding voice was heard in international fora. These attacks presented also an authentic picture of effective solidarity made by blood not by words with the Moroccan people on the anniversary of the deportation of its king Mohammed V.
The Soumam Conference, August 20, 1956
As for the Soumam Conference, it also represented a specific pivotal event in the glorious history of the Revolution, which allowed the control and organization of armed actions politically and militarily, and closed the outlets for criticism on the Revolution incapacity to establishing a State. Rather, it was the political basis for the revival and construction of the Algerian State through a number of critical decisions with a significant strategic dimension. It created a General Staff Command for all the historical Wilayas of Algeria, reunited the latter them, and increased the cohesion of the soldiers and commanders of the National Liberation Army. It supervised the Revolution and generated an Algerian Provisional Government that negotiated with the French authorities and forced them to bow before the will of the Algerian people for independence and freedom.
This in an overview about these two events. Hundreds of books will not suffice to capture their subtleties, nor to describe the heroism and sacrifices of a people unparalleled in human history. As Algeria commemorates today, people, State and the leadership, this double anniversary, it affirms its loyalty to the message and sacrifices of its martyrs and to the just and humane principles which founded its State. May Algeria remain forever a fortress of freedom and sovereignty.
The Ambassador
Dr. Mahmoud Braham