The Algerian Embassy in Manama Commemorates the National Day of Memory May 8, 1945-2024 “A witnessed day for a sought-after era”
The Algerian Embassy in Manama commemorates on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, “The National Day of Memory- the 79th anniversary of the massacres of May 8, 1945, “a witnessed day for a sought-after era” in remembrance of those watershed events that marked the martyrdom of 45000 Algerians who were slaughtered by the troops of the colonial French army and the militias of the brutal French colonialists.
In reality, the awareness and political maturity of the Algerians had reached their peak in that historical era. Their aspirations for freedom and emancipation had become irresistible, and their weariness from the procrastinations and prevarications of colonialism had reached paroxysm. The Algerians participatedactively in the liberation of the hitherto crumbling France. The latter had been unable to withstand the Nazi forces, and its state and its components collapsed like empty palm trunks in the face of the Germans’ crushing blows. In the meanwhile, the Algerians performed well in the liberation battle waged against the Nazis bythe Allies which had explicitly promised to consider the Algerians’legitimate demands for freedom and independence.
After the victory of the Allies (the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France) over the European Axis powers (Germany and Italy) and the surrender of Nazi Germany, huge masses of Algerians came out to express their joy at this victory, saying to themselves“Is there any Reward for Good - other than Good” and that they will get what France promised them in exchange for their social sacrifices and the enormous consequences that were imposed on them, most notably the compulsory conscription that enabled France to achieve full mobilization and raise its head againas well as the various troubles- famines, and arduous conditions which resulted from that contribution assumed by Algerians. They might have said to themselves that everything will be tolerated for the sake of freedom. They hoped that colonialism will inevitably be grateful to them for the favours they did and admit the legitimacy of what they were aspiring to.
How did colonial France and its orgresized colonizers respond?
Our people's demonstrations have been met with unparalleled brutal repression. This oppression amounts to the worst degree of genocide committed by French forces supported by hordes of greedy colonialists against defenseless Algerians. This day witnessed horrific atrocities and crimes in retaliation against a peaceful people for no other reason than the expression of their desire for emancipation and freedom. Several regions in eastern Algeria, to name a few, especially Setif, Guelma and Kharrata, witnessed a wave of killing and vengeful extermination in which forty-five thousand Algerians lost their livesin a genocidal process which spared neither elderly or women norchildren, and which memory will remain forever engraved in the minds the Algerian generations.
Indeed, in the wake of these massacres, the Algerians became convinced that the colonialists who invaded the country by force in 1830, would not hesitate to exterminating all the Algerians in order to keep their control over the country, that the false promises made by colonial France were nothing but pure lies and manoeuvres to escape the Algerian people’s legitimate demands for freedom and liberation from injustice and colonialism, and that those rights that were taken by force in the past,will only be restored by force. Thus, our people became sure that the era of peaceful political action had passed and that direct armed action had become the only way to achieve freedom. “Liberty has a door that only bloodied hands could knock at”. This was the beginning of a serious and practical preparation for the greatest Liberation Revolution of the twentieth century.
These events constituted a decisive turning point in the historical course of the Algerian National Movement and its political and military struggle. They marked an inexorable rupture between France's greedy colonial projects and the Algerians' vision of liberation action, and paved the way for the emergence of the activity of the Secret Organization (OS) then for the outbreak of the blessed Revolution of November 1954. One of the colonial executioners responsible for this massacre was not wrong in his predictions when he stated: “For my part, I gave you [France] a margin of ten years of security and calm, after thatand I will not guarantee anything”. Indeed, barely ten years had passed until the Great November Revolution broke out, uprooting forever the malicious tree of colonialism.
Eternal Glory to our great martyrs, and may our Algeria live free and invincible forever.
Ambassador Dr. Mahmoud Braham