REMEMBERING A FORGOTTEN HISTORY Amnesia in Algeria During his
first official visit to France from 13 to 16 June, the Algerian
president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, will be trying to convince his
hosts that the war is over and it is time to restore normal
relations with his country. However the Algerian people have not
yet recovered from the bloodbath of the 1990s. And the history
of the war of independence (1954-62) is still closely guarded. A
timid debate has now begun, but will it be enough for the
country to recover its memory and come to terms with its recent
past? by Ghania Mouffok It took 16 years’ patient insistence by
Kamel Bouguessa, a sociologist at Algiers university, to publish
his thesis on the beginnings of the Algerian separatist
movement, which took shape at the start of the 1920s amongst
immigrants in France. His book (1) may at last be on sale in
bookstores, (...) This article is 2045 words.