La preuve de la cohésion du peuple algérien

Proof of the cohesion of the Algerian people

The demonstrations of October 17, 1961 in Paris

The demonstrations of October 17, 1961, organized by Algerian emigrants in France, illustrated the most beautiful images of cohesion between the children of Algeria, both inside the country and abroad, in a context where the struggle of the Algerian people against French colonialism was on the way to leading to the victory consecrated by the Evian Accords and the ceasefire of March 19, 1962. In his message addressed on the occasion of the commemorating this date, which was established as National Emigration Day, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune sent a message to recall “the commitment of Algerian emigrants to the glorious Revolution of Liberation”.
He also recalled the circumstances of the massacres of October 17, 1961 in Paris: the Parisian police, under the orders of the police prefect at the time Maurice Papon, imposed an arbitrary curfew on members of the Algerian community; the Parisian police attacked “peaceful crowds who came out to demonstrate, which resulted in a tragic outcome, with demonstrators who were drowned in the Seine and others brutalized, tortured and transferred to camps.”
“In this annual stop where we remember the 64th anniversary of the demonstrations of October 17, 1961, I pay tribute to the memory of the generation of national activists abroad during the glorious War of National Liberation who left us, and to the memory of the valiant martyrs, while sending my greetings to the children of our national community throughout the world, who carry love and loyalty to Algeria in their hearts, and who honor their commitment by participating in the dynamics of the economic transformations underway in the country, driven by the desire to take part in the process of national renewal and the construction of the modern national State to which the brave Algerian people aspire,” concluded President Tebboune.
A conference entitled “children of the Algerian community abroad: the sacredness of belonging and the continuity of loyalty”, was organized this Thursday at the National Army Circle in Beni Messous (Algiers) with the participation of the Minister of Mujahideen and Rights Holders, Abdelmalek Tacherift, who affirmed that the demonstrations of October 17, 1961 “demonstrated that there was only one national will and only one common objective”, believing that this anniversary constitutes “an inexhaustible wealth, an imperishable heritage and indelible proof of the love that the Algerian devotes to his homeland”.
For his part, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in charge of the national community abroad, Sofiane Chaib, affirmed that the national emigration day “constitutes a memorable stopover, symbolizing the noble sacrifices of our community abroad which will remain engraved in our national history”.
Sofiane Chaib recalled that the decision to institute a minute of silence, observed on October 17 of each year, throughout the national territory, and Algeria’s diplomatic and consular representations abroad, in memory of the martyrs of these massacres, “reinforces the commitment to preserve national memory and transmit it to successive generations.”
He also mentioned the efforts made by the State aimed at associating the children of the national community abroad with the various policies adopted, calling on them “to contribute to the momentum of national development, by fulfilling the role bequeathed to successive generations”.
For his part, the rector of Djamaa El-Djazaïr, Sheikh Mohamed Mamoune El-Kacimi El-Houceini, affirmed that National Emigration Day represents “a stop to reflect and learn from this radiant page of the historical epic of the glorious Revolution, which was a source of inspiration for freedom-loving peoples.”
As a reminder, on October 17, 1961, Algerian emigrants who went out, at the call of the FLN, to demonstrate peacefully against the curfew imposed only on Algerians by the Paris police prefect, Papon, were arrested and locked up in police stations and in Parisian stadiums. They were tortured and many of them murdered. The Parisian police committed a real massacre and the bodies of the victims – men, women and children – were thrown by the same French police into the Seine. Hundreds of deaths, injuries and missing persons were recorded.
Lakhdar A.