On the occasion of the opening, this Sunday in Algiers, of an international conference on colonial crimes in Africa, Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, called for “the criminalization of colonialism in Africa,” which, he said, carried out a war of extermination against Indigenous populations while plundering their wealth.
He stressed that “it is time to criminalize colonialism as a whole, rather than merely condemning some of its practices and effects.”
Addressing officials and experts from several sub-Saharan African countries, the Algerian foreign minister stated that “Africa has the right to demand the official and explicit recognition of the crimes committed against its peoples during the colonial period” and to “seek fair compensation and the restitution of looted property.”
According to him, “Africa is also entitled to claim fair reparations and the return of its stolen assets, for justice cannot be achieved through empty rhetoric, hollow promises or good intentions.”
He affirmed that Algeria, “strengthened by its painful experience with French colonialism, fully supports the key objectives set by the African Union as part of this initiative aimed at establishing historical justice.”
For his part, the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, emphasized that Africans must join forces in their efforts to criminalize colonialism.
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