Following years of pressure, France returned to Algeria 24 skulls, allegedly of fighters slain during the French invasion of Algeria in the nineteenth century.
According to Le Monde, these human remains were held at the National Museum of Natural History for decades (MNHN). “Was the Algerian government aware of the three ‘traitors’ burial on July 3rd, 2020, in Algiers’ Martyrs’ Square?” The newspaper added.
According to the gazette, the ceremony held on this occasion in the presence of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Army Chief of Staff Saïd Chengriha represented a strong moment of national unity and a closer great sense of political victory over the former occupier, because France and Algeria were in the midst of a diplomatic crisis, so this restitution appears to be a victory for a regime derived from the liberation war (1954-1962).
According to the Algerian State News Agency, the remains were displayed the next day at the Palace of Culture to allow locals to take one last look at those ‘heroes,’ stating that “six names are among leaders of the People’s Resistance.” These skulls were buried in Martyrs’ Square at El-Alia Cemetery on July 5th, commemorating Independence Day.
According to Michel Giroud, former director of collections at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) (2004-2021), three of these skulls belong to local agents and assistants of the French army, and the remains were studied by an Algerian-French expert committee commissioned by the two countries.
“We have recognized all of these bodies, and our Algerian colleagues have confirmed their identities and personal marches.” The former museum director told the newspaper that he is concerned about the burial of these three skulls alongside resistance fighters who died during the French occupation, during which hundreds of thousands of residents died, and at the end of the day, buried these traitors alongside some of their victims.
It is a scenario that is difficult to accept in light of Algerian public opinion’s sensitivity to the question of colonialism.
The controversy began on September 16th when the ‘National Algeria’ published an article stressing that several skulls did not belong to resistance fighters.
The online newspaper quoted Ali Belkadi, an Algerian historian and anthropologist, who emphasized that “two local mercenaries opposed to the National Movement, who died carrying arms with and for France, were buried alongside the brave martyred heroes of resistance…”
According to a document certified by the National Museum of Natural History, two “snipers working for France” and “another soldier from an Arab father and a negro mother” were buried with hundreds of civilian victims killed by General Emile Herbillon’s army in November 1849.
The New York Times confirms the information in Algerian media a month after it was published by “National Algeria” and reopened the controversy regarding Ali Belkadi, who discovered the skulls of these victims in 2011 while conducting research in Paris.
In the collections of the “Musée de l’Homme”, the National Museum of Natural History MNHN. He initiated a sensitization campaign to alert the Algerian authorities to demand the recovery of the remains from France.
The French newspaper went on to reveal the “remains of 24 potential Algerian colonial fighters who were handed over to Algeria,” emphasizing that they should have waited until December 6th, 2017, for this file to move forward on the occasion of President Emmanuel Macron’s first visit to Algeria since his election
Moreover, the newspaper also stated that Macron was “ready to restore the remains in order to revive the memory work relationship between Algiers and Paris.” On January 5th, 2018, Algerian officials utilized the opportunity to formally seek the return of these remains. Algeria’s plea at the time was simple: repatriate the remains of the resistance.
Michel Giroud, according to Le Monde, stated “In February 2018, the French-Algerian Committee was established. The experts worked on all of the remains in our collections, identifying persons and their lives. To that purpose, we collected DNA samples, tissues, and archives,” he explained, adding that he instantly questioned if the Scientific Committee’s duty was confined to merely locating resistance fighters.
“The mandate of the Committee has not yet been renewed, and this has not been made public.” We had to track down, identify, and document the remains of nineteenth-century Algerians. We didn’t have to decide whether to label them resistant or not. Let’s be clear about this ” Michel Giroud adds.
Finally, ‘Le Monde’ states that it is unknown why the Algerian and French governments presented all of these skulls as resistance skulls.
“We exchanged data with Algerians. This collaborative project went well, and we are proud of it. We responded to the mandate that politicians gave us ” Giroud says. “Were Algerians aware of the identity of the three disputed skulls in the report, which has not been made public? everything is documented in pictures”.
He also added: “We kept only the people we were sure of, and there was no anonymity.” Why did the Algerian authorities choose to bury skulls that are not resistant in a symbolic place? Why didn’t you get rid of it? Was it negligence? Or rush? Why did President Tebboune’s adviser, Abdelmadjid Chikhi not respond to our requests? As well as Quai d’Orsay who did not respond to “Le Monde’s request to read the report of the French-Algerian Committee.