The word harki N. Mr. designates an individual being useful in a Harka and comes from the Arab word haraka meaning “movement”. In the language running, in France, it appoints the back-up troops engaged in the French Army of 1957 to 1962, lasting the Guerre of Algeria. By extension, one named “harkis” all the Algerians Musulman S supporting the fastening of the Algérie to the French Republic during the war of Algeria. The term, in Algerian, became synonymous with traitor and collaborator.
By extension, the community installed in France in 1962 and which goes down from the repatriated harkis is also called harki.
Harkis during the war of Algeria (1955-1962)
See also: Harkis during the War of Algeria
Of 1957 until in 1962, the harkis are soldiers Indigène S Moslems engaged at the sides of the French Army in units called harkas while the French Algérie consisted of departments. With the center even of the French Army, they add up 63 000 men in December 1961. The ministry for the Armies evaluates with 4 500 the number of the Moslem soldiers died for France, during the war of Algeria, and in more than 600 missings. On the whole, during this war, the French Army registered in its registers 160 000 harkis, Moghazni S, GMPR become GMS or “adzes”.
Agreements of Evian
Following the inflecting of the French policy towards Algerian independence as from 1961, the demobilization and the disarmament of the back-up troops started. The Accords of signed Evian on March 18th, 1962 provide that:
the Algerian State will subscribe without reserve to the Universal declaration of the Human rights and will base its institutions on the democratic principles and the equal rights political between all the citizens without discrimination of race, origin or religion. It will apply, in particular, the guarantees recognized with the citizens of French civil statute. | Agreements of Evian, chapter II, left have, article 1
No one could not be the subject of measurements of police force or justice, disciplinary actions or an unspecified discrimination because:of opinions stated at the time of the events which have occurred in Algeria before the day of the poll of self-determination;
of acts made at the time of the same events before the day of the proclamation of the cease-fire. No Algerian could be constrained to leave the Algerian territory nor prevented from leaving there. |Chapter II, left has, article 2
The agreements of Evian do not envisage any specific measure as for protection or the future of the Loyaliste S and their families, which they are Pieds-noirs, Juif S Séfarade S or harkis, but include a Amnistie for the acts carried out and the opinions stated before independence.
The French law of February 23rd, 2005, in its article 2 will denounce the non-observance of the agreements of Evian which envisaged for the future Algerian government to ensure the safety of the harkis. This article of the law will not be criticized by Algerian president Bouteflika. FLN will claim that it was only about one “declaration” which did not engage it. What, according to associations of repatriates, will give all his direction to the slogan of certain Algerian nationalists: “The bag or the coffin”
Continuation of the agreements of Evian
The harkis are disarmed by the French Army (folded up in its garrisons) which leaves the territory to FLN. For a short period, the new capacity abstains from any repression with respect to the pro-French, and in Paris the government, directed by Charles de Gaulle, limit strongly the number of those which can be folded up on France.
The executions (1954-1962)
According to the report/ratio with UNO of the general inspector to the armies Christian de Saint-Salvy, 263 000 autochtones were engaged on the French or recently demobilized side, of which 60 000 soldiers, 153 000 back-up troops and 50 000 notable francophile. Families included/understood, there was more than one million people potentially threatened on the 8 million Algerian Moslems.
The historian Gilbert Meynier, declared in an interview published in the daily newspaper El Watan , on March 10th, 2005, that the massacres had been less important and more localized than than certain historians French like Georges-Marc Benamou declare. Georges-Marc Benamou, in his book a French Lie , advances the figure of 70.000 victims. The National committee of connection of the surviving harkis advances the figure of 150 000 harkis killed, and of 16 000 saved by their French officers who disobeyed the orders.
De Gaulle and harkis
According to Remi Kauffer, de Gaulle saw in the harkis “toys of the History”, and not of the elements of the French Army. Shortly after its return to the capacity, in 1958, de Gaulle starts to doubt integration Moslems of Algeria which was subjacent with the constitution of harkas. Thus, on March 5th, 1959, he entrusts in these terms to Alain Peyrefitte: “If we made integration, if all the Arabs and Berber of Algeria were considered as a French, how to prevent them from coming to settle in metropolis, whereas the standard of living is so much higher there? My village would not be called any more Colombey-the-Two-Churches, but Colombey-the-Two-Mosques! ”
It accepts however, during the nomination of the Challe general as supreme commander in Algeria (at the end of 1958), his proposal to carry the army at the level necessary to defend all the territory, by enlisting Moslems massively.
At the Council of Ministers of July 25th, 1962, shortly after the independence of Algeria, when Pierre Messmer, Minister for the armies, declares: “Of the harkis and the Moslem civils servant, the moghaznis, are said threatened, from where requests which come at the same time from the civil authorities and military. A position of principle should be taken. ”, de Gaulle answers: “One cannot agree to fold up all the Moslems who have suddenly declared that they will not get along with their government! The term of repatriates does not apply obviously to the Moslems: they do not turn over in the ground of their fathers. In their case, they are only refugees! But one cannot such as if they ran a danger! ”. The Prime Minister Pompidou adds then: “Two military camps were installed for them in metropolis; they are submerged. These people do not want to work…” and de Gaulle concludes “It should be put in residence to work or set out again”. And then, according to Peyrefitte, several ministers lowered the head.
Harkis in France as from 1962
The arrival in France
According to Philippe Denoix, Louis Joxe, minister of state with the Algerian Businesses, addressed to the army a very secret directive, on May 12th, 1962, threatening of sanctions the French soldiers who organized the fold in metropolis of their Moslem allies apart from the general plan of repatriation”, and ordering even the reference in Algeria of the back-up troops unloaded in France.
The note dated May 25th, 1962, stipulates in particular:
The back-up troops unloaded in metropolis apart from the general plan of repatriation will be returned to Algeria. It will be advisable to avoid giving least publicity to this measurement. The promoters and the accomplices of premature repatriations will be the object of suitable sanctions. ” Pierre Messmer, Minister for the armies, specified in a ministerial note of May 1962 that the arrivals in France of harkis " due to individual initiatives represents characterized infringements .
In fact, in 1962, there does not exist any plan of evacuation nor of protection of the harkis and their families, and the Government was taken of runs by the arrival of the repatriated . One estimates (Philippe Denoix) at 15.000 or 20.000 the number of families of harkis, that is to say approximately 90.000 people, who could be established in France of 1962 to 1968. The great majority remained in Algeria and of tens of thousands of them were assassinated. These massacres perpetrated sometimes by whole families were often accompanied by tortures, rapes, etc, proceeded in the climate of instability, internal struggles (including armies) of ALN and GPRA for the takeover which preceded and followed independence.
End 1962, 20 000 back-up troops had been accommodated in the military camps of lodging in France and 3 200 engaged in the French Army. End November 1963, the ministry for the Repatriates quantifies with 42 000 the number of Moslems having forwarded in the reception centres. With final, 91 000 harkis and members of their families could be established in France of 1962 with 1968.
The installation in the camps
The first repatriations of harkis are carried out between the agreements of Evian and the summer 1962, on the initiative of some officers, resigners or not, often of the former heads of the units harkis. As the official directives prohibit these repatriations, of the clandestine dies are installation, which dispatchent in-outside whole controls official these families of harkis towards the areas of South-east, of South-west in edge of the Massif Central (Ardeche, the Dordogne, Lozere, Tarn…) thus of worms Lyons agglomeration and towards Roubaix.
After the massacres of the summer 1962, the decree of August 8th, 1962 sets up an official device of reception. The families of harkis are placed in the hutments of military camps, which were sometimes useful for other populations (Spanish Catalans, suspect militants to belong to the FLN, Indochinois). Thus the provisional one will last twenty years and even more and as notes it Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, this situation:
… supports the marginalisation of populations too cut of the remainder of the company and maintained in a position of assisted by the social supervision and administrative of the cities and hamlets. A framing which gave the practice, even the taste, of a certain social control and sometimes locked up the populations in an identity logic that the associative and political clientelism could reinforce. |
Dispersion
Revolts occur during the summer 1975 among the residents of the camps of Bias and Saint-Maurice-L' Slate. A policy of dispersion succeeds the regroupings then. The camps and the hamlets are officially removed, but their residents remain often on the spot. At the same time as of the offices of information, administrative assistance and councils (BIAC) are created, of the specific measures are taken to disseminate the communities and to support their integration. In 1991, one attends a revolt of children of refugees harkis in several French cities.
The French law of February 23rd, 2005
The law of February 23rd, 2005 (discussed in particular in its article 4) recognizes and protects the harkis in France. It also fixes conditions of payment of allowances of France in recognition of the rendered services and sufferings endured by them. To note that the harkis dispute these declarations as a whole because these compensations do nothing but transform the life annuity known as “Jospin” which is a military retirement disguised in capital that can be poured in only once. In addition, some harkis are always on standby of these compensations.
Position of associations of harkis with respect to France
The National committee of connection of the surviving harkis deposited a complaint against France “for crime against humanity”. One second complaint could be in parallel deposited in front of the European Cour of the human rights. According to Boussad Azni, president of CNLH: By delivering the harkis, taken refuge in metropolis, France knew pertinently that they would be massacred… .
Position of FLN then of the Algerian State with respect to the harkis
Transitional period enters the Cessez-le-feu and independence
GPRA will take directive 442 of April 10th, 1962, relative to the “rejoined harkis, goumiers and being useful in the enemy rows”, directive in violation of the agreements of Evian :
If the revolution condemned them, it does not remain about it less than the people the striking of his contempt and will continue to hate them and deny them…The executions of harkis start as of April 1962 (with Geryville, with Bou Alam, liquidation of the Commando George…) and will continue themselves .
We must use of tact and act with flexibility in order to temporarily gain them…
Their judgment final will take place in free and independent Algeria in front of God and the People which will be only responsible for their fate…
the stray abandoned ones must be supervised in their least gestures and registered on a black list which will have to be preserved thoroughly.
Shortly after the independence of Algeria
After a first report published in 1963 when one can read: “The systematic visit of the places of detention made it possible to count 2500 harkis in the penal establishments concerned with the ministry for justice, 1300 of them were registered for their transfer in France. It seems that, among the free remained harkis, a certain number were necessary for the execution of work of public utility. Rehabilitation in the Algerian community does not seem to be made without clashes, at least in certain areas, which explains the hesitations of the Algerian government to return freedom to a great number of harkis held”. The Croix-Rouge estimated in 1965 at 13.500 the number of harkis imprisoned in the civil or military prisons Algerian. To date, the majority of the French harkis are reproduced on secret lists held by the security services (police force, army, intelligence service, gendarmerie), are prohibited of stay, and are not entitled to an Algerian passport . In Algeria, the children of harkis do not have the right to reach the higher instruction. The families did not have the right to bury in Algeria the harkis which lived in France and died there.
After 2004
In Algeria, the question of the harkis and feet black were approached in 2004 during the 10th congress of the ONM (Organization of the war veterans of the war of Algeria) which, making the distinction between the motivations of the ones and others, possible forgiveness estimates with the harkis which did not make use of Torture against the Algerian people. This declaration is interpreted as a message with the address of the president of the republic not to integrate the harkis and other guilty French of crimes, in the Charte on peace and the national reconciliation perceived and presented before the opening of the countryside as in front of being a law carrying amnesties general.
Thus for the first time, the president of the republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika tackled officially the question of the harkis during the countryside for the referendum about the Charte about peace and the national reconciliation subjected to the vote on September 29th 2005. During this countryside, it will hold on this subject of the remarks very different from those which it had held on June 16th, 2000 on television French where it had declared that the Algerian people were not " not yet prêt" to accept that harkis can return in Algérie. The Algerian president compared the harkis with the collaborator French under the occupation Nazi E of 1940 with 1944, which caused the anger of the representatives of the community harkie, refusing this comparison.
President Bouteflika stated in addition during this visit: We do not make the same errors as in 1962: the massacre of a whole family, even of a whole tribe connected with a harki! . Abdelaziz Bouteflika will recognize on September 2nd, 2005, with the Stade Mohamed Boumezrag of Chlef of errors against the families and to the close relations of the harkis and that the children of the harkis are not responsible for the acts of their parents . He declared later that in the past, of serious errors had been made with respect to the families of harkis and that an error would be to hold rancour with the children of harkis .
, whereas the economic situation of the country pushes the young Algerians rather to emigrate in France. For other associations of harkis such as “Harkis and human rights” or “Ajir” certain declarations can be regarded as “a small step” towards a recognition of the reality of the massacres. They remain however skeptics, and wait to see concrete changes like the authorization (still prohibited in certain communes) to bury, in Algeria, the skins of the harkis died in France.
Concerning the harkis remained in Algeria and their families, in the Algerian daily newspaper Freedom of the Tuesday, April 10, 2007, Khaled Bounedjma, president of the National coordination of the Children of Chouhada, specifies the contents of a law of 1999 whose circulars of application are appeared on February 18th, 2007: “This law aims at preserving the history of the national movement. Thanks to this law, it will be from now on possible to attack a person who was formerly against the Algerian Revolution and which occupies a station with responsibility today. There exists now a provision which says that a person whose father was a harki cannot occupy a station on the level of the institutions of the State”. Within the framework of the Algerian legislative elections of 2007 Miloud Chorfi, spokesperson of the democratic national Gathering (RND), specifies - in the same spirit - in the Platform of April 2nd, 2007, among the requirements to be candidate: “the insurance not to be not resulting from a family against whom was retained the charge to have been “harki” for the colonial period. ”.
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