ISTANBUL

The Algerian parliament on Saturday opened debate on a draft law that seeks to criminalize French colonial rule between 1830 and 1962, according to a statement by the People's National Assembly.

Speaker Ibrahim Boughali was authorized to formally present the draft bill during a plenary session of the lower house, according to the statement.

Addressing lawmakers, Boughali said he is honored to present the draft bill criminalizing French colonization. He described the proposal as more than a legislative initiative, calling it a defining moment in modern Algeria through which the state, via its legislative institution, renews its commitment to national memory and the conscience of history.

"This session is not a routine parliamentary procedure; rather, it is a supreme act of sovereignty, a clear moral stance, and an unambiguous political message, expressing Algeria’s commitment to its inalienable rights and its loyalty to the sacrifices of its people and the message of its martyrs," Boughali said.

He also noted that France’s colonization of Algeria was, in every sense, a project of uprooting and annihilation, adding that land was seized from its rightful owners and redistributed to settlers.

"This colonial project was not limited to the plundering of wealth; it also extended to policies of systematic impoverishment, starvation, and exclusion aimed at breaking the will of the Algerian people, erasing their identity, and severing their ties to their historical and cultural roots," he added.

The draft law criminalizing colonialism is scheduled to be put to a vote on Wednesday, alongside several other legislative proposals, the statement added.

Tensions in Algerian-French relations

The parliamentary debate comes at a time of one of the most serious crises in relations between Algeria and France in recent history.

Tensions escalated months ago after Paris recognized Morocco’s autonomy plan for resolving the Western Sahara conflict.

Algeria supports the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and backs the Polisario Front, which rejects Morocco’s autonomy proposal.