Algerian Radio
The renowned French historian, Benjamin Stora, emphasized Wednesday in the Wilaya of Annaba the "methodological and ethical imperative" of opening French archives fully and unconditionally to Algerian researchers. He called for the removal of all administrative, bureaucratic, and security barriers that prevent direct access to original documents.
Speaking during a "Master Class" at the 6th Annaba Mediterranean Film Festival, moderated by film critic Ahmed Bedjaoui at the Hippo archaeological site and museum, and attended by the Mujahida Louisette Ighilahriz, Stora stated that "granting Algerian academics and historians access to the military and political archives in France is the only mandatory path toward crafting a fair and scientific historical narrative, far from the unilateral interpretations imposed by decades of French archival hegemony."
He argued that keeping essential parts of collective memory "locked in drawers" under the pretext of national security or French archival laws constitutes an "organic obstacle to the project of purifying collective memory." He urged French authorities to end the era of censorship and guarantee the right of Algerian researchers to consult original manuscripts and documents related to the colonial system of repression from 1830 to 1962.
Stora further noted that "archival transparency is not merely an academic demand but a political act aimed at liberating the truth from exploitation," asserting that "withholding documents only serves hate speech that thrives on historical voids." He added that facilitating access to historical material is an inherent right for Algerian researchers to complete the writing of their national history with integrity and independence.
"The battle of memory will not be completed without a genuine will to declassify sensitive files and make them accessible to specialists, away from narrow diplomatic calculations," he said. He pointed out that archives are inherently the property of peoples and a right for future generations on both shores, noting that "denying access reflects a failure to understand contemporary identity, especially since the history of the Algerian Revolution has become an organic part of France's internal history due to human interconnectedness."
Regarding cinematic production during the "Liberation Revolution," Stora noted its absence on the French side due to the colonial authorities' refusal to allow any images that would highlight the asymmetric nature of the war. On the Algerian side, he recorded a shortage caused by the lack, or even total absence, of resources.
He observed that post-1968, anti-colonial French cinema began to emerge with films such as Avoir 20 ans dans les Aurès (To Be Twenty in the Aurès) by René Vautier and R.A.S. (Nothing to Report) by Yves Boisset. According to Stora, cinematic credit also belongs to the Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, who directed iconic films depicting the revolution, including The Wind of the Aurès and Chronicle of the Years of Fire.
In the 1980s and 1990s, French cinema began addressing the Algerian Revolution through a specific narrative reflecting a unilateral French perspective, while still failing to tackle the crimes committed by French forces during the occupation of Algeria in 1830.
Benjamin Stora concluded by affirming that the Algerian-French Joint Commission on History and Memory "prioritizes facilitating universal access to archives as a non-negotiable top priority." He maintained that documented historical truth is the "only bridge to building a future relationship based on parity and mutual recognition of facts."
