France has returned the remains of 24 Algerian fighters who fought against French colonial forces in the 19th century.
The fighters were killed during Algeria’s independence struggle against France and their skulls had been on display as trophies in a Paris museum.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria and the country’s chief of defence staff received the remains of the fighters at a ceremony at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers on Friday (3 July).
Algeria fought against French colonial forces for close to seven years before gaining independence in 1962.
Bury enmities
President Emmanuel Macron of France has been taking steps to restore cordial relations with the North African nation.
Macron has said that the colonisation of Algeria was a “crime against humanity” and expressed his desire that French-Algerian relations become forward-looking.
There are historical enmities on both sides between Algeria and France, as well as vivid memories of atrocities. Algeria and France were at war with each other for decades during the period of colonisation.
President Tebboune has been a strong advocate for the return of the remains of the fighters, whom he described as leaders of the Algerian resistance movement.
The fighters had been “deprived of their natural and human right to be buried for more than 170 years”, he said.
United call for repatriation
Algerian historians have been calling for many years for the return of the fighters’ skulls.
The remains had been put on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.
The campaign for France to return the skulls adds to a recent spate of calls for the repatriation of African collections.
Last week, Nigerian academicians and art lovers opposed the sale of two sculptures reportedly “looted” from southern Nigeria during that country’s civil war.
And in February, Mexico returned an ancient bronze sculpture to Nigeria after thwarting an attempt to smuggle it.
E A Alanore
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