JAKARTA - The Algerian government finally buried 24 throats of the heads of freedom fighters who fought against French colonial forces in the 19th century. The effort was made to coincide with the commemoration of Algeria's 58th independence day on Sunday, July 5.
According to the Associated Press, the skulls of the previous fighters were brought to Paris as war trophies, before being kept in a museum for decades. Last Friday, July 3, the skulls were finally sent home. It is recorded that 24 of these fighters took part in the resistance against the French colonial forces in 1849.
Widespread anti-racism movement made policy owners feel it is important to return the skulls of the fighters to be buried properly in their homeland. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune himself is acting as a military ceremony leader at the El Alia cemetery to the east of Algiers.
#Algeria on Friday received the skulls of 24 colonial resistance fighters which were lying in a French museum. The fighters' heads were decapitated during # France's conquest of the North African country, and were transported to the European country as war trophie.📸 pic. twitter.com/Srz8nk8qqD
- Mete SohtaoÄŸlu (@metesohtaoglu) July 3, 2020
Algerians from various regions then came to pay their respects to the fighters. They were seen lining up waiting for officers to start the funeral procession. Interestingly, as many as 24 coffins at that time had the Algerian flag in green, white and red, which indicated their services would always be remembered by the country.
After the funeral, Abdelmadjid hoped that France would dare to apologize in total for the past sins of colonialization. Moreover, France itself was known to be brutal when it colonized Algeria. "We've received half an apology. There must be another step, "he said in an interview broadcast Saturday on France-24 television.
Even so, Abdelmadjid still welcomed the return of the skulls of the freedom fighters. He also expressed hope that French President Emmanuel Macron could improve relations and resolve historical disputes involving feud between the two countries.
Not only the President of Algeria, but Minister of Veterans Tayeb Zitouni welcomed the efforts to return the tongkorak of fighters. He called this move "the return of the heroes to their ancestral lands, after a century and a half of exile after death."
As the History Professor at the University of Algiers points out, hundreds of skulls of other Algerian fighters still remain in France. Therefore, the policy owner still calls for all the skulls to be returned.
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