Excellent organisation of liberation revolution echoed international press

ALGIERS-The excellent organization of the Glorious Liberation Revolution and the communication strategy adopted by its leaders contributed to resonating its echo in the international press, thus facilitating the internationalization of the Algerian issue, as affirmed by researchers and academics during the Memory Forum organized on Saturday by Algeria Press Service.

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Speaking at the forum themed: “The Echo of the Glorious Liberation Revolution in the International Press,” the President of the Algerian Commission for History and Memory, Lahcen Zeghidi, affirmed that the international scope of the Liberation Revolution manifested itself from the first two weeks following its outbreak, due to the magnitude of the echo it provoked and Algeria’s position and the desires it aroused at the time, in addition to the element of surprise generated by meticulous and secret preparation for armed action, he said.

He praised APS for having initiated this question for debate, reminding that the Agency, founded in 1961 during the armed struggle, remains “the faithful guardian of National Memory, playing a historical role and continuing its mission to this day.”

For his part, the lecturer at the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences at Algiers University 3, Prof. Abdelhamid Sahel, analysed the media coverage of the 1 November 1954 Revolution’s outbreak by Western and Arab press. He emphasized that “the first headlines of global newspapers reflected erroneous interpretations aligned with French colonial positions,” describing “the events as terrorist and subversive acts,” while the mujahideen were described as “outlaws and gang members.”

He explained that foreign media depended on information relayed by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and other French media in general, whose goal was to “dissociate the Revolution from the Algerian people, by promoting the thesis of a foreign conspiracy.”

“French press reported the official discourse of the colonial system which prohibited disseminating information about torture operations, forced disappearances and civilian massacres,” especially since it was strictly forbidden to use the term “Algerians” which was substituted by “Muslim French,” he noted.

“Over time and faced with the rising power of the Revolution and revelations about the crimes of colonial France, some Western media began to expose practices of torture, summary executions, and forced disappearances....”

Arab media played a crucial role in defending the Algerian cause, thanks to the FLN’s activities in the country, these media challenged French colonial propaganda, he said.

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