Algeria demands France acknowledge 'nuclear crimes' committed on its soil

The speaker of Algeria's lower house of parliament called on France on Thursday to officially acknowledge its responsibility for French "nuclear crimes" during its colonial era in the North African country.

"We demand with one voice an official recognition from France on its full responsibility for these nuclear crimes," Ibrahim Boughali, Speaker of the People's National Assembly, told an event marking the anniversary of France's first nuclear test in Algeria on Feb. 13, 1960.

Algeria cannot accept "a mere political acknowledgment, but an acknowledgement followed by a clear moral commitment" from France, he added.

On Feb. 13, 1960, France carried out its first nuclear test, named Blue Jerboa (Gerboise Bleue in French), in the Reggane desert of southern Algeria. Paris continued its nuclear tests on Algerian territory until 1966.

Boughali said that France had carried out 17 nuclear explosions in the area, leaving devastating effects that persist to this day.

The nuclear tests "were a dark chapter in (the French) colonial history that continues to cast its shadow, as its dangerous and destructive effects continue to affect the environment and humanity," he added.

The Algerian speaker called for obliging France to compensate the victims of the nuclear tests and clean up nuclear wastes in Algeria.

Diplomatic relations between Algeria and France remain volatile, particularly due to unresolved issues stemming from France's colonization of Algeria for 132 years (1830-1962). Paris has refused to fully address the historical grievances that continue to affect the Algerian society.