Analysis: France must find strength to say sorry for Algerian past

And now, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, on a recent visit to the Caucasus, reiterated his advice to the Turks to “repent” for the massacres of Armenians committed by the decaying Ottoman regime in 1915.

Of course, Mr Sarkozy would be surprised to be told that the same logic should lead to a declaration of repentance by the French state to Algeria, not to mention to the Algerian soldiers who fought under the French banner, the so-called “Harkis,” many of whom were abandoned to a terrible fate when France left the country in a hurry.

For many political leaders and analysts, repentance is a misplaced and excessive form of sensitivity. History is tough, they say. Besides, where does one begin apologising – or, rather, end? Should one apologise for the Crusades, for the destruction of German cities by the armies of Louis the XIV? Wouldn’t the result simply be to turn history into a perpetual cycle of contrition?

Yet, in a globalised age, which demands transparency and posits interdependence, repentance can be considered an instrument of good governance. A country that has lifted the carpet of myth and indifference under which the negative aspects of its past were swept is better able to manage itself and accommodate others.

Japan has never learned to interact with its Asian neighbours the way that Germany after the Second World War learned to co-operate with its future European partners, partly because its apologies have appeared formalistic and half-hearted, when they have taken place at all. The European Union exists because Germany asked for forgiveness. And Germany today is able to distance itself – though clearly at the margin – from Israel’s current government because Germans fully confronted their past in ways that many of their neighbours have not.

To ask for forgiveness enables one to speak to the “Other” without ambiguity, with the freedom of speech needed to express truth.

Who will be the French president courageous enough to apologise to Algeria and the Harkis? Of course, French crimes during Algeria’s war of independence resemble those of Nazi Germany in neither scale nor motivation. It can be argued that during the colonial era, France willed the happiness of Algerians, not only the greatness of France. But it was the French who defined “happiness,” without consultation with the Algerians, much less their consent.

Of course, one should not entertain too many illusions. The current Algerian government is quite comfortable denouncing France, and might continue to do so regardless of anything that the former colonial power does.

But that should not serve as an alibi for doing nothing. In July 2012, France and Algeria will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the birth of the Algerian Republic. The event offers an ideal opportunity for Mr Sarkozy or his successor to engage in a symbolic act of repentance.

Repentance is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it is a demonstration of tranquil and conscientious strength – and a precondition of good and realistic governance.

• Dominique Moisi is the author of The Geopolitics of Emotion.