Algerian Atrocities
THE report of the French Commission for the safeguarding of human rights on the be- haviour of the security forces in Algeria, which was published last week in Le Monde, hardly ful- fils the hopes which had been placed in it by those who have been seriously disturbed by reports from North Africa. It calls attention to some incidents—such as the suffocation of a number of prisoners in a wine-cellar—which were due to the inexperience of the young officers placed in command of the troops concerned, but hardly touches upon the more serious question of the numerous cases of people who have vanished completely or who have died in mysterious cir- cumstances after arrest by General Massu's parachutists. In particular, the case of M. Maurice Audin, a university teacher in the Faculty of Science of the University of Algiers, who was said to have escaped after arrest and of whom no• trace has subsequently been found, remains un- solved.
In considering the Commission's report it should be remembered, first, that three members originally appointed to it saw fit to resign, since they believed that the French Government was not carrying out the terms on which they had accepted to form part of it; and, secondly, that the Commission had no power to subpoena wit- nesses or to compel them to reply to questions. In these circumstances it is surprising that they were able to elucidate any facts at all—especially in view of that systematic obstruction of metro- politan interference in which the French adminis- tration in North Africa has always excelled.
For, despite the Commission's attempt at judicial impartiality, it is all too clear that there have been torture and brutality in Algeria. The most likely explanation of M. Audin's disappear- ance is that he was tortured. to death and his body then disposed of, and his is by no means the only case of which this could be said. Over such inci- dents as this it would be very easy for us in Britain to become self-righteous, but the lesson they have to teach is also relevant to our own experience. The French Government has declared its intention of putting an end to such behaviour on the part of the police and security forces, and it is quite true that the majority of French officials and poli- ticians sincerely wish to do so. But the breakdown of central authority in Algeria,' the placing of all power in the hands of the security forces, has gone so far that Paris is no longer in control of the situation. The French Government may for- bid torture as much as it likes, but, until it takes steps to bring Algeria effectively under its control, nothing will be done to improve things. And our own experience• in Cyprus and Kenya should teach that the hideous atrocities which have been perpetrated in Algeria are not so much due to the innate brutality of Frenchmen as to a lack of the normal safeguards 'of parliamentary government.
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