French Government Allocates Over €59.2M in Compensation for Harkis, Their Families
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The French National Assembly unveiled a compensation program exceeding €59.2 million dedicated to Harkis and their families. This initiative aims to acknowledge their unfortunate involvement in betraying the Algerian liberation revolution and their complicity in supporting colonialism against the Algerian people. The significant budget allocation represents a step towards recognizing the past and providing restitution for the traitors.
The French authorities have granted compensation to the Harkis, their wives, and their children, amounting to €8,800 per family. These reparations follow a comprehensive procedure for rehabilitating those involved in the betrayal of the liberation revolution, as approved by the Paris authorities several years ago. So far, approximately one-third of the 26,000 submitted files have been processed, accounting for the current expenditure.
Responding to a written inquiry by MPs Christophe Bex, from LFI Alliance and the New Popular Ecological and Social Union (NUPES), the Secretary of State in charge of veterans and memory, under the Ministry of Armies, confirmed the progress made by the Independent National Committee for Recognition and Compensation for Damages to Harkis and persons deported from Algeria. The committee, established on April 11, 2022, has convened 14 times since its inception and has reviewed 7,543 compensation claims, approving 7,071 of them for payment.
The average compensation amount earmarked for Harkis, their wives, and their children is €8,800 per family. Consequently, the total financial commitment for the operation, based on the number of approved files, stands at €59.2 million.
The Ministry of Armies also reported that approximately 26,000 compensation requests have been submitted to the Department of Recognition and Compensation for Damages. The State Secretariat for Veterans and Memory assures that special attention is being given to the processing of these files to ensure timely resolution.
In a written question posed by Christophe Bex on February 14, 2023, the French representative denounced “the mistreatment of Harkis’ families, who had already paid a heavy price for their loyalty to France”. The representative emphasized that it is unjustifiable to subject them to inhumane conditions, especially considering that a council order issued on October 3, 2018, opened the possibility of obtaining financial compensation for Harkis and their families, including widows and children.
