French general faces atrocity probe

Aussaresses: Used torture because of "exceptional conditions" at the time

PARIS, France -- Human rights activists are urging France to open an investigation into its conduct during the Algerian independence war.

The call comes after a decorated general's revelations of torture and summary executions during the conflict.

There have long been suspicions that atrocities were carried out during the 1954-1962 war that ended with Algeria's independence from France after 132 years of colonial rule.

And now, four decades later, 83-year-old General Paul Aussaresses has acknowledged in a book he took part in and ordered the atrocities in his job as chief intelligence officer.

President Jacques Chirac has asked that the general be stripped of his Legion of Honour medal and sanctioned by the defence ministry.

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On Monday night, the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues said it had filed a suit against Aussaresses for crimes against humanity. Other groups said they planned similar legal action.

Aussaresses told the Associated Press that "everybody knew" of the methods used during the 1957 Battle of Algiers, a pivotal moment in France's brutal war with Algeria.

"I express regrets, regrets, regrets," he said. "But I cannot express remorse. That implies guilt. I consider I did my difficult duty of a soldier implicated in a difficult mission."

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Asked if French officials in Paris were aware that torture was being used in Algeria, Aussaresses threw back his head. "Everybody knew. Everybody knew," he said.

"We reported, not directly to the government, but to the local authorities," including to the government's direct representative, the governor of Algeria, he said. "We were clear, but not in writing."

Chirac: Unjustifiable acts

In his book, "Special Services: Algeria 1955-57," Aussaresses wrote that then-French Justice Minister Francois Mitterrand, who served as president from 1981-95, was informed of atrocities.

He also wrote that Algerian war hero Larbi Ben M'Hidi was among those killed. France has for years contended he committed suicide.

The president urged historians to quickly access archives, made available for the first time in April, to uncover the truth. "The full truth must come out about these unjustifiable acts," Chirac said on Friday. "Nothing can justify them."

There have long been suspicions of atrocities during the war, but the period is shrouded in secrecy. Only in 1999 did France officially call the combat a war. It was previously referred to only as "operations to maintain order."

Despite a 1968 amnesty for crimes by French soldiers during the Algeria war and a 10-year statute of limitations on war crimes, there are fresh calls for the general to be brought to trial.

The French League of Human Rights filed a lawsuit last Friday against Aussaresses, saying his remarks constituted an "apology for war crimes."

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Algerian War of Independence
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