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Algeria: Then and Now (Ronald Hilton, USA, 12/29/97 3:12 am)Nowhere is man's inhumanity to man better illustrated today than in
Algeria. In 1935, when France controlled Algeria, I travelled by bus
from one end of the country to the other, from Tunisia to Spanish
Morocco. Except for trouble in Constantine, all was calm, even among the
Berbers of the Kabilies. There was of course quiet discontent,
motivated in part by the fact that, while the three departments of
Algeria were officially part of France, the Arabs generally had no vote,
while the Jews did, thanks to the power of the Jews in France. Soviet
plotting in Algeria began later.
Beginning with Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, hostility to European "imperialism" was the policy of
the Democratic Party. In 1958 I was on the same platform as Hubert
Humphrey, who impressed me as a stupid individual hanging on to the
coattails of future president John Kennedy. Although the meeting was
about international relations generally, Humphrey devoted most of his
speech to denouncing the French regime in Algeria, which was part of the
Democratic line.
At the time, Batista was still in power,
but we knew that his regime was corrupt and would fall. In my response I
noted his support for "democracy" in Algeria, and asked what he thought
about Cuba. Flustered, Humphrey said "I know nothing about Cuba!" My
response was "You speak with authority about Algeria, which is thousands
of miles away, but you know nothing about Cuba, which is 90 miles
away?" This was unscripted, so Humphrey, bewildered, repeated "I know
nothing about Cuba." It was clear that he knew nothing about Algeria
either. The audience was disgusted.
The present situation in Algeria will be discussed later. See also Cuba.
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