Paris (December 11, 2005) – In the current debate on torture, the Europeans take a holier-than-thou position. This is amazing because torture has been always an integral part of their history. Just look around, you can find a torture chamber in almost every European History Museum.For France, the biggest elephant in the room is the 1954-1962 Algerian war. French President Jacques Chirac was a captain of the French Armed Forces during this time. The official French history speaks of torture in this war, but only from the Algerian side. However, in the period 2000-2001, two famous and highly decorated French generals of this war, General Jacques Massu and General Paul Aussaresses publicly acknowledged that French troops had "tortured" Algerians. General Massu admitted in interviews to Le Monde in November 2000 that torture was “institutionalized”. General Aussaresses stated in his book “Special Services, Algeria 1955-1957” published in May 2001 that he and his troops had tortured and killed Algerian prisoners "with the full knowledge and backing of the French government." He was subsequently stripped of military rank and the Legion d’Honneur, one of France’s most prestigious medals.
However, President Chirac rejected a formal apology over France’s use of torture during the Algerian war. He would do nothing to “detract from the honor of those French soldiers” who had fought in the conflict.
