THE Algerian Revolution was one of the bloodiest wars of self determination in Africa. At least 1.5 million patriots were killed as the French practised a brutal scorched-earth policy to stem out what they called rebellion in the Algerian French departments.

Little did the French realise the intensity of the Algerian people's resolve to be free. They had also not learnt from history when King Masinisa told off Roman invaders: "Africa belongs to Africans."

On November 1, 1954, the Front for National Liberation's (FNL) gallant fighters, stormed government installations, police posts, warehouses, communications facilities, and public utilities in spontaneous attacks throughout the country.

The French interior minister, Francois Mitterrand, responded sharply that "the only possible negotiation is war" while Premier Pierre Mendès-France declared in the National Assembly:

"One does not compromise when it comes to defending the internal peace of the nation, the unity and integrity of the Republic. The Algerian departments are part of the French Republic. They have been French for a long time, and they are irrevocably French - Between them and metropolitan France there can be no conceivable secession." He was wrong.

On July 1, 1962, some 6 million Algerians voted in a referendum for independence. The vote was nearly unanimous. President Charles de Gaulle pronounced Algeria an independent country on July 3. However, the Provisional Executive, proclaimed July 5, the 132nd anniversary of French colonisation of Algeria, the day of national independence.

So was Algeria, one of Africa’s noblest countries liberated in short seven years of bloody fighting. French brutality has never been laid bare than in that war and the legacy of the fighting still haunts "civilised" France to this day.

On the other hand, Algeria has remained throughout, a bastion of peace and struggle for human dignity and respect in Africa and the world in general.

In Doctor Franz Fanon, a Guyanese who converted to the cause of the revolution, Algeria produced its revolutionary equivalent of Cuba's Ernesto Che Guevara, an avowed Bolivian internationalist revolutionary who fought alongside Fidel Castro.

Situated in the extreme north, Algeria was one of the frontline states in the liberation of southern Africa providing military training and material support to nearly all the liberation movements fighting against domination by the apartheid regime and Portuguese colonialists.

It also stood by Tanzania during the war against Dictator Idi Amin of Uganda and has continued that cooperation by offering scholarships to Tanzanians to study in Algeria.

As matter of fact, Algeria has offered scholarships to many other African countries especially in West Africa.

According to Algerian ambassador to Tanzania, M Ahriz, it was the vision and desire of the Algerian founding fathers to share the gains of their revolution with the rest of Africa and other peoples in the world struggling for equality.

In the same spirit, Algeria has remained an unwavering supporter of the people of Western Sahara, Africa’s last colony, to free themselves from Moroccan domination.

Algeria too is culturally very accommodating. Despite being over 90 per cent Islamic, Christians and Jews too can freely worship and practice their faiths in Algeria. There is no frowned upon culture either. Tight jeans and mini-skirts are a common sight on the streets of Algiers, the capital.

Since President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected to power in 1999, Algeria has been going through a process of 'peace and national reconciliation' to blot out the effects of the 'decade of a terrorist war' by Islamic fundamentalists who sought to negate the dreams the 1954 Revolution.

On September 29, 2005, Algerians endorsed in a national ballot, the draft Charter on Peace and National Reconciliation which calls for granting pardon to individuals either convicted or imprisoned for armed violent actions, a reference to fundamentalist rebels.

Not covered by the general amnesty however, are all those who were involved in mass murders, rape and public bombings. While it is ready to forgive, Algeria is apparently not ready to forget and such will remain the trauma and pain of the decade of anarchy.

Algeria has one of the most vibrant economies in Africa. The growth engine has always been the gas and oil sector. Algeria has one of the largest known gas reserves in the world and revenue from oil and gas amounted to 45.49 billion dollars in 2005.

The country also runs impressive trade surpluses, a not so common feature in many African countries. Foreign reserves stood at 66 billion dollars as of June this year while inflation was chopped from 3.6 per cent in 2004 to 1.6 per cent in 2005.

All that has enabled Algeria to allocate 80 billion dollars in the next five years to projects on roads, airports and ports. The country also plans to build new dams. Being largely desert, water is crucial in Algeria but dams have enabled it to develop advanced agriculture, exporting fruits and vegetables to France and other European countries.

Under the five year plan, Algeria also intends to construct 1.3 million apartments and a road linking the country to West Africa. A gas pipeline is also planned.

Nearly ten years of fighting terrorism cost 200,000 lives and caused more than 20 billion dollars in damage. Algeria wants to give new hope to all its citizens estimated at more than 34 million people.

Algeria's biggest secret has been massive investment in education or transforming its human capital. The country has over 26 universities apart from other polytechnics. More than half a million students are in universities.

The country has highly advanced pharmaceutical and other technological industries, including automobiles and electronics. In November 2004, Algeria launched a satellite into outer space for geological mapping and other peaceful uses such as storm warnings and locating pests like locusts. It was all through indigenous technology and no doubt an achievement for the rest of Africa.

Algerians remember war of self-determination