Tunisian parliament rejects bid for French colonial apology

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — After a heated, 14-hour debate, Tunisia’s parliament on Wednesday rejected a motion calling on France to apologize for crimes permitted during the colonial era and pay reparations.

Opponents argued that such a move would spell economic disaster, given that France is Tunisia’s top trade partner and No. 1 foreign investor. It’s also home to 1 million Tunisians.

But proponents of the motion said an apology is necessary to “turn the page on this dark period” in the history of the two countries and put their relations on a more equal footing.

The debate came amid renewed anger in some European countries about colonialism's crimes, stemming from protests in the U.S. over racial injustice and police violence after George Floyd’s death.

France occupied Tunisia as a protectorate for 75 years, from 1881 until 1956. French soldiers only left Tunisian territory in 1963.

The motion to demand an “official and public apology from the French state for crimes, assassinations, torture, rape, forced deportation and looting of natural resources” was presented by the Islamist nationalist party Coalition Al Karama, which has just 19 lawmakers in the 217-seat assembly.

The debate was rejected early Wednesday after 14 hours of debate, with 77 legislators voting in favor, 46 abstentions and five votes against. To be adopted, it needed an absolute majority of 109 votes.

The bill also demanded “compensation to the Tunisian state and to all those who suffered the pain of colonization.”

“We are not animated by any bitterness or hatred, but such apologies will heal the wounds of the past,” argued the president of Al Karama, Seifeddine Makhlouf.

He used the example of Germany, which apologized to France after the Nazi occupation, noting that the two...