Larbi Ben M’Hidi: A founding leader of Algeria’s independence struggle

By Harsh Thakor*

Larbi Ben M'Hidi was one of the six founding members of the National Liberation Front (FLN). He was arrested in February 1957 during the Battle of Algiers and executed by French paratroopers after being tortured in custody. His death was officially recorded as suicide, but later admissions confirmed it was an extrajudicial killing. In 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged France’s responsibility for his assassination.

In the mid-20th century, demands for self-determination intensified across the Global South. The Bandung Conference of 1955 consolidated alliances among newly independent nations, while the Vietnamese victory at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 weakened French colonial authority. Algeria, colonized by France since 1830 and administered as part of metropolitan France, experienced systemic discrimination under the Code de l'indigénat. Indigenous Arab and Berber populations were denied citizenship and political rights, while European settlers (pieds-noirs) held economic and political dominance.

Born in 1923, Ben M'Hidi worked as a teacher before joining nationalist movements. By the early 1950s, he concluded that peaceful political organizing was ineffective due to repression and electoral manipulation. Alongside leaders such as Mostefa Ben Boulaid, Didouche Mourad, and Krim Belkacem, he advocated armed struggle. On November 1, 1954, the FLN launched coordinated attacks known as Toussaint Rouge, marking the beginning of the Algerian War of Independence. Ben M'Hidi organized Wilaya V and later became political commander in Algiers. He emphasized that the struggle required both military and political dimensions, leading to the adoption of urban guerrilla tactics during the Battle of Algiers (1956–1957).

Earlier, in response to massacres in Sétif and Guelma in 1945, Mohamed Belouizdad had established the Special Organisation (OS) to prepare for armed resistance. The OS was dismantled in 1951, and many members, including Ben M'Hidi, were imprisoned or sentenced in absentia.

In early 1957, French authorities granted sweeping powers to the military under General Jacques Massu. The army employed torture, disappearances, and collective punishment to suppress the FLN. Ben M'Hidi was arrested on February 23, 1957, and presented to the press as a propaganda victory. During one press encounter, when questioned about the use of women in carrying bombs, he replied: “One fights with the weapons available.” Shortly afterward, he was executed in custody. The French military initially claimed he had committed suicide, but later admissions, including from General Paul Aussaresses in 2001, confirmed he was killed.

Ben M'Hidi’s death reinforced the determination of the FLN. The use of torture in Algeria, documented by survivors such as Henri Alleg, contributed to growing opposition within France and abroad. Algeria achieved independence on July 5, 1962, after a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Ben M'Hidi is remembered as a central figure in the Algerian struggle. His emphasis on national liberation over social revolution shaped the FLN’s priorities. Critics argue that this approach sidelined socialist objectives and contributed to the emergence of an authoritarian post-independence state.

Ben M'Hidi prioritized national independence over broader social transformation. This strategy risked replacing colonial elites with a domestic ruling class. The FLN’s military-led structure limited democratic development and emphasized nationalism over socialist ideology.

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*Freelance journalist

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