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WAR

Britain celebrates Norwegian war hero

Britain honoured Norwegian war hero and resistance fighter Joachim Roenneberg on Thursday, presenting him with the Union Jack flag for his daring feats which helped prevent Nazi Germany from obtaining the atomic bomb.

Roenneberg, who was trained in Britain during World War II, led a six-man team for Operation Gunnerside in an attack on the Norsk Hydro heavy water production plant in Vermok, Norway.

His actions were dramatized in the Franco-Norwegian 1948 film "Operation Swallow: The Battle for Heavy Water" and by US movie "The Heroes of Telemark", starring Kirk Douglas.

Roenneberg, 93, was presented with the flag at a ceremony in London attended by Norwegian Defence Minister Anne-Grete Strom-Erichsen.

Norwegian soldiers laid wreaths on the Special Operations Executive (SOE) monument, marking 70 years since the successful mission.

"I think it's an amazing thing to stand and hold the flag that was probably on the pole in 1943," he told AFP. "It's amazing."

Describing his celebrated mission, Ronneberg recalled: "We had the feeling that it must be some very special thing since the British started planning our trip immediately after they had lost 41 people. So it had to be important."

Strom-Erichsen called it a "very important ceremony.

"It's for a very important operation during Second World War which if they hadn't succeeded could have been terrible, not only for Norway but for the outcome of the Second World War," she told AFP.

"It is of course a remembrance of brave men and women and also the strong ties between UK and Norway."

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WAR

French forces tortured and murdered Algerian freedom fighter in 1950s, admits Macron

French forces "tortured and murdered" Algerian freedom fighter Ali Boumendjel during his country's war for independence, President Emmanuel Macron admitted on Tuesday, officially reappraising a death that was covered up as a suicide.

French forces tortured and murdered Algerian freedom fighter in 1950s, admits Macron
Malika, the widow of Ali Boumendjel, pictured in 2001. Photo: Stefan Fferberg/AFP

Macron made the admission “in the name of France” during a meeting with Boumendjel’s grandchildren.

The move comes after Macron in January refused to issue an official apology for abuses committed during the occupation of Algeria – instead, he agreed to form a “truth commission” as recommended by a report commissioned by the government to shed light on France’s colonial past.

Atrocities committed by both sides during the 1954-1962 Algerian war of independence continue to strain relations between the countries.

Boumendjel, a nationalist and lawyer, was arrested during the battle of Algiers by the French army, “placed incommunicado, tortured, and then killed on 23 March 1957,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement.

“Ali Boumendjel did not commit suicide. He was tortured and then killed,” Macron told Boumendjel’s grandchildren, according to the statement.

It is not the first time the real cause of death was acknowledged.

In 2000, the former head of French intelligence in Algiers Paul Aussaresses confessed to ordering Boumendjel’s death and disguising the murder as a suicide, according to the statement.

It added that Macron on Tuesday had also reiterated his desire to give families the opportunity to find out the truth about this chapter of history.

Last month, Boumendjel’s niece Fadela Boumendjel-Chitour denounced what she called the “devastating” lie the French state had told about her uncle.

French historian Benjamin Stora, who wrote the government-commissioned report, has said there is a “never-ending memory war” between the two countries.

The report has been described by the Algerian government as “not objective” and falling “below expectations.”

During his 2017 election campaign, Macron – the first president born after the colonial period – declared that the occupation of Algeria was a “crime against humanity”.

He has since said there was “no question of showing repentance” or of “presenting an apology” for abuses committed in the North African country.

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