OBJECT: Signing of an agreement for a ceasefire in Algeria, which also set out the terms for the transition of sovereignty from France to Algeria and included clauses laying out the broad outline of future cooperation between the two countries.
It did not lead to the immediate cessation of violence and clashes, however. According to the National Federation of Veterans in Algeria and the Republican Association of Veterans, wars are remembered on the date of the ceasefire agreement that brings them to an end, as in the case of the two World Wars, remembered on 11 November and 8 May According to other organisations, however, 19 March should not be commemorated, because it did not put an end to the Algerian War but ushered in its worst period.
Negotiations with the GPRA lasted nearly 15 months. Indeed, they comprised not only a ceasefire agreement between two armies, but also a procedure for the transition from French to Algerian sovereignty over a period of three to six months, as well as clauses setting out the broad outline of future cooperation between the two countries for the coming years. The general declaration summed up the key aspects of the agreements.
It set out the structure of government during the transition period coexistence of a French high commissioner, with ultimate responsibility for maintaining law and order, and a majority-Muslim, provisional Algerian executive and the guarantees of the referendum on self-determination which would ratify the Accords and create the Algerian State within a period of three to six months.
It proclaimed the full sovereignty of the future State, guaranteed the freedom and security of its population particularly the Algerian French , and set out the principles of cooperation between the two States, the resolution of military issues and the settlement of disputes. The statement of guarantees promised total impunity to all inhabitants for acts committed prior to the ceasefire and views expressed prior to the vote on self-determination, as well as total freedom of movement between the two countries.
