The Étoile Nord-Africaine or ENA (French for ''North African Star'') was an early Algerian nationalist organization founded in 1926. It was dissolved first in 1929, then reorganised in 1933 under the name of Glorieuse ENA and again dissolved in 1937. It is considered a forerunner of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), who fought France during the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

(1954–62). It was formed in 1926 by Algerian nationalist politician Hadj-Ali Abdelkader and called for an uprising against French colonial rule and total

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. It had no armed wing and attempted to organize peacefully. The party maintained links with the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

(PCF), until its dissolution. Later the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

, the PCF declared Algerian national independence premature. Messali Hadj joined the ENA shortly after its creation and in 1927 participated in the creation of the

League Against Imperialism The League Against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression (; ) was a transnational anti-imperialist organisation in the interwar period. It has also been referred to as the League of Oppressed People, and the World Anti-Imperialist League, or simp ...

. The reorganisation of the 'Glorieuse ENA' in 1933 elected

Messali Hadj Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj (; May 16, 1898 – June 3, 1974; commonly known as Messali Hadj, ) was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called the "father" of Algeria ...

President, Imache Amar Secretary General and Belkacem Radjef Treasurer. The party broke ties with the communist party. It also voted for an ambitious plan to lead Algeria to independence by peaceful means. The Étoile was dissolved by the French authorities in 1937 and Messali was imprisoned. It is considered by some the first modern Algerian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. In 1937, two months after its dissolution, the leaders of ENA, including Messali, founded the Algerian People's Party (PPA). This was subsequently dissolved in 1946 and was immediately followed by the creation of the

Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties The Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD), name proposed by Maiza, was created October 1946 to replace the outlawed Parti du Peuple Algerien (PPA). Messali Hadj remained as its president. The MTLD was created on the same platfo ...

(MTLD), which later became increasingly militant. Messali distanced himself from the MTLD mainstream when it became involved in the

started by the FLN in November 1954.

References

External links

Program of the Étoile Nord-Africaine
– fro
www.marxists.org

Literature

*Rachid Tlemcani, ''State and Revolution in Algeria'', Boulder: Westview Press (1986). *Benyoucef Ben Khedda, "Les Origines du 1er Novembre 1954", Algiers: Editions Dahlab (1989). {{DEFAULTSORT:Etoile Nord-Africaine Politics of French Algeria Background and causes of the Algerian War 1920s in Algeria 1926 establishments in Algeria 1929 disestablishments in Algeria 1930s in Algeria 1933 establishments in Algeria 1937 disestablishments in Algeria Banned secessionist parties Banned political parties in Algeria Defunct political parties in France Political parties disestablished in 1929 Political parties disestablished in 1937 Political parties established in 1926 Political parties established in 1933