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 but was later finally dissolved in 1937. It can be considered a forerunner of the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN), who fought France during the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

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

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

rule and total

independence Independence is a condition of a person, 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 statu ...

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

Parti Communiste Français The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

(PCF, the French Communist Party) until its dissolution in 1929. Later the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

, the PCF declared Algerian national independence premature. In 1925, Messali Hadj joined the ENA and in 1927 participated in the creation of the

League Against Imperialism The League against Imperialism and Colonial Oppression (french: Ligue contre l'impérialisme et l'oppression coloniale; german: Liga gegen Kolonialgreuel und Unterdrückung) was a transnational anti-imperialist organization in the interwar period. ...

. 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, ar, مصالي الحاج, was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called ...

President, Imache Amar Secretary General and Belkacem Radjef Treasurer. 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 country'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

Parti du Peuple Algérien The Algerian People's Party (in French, Parti du Peuple Algerien PPA), was a successor organization of the North African Star (''Étoile Nord-Africaine''), led by veteran Algerian nationalist Messali Hadj. It was formed on March 11, 1937. In 1936, ...

(PPA). This was subsequently dissolved in 1946 and was immediately followed by the creation of the Mouvement pour le Triomphe des Libertés Démocratiques, 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
– by

, 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 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