rabbit meat and fresh bread.
Thereafter we proceed to the HQ of one of the battalions situated right on the Alg border. We see and enter the dugouts. There are a lot of refugees around the camp and their appearance was most touching. Later we return to Oujda for a discussion.
The discussion starts at 6.30 pm and we were to leave at 9.45 back to Rabat. At 9.30 it was decided that we should leave by car for Rabat the next day as we had hardly disposed of ¼ of our business.
9. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
Another point…that Capt Larbi made was that the country’s elite must be made to realise that the masses of the people, however poor and illiterate they might be, are the country’s most important investment. In all activities and operations there must be a thorough diffusion of the intelligentsia and the masses of the people – peasants and labourers, workers in the cities, etc.
Thirdly, the masses of the people must be made to realise that political action, of the nature of strikes, boycotts and similar demonstrations, has become ineffective standing just by themselves. Action must be accepted as the primary and most essential form of political activity.
10. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
Whilst political consciousness is vital in the formation of an army and in mobilising mass support, practical matters must not be lost sight of. For example, a woman who is not politically developed may do a great deal for the revolution simply because her boyfriend, husband or son is in the army. Also villages may show individual initiative which must be encouraged.
There is a case where one village attacked a French post without instructions from the ALN [National Liberation Front in Algeria]. In another village, the people dug an underground tunnel on their own.
It is also known that at a certain stage the ALN prevented its soldiers from getting married. Later on this was modified and general permission to marry was granted. Those women who were now married to the soldiers of the ALN, including their families, immediately became supporters of the ALN and the revolution.
11. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
There are certain vital matters which have to be borne in mind in building up a revolutionary army:
Whilst it is important to have your people trained by friendly countries…this should only be part of the plan. The essential point to grasp is to produce your own schools [which] will establish training centres either inside or on the borders of the country.
You must also plan and provide for replacements simply because in combat you will [lose] many men. You will break the revolution if you do not take the necessary preparations. You will also give confidence to the enemy. On the contrary, and right from the beginning you must show him that your strength is increasing.
You must be flexible and original otherwise the enemy will smash your forces.
Account must also be taken for the fact that the longe[r] the war lasts, the more the massacres increase, and the people get tired.
12. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
Spectacular and successful attacks by the revolutionaries enabled the Alg[erian] people to recover their dignity. In Alg[eria] they established zonal commando[s] who had a specialised function. Their activities have no economic advantage but [are] extremely useful in building up the people’s morale. But such action must not fail. Examples of commando operations consist in surface attacks on French soldiers in cities, explosions in cinemas.
You must also not rely merely on a declaration by a prospective recruit that he is ready to fight. You must test him. In one village 200 people declared that they were ready to join the ALN [National Liberation Front in Algeria]. They were then told that the following day there would be an attack on the enemy. Volunteers were called for and only 3 came forward. In yet another case new recruits were told to march to a certain point at night where they were promised weapons. They reached the place at
Thereafter we proceed to the HQ of one of the battalions situated right on the Alg border. We see and enter the dugouts. There are a lot of refugees around the camp and their appearance was most touching. Later we return to Oujda for a discussion.
The discussion starts at 6.30 pm and we were to leave at 9.45 back to Rabat. At 9.30 it was decided that we should leave by car for Rabat the next day as we had hardly disposed of ¼ of our business.
9. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
Another point…that Capt Larbi made was that the country’s elite must be made to realise that the masses of the people, however poor and illiterate they might be, are the country’s most important investment. In all activities and operations there must be a thorough diffusion of the intelligentsia and the masses of the people – peasants and labourers, workers in the cities, etc.
Thirdly, the masses of the people must be made to realise that political action, of the nature of strikes, boycotts and similar demonstrations, has become ineffective standing just by themselves. Action must be accepted as the primary and most essential form of political activity.
10. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
Whilst political consciousness is vital in the formation of an army and in mobilising mass support, practical matters must not be lost sight of. For example, a woman who is not politically developed may do a great deal for the revolution simply because her boyfriend, husband or son is in the army. Also villages may show individual initiative which must be encouraged.
There is a case where one village attacked a French post without instructions from the ALN [National Liberation Front in Algeria]. In another village, the people dug an underground tunnel on their own.
It is also known that at a certain stage the ALN prevented its soldiers from getting married. Later on this was modified and general permission to marry was granted. Those women who were now married to the soldiers of the ALN, including their families, immediately became supporters of the ALN and the revolution.
11. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
There are certain vital matters which have to be borne in mind in building up a revolutionary army:
Whilst it is important to have your people trained by friendly countries…this should only be part of the plan. The essential point to grasp is to produce your own schools [which] will establish training centres either inside or on the borders of the country.
You must also plan and provide for replacements simply because in combat you will [lose] many men. You will break the revolution if you do not take the necessary preparations. You will also give confidence to the enemy. On the contrary, and right from the beginning you must show him that your strength is increasing.
You must be flexible and original otherwise the enemy will smash your forces.
Account must also be taken for the fact that the longe[r] the war lasts, the more the massacres increase, and the people get tired.
12. FROM HIS 1962 NOTEBOOK
Spectacular and successful attacks by the revolutionaries enabled the Alg[erian] people to recover their dignity. In Alg[eria] they established zonal commando[s] who had a specialised function. Their activities have no economic advantage but [are] extremely useful in building up the people’s morale. But such action must not fail. Examples of commando operations consist in surface attacks on French soldiers in cities, explosions in cinemas.
You must also not rely merely on a declaration by a prospective recruit that he is ready to fight. You must test him. In one village 200 people declared that they were ready to join the ALN [National Liberation Front in Algeria]. They were then told that the following day there would be an attack on the enemy. Volunteers were called for and only 3 came forward. In yet another case new recruits were told to march to a certain point at night where they were promised weapons. They reached the place at
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