Algerian Leader Presents Case For Independence From France

In a crowded Winthrop House forum that lasted into the early morning hours, seven young North African leaders--of student, labor and "scouting" movements in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco--heard their spokesman, Ait Chaalal, President of the General Union of Algerian Moslem Students, put forth the cause of Algerian freedom and independence from France.

Closely allied with the revolutionary F.L.N., Chaalal, age 30, denounced the French for "massive repression" of F.L.N. leaders. "Although the French have tried to decapitate our movement," said Chaalal, "the repression has only reinforced our desire to fight for independence at any price."

"Trumped, Tricked, Fabricated"

The French, said Chaalal, have "trumped, tricked, fabricated" previous elections in Algeria. Alluding to the "facility of General de Gaulle's language," he insisted on the "integrity of the Algerian national territory." Although de Gaulle has made vague proposals for regional referenda in Algeria (concerning independence), Chaalal said that the Sahara oil resources belong to Algeria, and that the country must gain freedom "as a whole."

Further, Chaalal questioned de Gaulle's good faith, and also some of the French leader's proposals for an end to Algerian hostilities: specifically, that the French people, in a referendum of their own, would have to approve any Algerian decision.

Stanley H. Hoffmann, assistant professor of Government, questioned these arguments. The best way to obtain election guarantees, he said, is for the F.L.N. leaders to go to Paris and negotiate. And, Hoffmann suggested, the proposed French referendum may serve to force the hand of the "more reactionary" National Assembly.