CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CURRENT CHALLENGES 2.2 Focus and challenges of national liberation 59. The essence of colonisation and its heritage was denial of the dignity and rights of the Algerian people, who were deprived of their freedoms, exploited and impoverished, expropriated from their land, and their natural riches despoiled by the colonial power and colonists. The first concern of the war for independence was to regain the liberty and dignity of a wounded people and their nation. Modern Algeria is marked by its awareness of this challenge to its independence, which it guards jealously. 60. The second challenge facing the post-independence government was the political construction of the Algerian nation, given the efforts by the colonists to stifle it in peoples‟ consciousness. In this regard, the fight for independence and its historical precedents went a long way in strengthening peoples‟ awareness. It also assisted in mobilising people around the ideals of freedom and economic and social development. 61. It is important to underscore the concern of development as a legitimate right of Algeria and its people in order to enable them to emerge from the poverty brought on by colonialism, and to take ownership of and enjoy the country‟s resources and the benefits of economic and social progress. Given that independence had been achieved after such a long struggle, the affirmation of the country‟s dignity and political position, together with the magnitude of the development tasks ahead, led to the establishment of a socialist developmental model. 62. In order to respond to the legitimate and profound aspirations of the people during the liberation struggle, independent Algeria found itself confronted with multiple challenges, such as the establishment and consolidation of state institutions, national reconstruction in all its aspects, the return of numerous refugees and their economic, social and moral welfare. For a young state that had just emerged from a protracted struggle for freedom, the challenges to be overcome were enormous. Significant efforts were made to establish political institutions and a public administration to drive management of the state and socio-economic development; to manage and promote an economic system and social institutions capable of fulfilling the legitimate aspirations and expectations of the people; and, lastly, to engage the country in a political and socio-economic dynamic that would earn it its rightful place in the African, Maghrebian and global arena. 63. In this regard, independent Algeria would be driven by the firm will to restore the government with all its prerogatives and to implement a fundamentally “activist” economic and social policy. Its primary objective would be that of satisfying the needs of the greatest number of Algerians within the context of sustainable development. 64. It is within the framework of socialist and centralised development planning principles that the Algerian government defined and implemented a strategy for industrial development; for ownership, control and development of the 42