Aron Sees No End To Algerian Crisis

There is little hope for an immediate settlement of the Algerian crisis despite overwhelming evidence for a referendum victory on Jan. 8, Raymond Aron, Ford Research Professor of Government, declared yesterday afternoon at the Hillel Round Table of World Affairs.

Charming his crowded but appreciative audience with a witty sense of humor, Aron explained that there are too many questions which have not yet been answered. Nobody knows, he pointed out, what sort of people De Gaulle is going to put in power if independence is granted to Algeria. And nobody knows how he is going to deal with the FLN (National Liberation Front).

The most important question, however, is how DeGaulle plans to make peace in the first place. The French president, he pointed out, has not been able to come to any agreement with the FLN up to this time. He has demanded a cease-fire before negotiations can begin, but the FLN has not agreed to stop fighting merely on the promise of one man.

According to Aron, this present impasse in negotiations has only made clear the near futility of the coming referendum. On Jan. 8, the French and Algerians will vote for either independence, association with French rule, or integration into the French republic. But these issues, he said, are the same as those that brought De Gaulle to power in the first place. Thus he is now merely trying to do what the Fourth Republic couldn't do during the crisis in 1958.

Aron added that there was little opposition to De Gaulle since he has the right to dissolve the parliament if it doesn't do what he wants. In addition, "even when the Prime Minister disagrees with De Gaulle, he is sure that De Gaulle is right."

He emphasized, however, that De Gaulle is "indispensable" and that there is "no alternative" to his government as long as the fighting continues. "It is better," he added, "that De Gaulle not disappear until the crisis is over.