09/07/2005
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Turnaround. In the last few weeks, even before the official opening of the referendum campaign,
the Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has started to travel across the country
from north to south and from east to west: Algiers, Skikda, Setif and now Bechar
in the extreme south. He is trying to convince people to go en-masse to vote “yes”
for “National Reconciliation” in the referendum. The objective is to finally re-pacify
Algeria and to finally close the curtains on over ten years of horror.
Changing ideas. The half retraction of the president was made, according to many observers, when
the immense safeguards, that were put in place on the announcement of the referendum
in Algeria, were lifted. One needs to remember that, despite the opposition’s
campaign against him, the aim of the referendum has achieved one of its objectives:
to reconcile the irreconcilable. Actually, huge sections of the forces of order
and organisation for the defence of human rights, the families of the victims
of terrorism and various organisation of the families of the disappeared (those
kidnapped by the secret services and armed integrationists) together have shouted
out a decisive and strong “No.” “No to impunity!” Everyone says. “No to unconscious
politics.”
All the President’s men. The message is clear: in order to obtain in historically difficult times the
total support of the army, Bouteflika needs to tranquillise those that have their
hands dirtied with blood and that never want to wash them with Algerian justice
nor international justice. But why does Boutef (as he’s called in the Algerian
press) always have to make more concessions on all sides? Is it because he must
buy himself the loyalty of the part of the armed forces that have committed the
gravest violations of human rights, probably also a good part of the massacres
that marked the 90’s? Is it because he has to buy the trust of Islamic “moderate»?
Is it because he must always demonstrate that through various referendums and
plebiscites it is him who commands the country and not someone else? Or if you
look at the question from a distance, the President appears to be stronger than
ever. He won the Presidential election despite a strong opposing campaign from
a large part of the private press. He put down the insurrection of the Kabyle
(Berbers) and also gave himself today the luxury of negotiating alongside the
few remaining delegates of the movement the application of the less comfortable
parts of the base of their demands. He has distanced some of the most powerful
generals in the army by sending them into retirement or pushing them to resign:
a good part of them had the real power in Algeria. The last seems to have been
General Larbi Belkheir, another great pillar of the band of ex officers of the
French army. Even if he was one of the protagonists in the return to power of
Bouteflika and who during these years was the go-between between the President
and the army, he was distanced with discretion, without much noise, and has taken
up the role of all powerful ambassador in the Kingdom of Morocco. A position that
certainly isn’t insignificant, given the delicate relationship it has with its
neighbour, however, it is marginalised if compared to the role that he had up
until now. In order to understand the dynamics that are hidden behind Abdelaziz
Bouteflika’s behaviour, one needs to go back to the time of his arrival into power.
A long story. When he was elected on the 15th of April 1999, the new Algerian President was perceived as being the man of
“continuos change.” He was seen as being new enough to make a significant change
and yet still a man of the system who wouldn’t put himself in danger. He arrived
as a candidate of the army. He didn’t deny it, but affirmed on TV that he had
decided to not be a puppet in the hands of the military, and he kept his word.
Boutef was ambitious. An excellent tightrope walker. He knows how to walk along
the fine thread that separates the power clans and gets closer and closer to absolute
power. But a large slice of this power is still in the hands of the generals.
General Medien, alias Toufik, still head of the DRS, the secret service, others
hold key positions in the Ministry of Defence, in the Headquarters of the National
Army…Those that have these institutions have Algeria. It’s been like this since
independence. In order to have and to reinforce his power “Boutef” knows that
he can count on three pillars of support: the reconciliatory wing of the army
and the government, the Islamic moderates and above all the United States. But
there are supporters who exists and that always demand more concessions that are
in their favour. Now in these tight times the president doesn’t have a choice
that he makes concessions for…it’s always more. He granted a primary amnesty and
today he is on the point of organising another. He promised so many modern reforms
(schools, repealing the Family Code, the return of the international weekend of
Saturday and Sunday…) but he has renounced them all due to the conservative influence
on his power…But the heaviest concession is that which he has made to the American
multinationals. The adoption of a new law about energy management, (a law written,
not by an Algerian legislator, but a New Yorker). Algeria has become like this,
even before Iraq, the weakling of OPEP, being the first country among the major
world producers of petroleum to give up more than 50% of its resources to private
sector. “The new law on hydro-carbons has become necessary” confessed the President
of the Republic. Somewhat ironically he said this on the 24th February 2005, which was the 34th anniversary of the historic speech of President Hourai Boumedienne when on the
24th February 1971 he announced by banging his fists on a table the nationalisation
of energy resources and mines in the country. Abdelaziz Bouteflika has won, and
is more powerful than ever. But also many creditors, have now started to present
their bills. But unfortunately it’s the Algerian people that will pay them. Better
still, when you hear Hocine Malti, ex Vice-President of SONATRACH (the Algerian
petroleum company), talking about the glorious years of nationalisation, but he
is also an international expert of political energy, “(…) if OPEP must go down
this road of this law, it will give up to the big world petroleum companies the
control of production, after it has dropped its price. So, on that day it will
be the whole world that is the loser.”
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A referendum to finish the story of the civil war
Written for PeaceReporter by
Karim Metref
Karim Metref
The electoral campaign of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for the adoption of
a Peace Charter and National Reconciliation plan has begun, and will be presented
in a national referendum on the 29th September. But it has also activated the opposition of those that believe that
it is an insult to the 200 thousand people that died during the 1990’s in this
Algerian tragedy.
Turnaround. In the last few weeks, even before the official opening of the referendum campaign,
the Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has started to travel across the country
from north to south and from east to west: Algiers, Skikda, Setif and now Bechar
in the extreme south. He is trying to convince people to go en-masse to vote “yes”
for “National Reconciliation” in the referendum. The objective is to finally re-pacify
Algeria and to finally close the curtains on over ten years of horror. In his last speech in Bechar pronounced before rows of citizens and officials
“brought in” by the local administration and state business like what happened
during the years of a one party state, the president retracted the concepts that
he had expressed in previous declarations. He completely renounced his intention
of declaring a general amnesty. Nevertheless, the national press remembered that
during his speech to the nation on November 1st last year, the 50th anniversary of the start of the war of liberation from the French, he said the
phrase “general amnesty” three times, hitting the table with his fist as if to
bury this concept into the minds of the people. Even if politics of one step forward
and one step backward isn’t a novelty for Bouteflika, one does ask oneself what
made him change his position?
Changing ideas. The half retraction of the president was made, according to many observers, when
the immense safeguards, that were put in place on the announcement of the referendum
in Algeria, were lifted. One needs to remember that, despite the opposition’s
campaign against him, the aim of the referendum has achieved one of its objectives:
to reconcile the irreconcilable. Actually, huge sections of the forces of order
and organisation for the defence of human rights, the families of the victims
of terrorism and various organisation of the families of the disappeared (those
kidnapped by the secret services and armed integrationists) together have shouted
out a decisive and strong “No.” “No to impunity!” Everyone says. “No to unconscious
politics.”“We are convinced that a people tortured by so much hate and so much violence,
comfort has to come through the discovery of the truth about all the aspects of
this crisis. This is one of the conditions because the victims can then find,
deep down in their conscience, the strength to forgive. The existence of justice
can not be seen as the desire for a vendetta, but as an appeal to society because
never again will impunity protect those guilty of these crimes. It is a duty of
the present that, in the future, the collective memory will not allow this kind
of thing to happen ever again.” This was the collective appeal of three organisations
of families of the disappeared (SOMOUD, ANFD, SOS-DISPARUS). Also the condemnation
of the two Algerians leagues for Human Rights was heavy. LADH even if it is considered
to be closer to the government, clearly opposes the plan. In an appeal signed
by its President the lawyer, Boudjemaâ Ghechir, called not to throw a smoke screen
over the tragedy by, “sacrificing truth and justice on the altar of political
games.” Inviting those effected by these crimes to “refuse this status quo in
which everyone is guilty and everyone innocent.” While the lawyer Ali Yahia Abdennour,
President of the more radical LADDH, in a press conference on August 25th declared that,”…there is a political calculation that has been made inside the
regime. We start to be seen as being a problem for the military so Bouteflika
wants to exonerate them from everything.”
All the President’s men. The message is clear: in order to obtain in historically difficult times the
total support of the army, Bouteflika needs to tranquillise those that have their
hands dirtied with blood and that never want to wash them with Algerian justice
nor international justice. But why does Boutef (as he’s called in the Algerian
press) always have to make more concessions on all sides? Is it because he must
buy himself the loyalty of the part of the armed forces that have committed the
gravest violations of human rights, probably also a good part of the massacres
that marked the 90’s? Is it because he has to buy the trust of Islamic “moderate»?
Is it because he must always demonstrate that through various referendums and
plebiscites it is him who commands the country and not someone else? Or if you
look at the question from a distance, the President appears to be stronger than
ever. He won the Presidential election despite a strong opposing campaign from
a large part of the private press. He put down the insurrection of the Kabyle
(Berbers) and also gave himself today the luxury of negotiating alongside the
few remaining delegates of the movement the application of the less comfortable
parts of the base of their demands. He has distanced some of the most powerful
generals in the army by sending them into retirement or pushing them to resign:
a good part of them had the real power in Algeria. The last seems to have been
General Larbi Belkheir, another great pillar of the band of ex officers of the
French army. Even if he was one of the protagonists in the return to power of
Bouteflika and who during these years was the go-between between the President
and the army, he was distanced with discretion, without much noise, and has taken
up the role of all powerful ambassador in the Kingdom of Morocco. A position that
certainly isn’t insignificant, given the delicate relationship it has with its
neighbour, however, it is marginalised if compared to the role that he had up
until now. In order to understand the dynamics that are hidden behind Abdelaziz
Bouteflika’s behaviour, one needs to go back to the time of his arrival into power.
A long story. When he was elected on the 15th of April 1999, the new Algerian President was perceived as being the man of
“continuos change.” He was seen as being new enough to make a significant change
and yet still a man of the system who wouldn’t put himself in danger. He arrived
as a candidate of the army. He didn’t deny it, but affirmed on TV that he had
decided to not be a puppet in the hands of the military, and he kept his word.
Boutef was ambitious. An excellent tightrope walker. He knows how to walk along
the fine thread that separates the power clans and gets closer and closer to absolute
power. But a large slice of this power is still in the hands of the generals.
General Medien, alias Toufik, still head of the DRS, the secret service, others
hold key positions in the Ministry of Defence, in the Headquarters of the National
Army…Those that have these institutions have Algeria. It’s been like this since
independence. In order to have and to reinforce his power “Boutef” knows that
he can count on three pillars of support: the reconciliatory wing of the army
and the government, the Islamic moderates and above all the United States. But
there are supporters who exists and that always demand more concessions that are
in their favour. Now in these tight times the president doesn’t have a choice
that he makes concessions for…it’s always more. He granted a primary amnesty and
today he is on the point of organising another. He promised so many modern reforms
(schools, repealing the Family Code, the return of the international weekend of
Saturday and Sunday…) but he has renounced them all due to the conservative influence
on his power…But the heaviest concession is that which he has made to the American
multinationals. The adoption of a new law about energy management, (a law written,
not by an Algerian legislator, but a New Yorker). Algeria has become like this,
even before Iraq, the weakling of OPEP, being the first country among the major
world producers of petroleum to give up more than 50% of its resources to private
sector. “The new law on hydro-carbons has become necessary” confessed the President
of the Republic. Somewhat ironically he said this on the 24th February 2005, which was the 34th anniversary of the historic speech of President Hourai Boumedienne when on the
24th February 1971 he announced by banging his fists on a table the nationalisation
of energy resources and mines in the country. Abdelaziz Bouteflika has won, and
is more powerful than ever. But also many creditors, have now started to present
their bills. But unfortunately it’s the Algerian people that will pay them. Better
still, when you hear Hocine Malti, ex Vice-President of SONATRACH (the Algerian
petroleum company), talking about the glorious years of nationalisation, but he
is also an international expert of political energy, “(…) if OPEP must go down
this road of this law, it will give up to the big world petroleum companies the
control of production, after it has dropped its price. So, on that day it will
be the whole world that is the loser.” 
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