11/03/2005
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12 victims fall to the violence raging between fundamentalists and soldiers in Algeria
The latest dramatic act of an escalation of violence enveloping Algeria was staged
October 30, and it seems that an end is not in sight. The latest massacre added
12 names to the endless list of victims of terrorism. Eight militiamen and four
soldiers fell to the umpteenth clash between the Algerian army and Islamic fundamentalists.
The news is that for the first time since the end of the civil war, the episode
took place in the area west of the capital city, Algiers, in the region of Orano.
Spreading in all directions. The number of deaths caused by the daily battles between Algerian soldiers and
the militiamen of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat rose to 80 just
in the month of October with the latest 12 victims. It is the only armed formation
that has never laid down its weapons since the end of the civil war. According
to many analysts, the SGPC has belonged to the international al-Qaeda network
for some time, or at least that is what the Algiers government claims. The government
has taken up two different positions regarding the violence for a long time. President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika is asking for help abroad because Algeria is on the front
line in the fight against terrorism, having to fight al-Qaeda on home ground.
But when Bouteflika talks to the Algerian citizens, the tone of his statements
radically changes, and the militiamen become a scanty group of hardened criminals,
unable to cause damage to the Algerian state. The explanation for Bouteflika’s
dual jargon is very simple. Presenting the situation as being dramatic abroad
serves to strengthen his alliance with the wealthy countries in general and with
the United States in particular from a political and economical point of view.
At home, on the other hand, it is in Bouteflika’s total interest to present himself
as the strong man who has been able to bring peace to this country that was torn
by a savage civil war from 1992 to 1999, costing the lives of 150,000 Algerians.
Oblivion as a solution. It was precisely thanks to this image that Bouteflika was triumphantly re-elected
to a second term as president of the republic in April 2004. Bouteflika was the first Algerian head of state elected, and from the very beginning
he pointed to pacification of the country as the only possible way out of the
violence. It all started in 1991, when the first multi-party elections were won
by the Islamic Salvation Front (ISF). However, the army declared the result invalid
and in 1992 took over power with a coup d’état, outlawing the ISF. From that time
on the religious forces started a bloody civil war against the soldiers and horrendous
crimes flourished on both sides. When Bouteflika came to power, his first act
of government was to offer amnesty to all the fundamentalists who had voluntarily
laid down their weapons and who had not committed particularly heinous crimes
during the civil war. The same yardstick of justice was implicitly applied to
the highest Algerian officers. Many war veterans accepted a return to civilian
life, except for the SGPC militiamen.
A constant daily trickle. However, the violence has never stopped over the past six years. There have
been hundreds of victims of daily attacks and ambushes between soldiers, fundamentalists
and civilians. In spite of the reassuring air he puts on in public, Bouteflika has been unable to continue acting as if nothing has happened. In
September 2005 the president decided to submit a referendum to the people, simply
asking them to let bygones be bygones by erasing all responsibilities for the
civil war, both those of the soldiers and those of the fundamentalist militiamen.
The referendum passed with 99 percent approval, even if turnout was low. The Algerians’
desire for oblivion is obvious. Their desire for safety leads them to prefer impunity
for the murderers over any upsurges of fighting. Nonetheless, the 80 victims of
October prove that the way of oblivion is not a solution.
Spreading in all directions. The number of deaths caused by the daily battles between Algerian soldiers and
the militiamen of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat rose to 80 just
in the month of October with the latest 12 victims. It is the only armed formation
that has never laid down its weapons since the end of the civil war. According
to many analysts, the SGPC has belonged to the international al-Qaeda network
for some time, or at least that is what the Algiers government claims. The government
has taken up two different positions regarding the violence for a long time. President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika is asking for help abroad because Algeria is on the front
line in the fight against terrorism, having to fight al-Qaeda on home ground.
But when Bouteflika talks to the Algerian citizens, the tone of his statements
radically changes, and the militiamen become a scanty group of hardened criminals,
unable to cause damage to the Algerian state. The explanation for Bouteflika’s
dual jargon is very simple. Presenting the situation as being dramatic abroad
serves to strengthen his alliance with the wealthy countries in general and with
the United States in particular from a political and economical point of view.
At home, on the other hand, it is in Bouteflika’s total interest to present himself
as the strong man who has been able to bring peace to this country that was torn
by a savage civil war from 1992 to 1999, costing the lives of 150,000 Algerians.
Oblivion as a solution. It was precisely thanks to this image that Bouteflika was triumphantly re-elected
to a second term as president of the republic in April 2004. Bouteflika was the first Algerian head of state elected, and from the very beginning
he pointed to pacification of the country as the only possible way out of the
violence. It all started in 1991, when the first multi-party elections were won
by the Islamic Salvation Front (ISF). However, the army declared the result invalid
and in 1992 took over power with a coup d’état, outlawing the ISF. From that time
on the religious forces started a bloody civil war against the soldiers and horrendous
crimes flourished on both sides. When Bouteflika came to power, his first act
of government was to offer amnesty to all the fundamentalists who had voluntarily
laid down their weapons and who had not committed particularly heinous crimes
during the civil war. The same yardstick of justice was implicitly applied to
the highest Algerian officers. Many war veterans accepted a return to civilian
life, except for the SGPC militiamen. A constant daily trickle. However, the violence has never stopped over the past six years. There have
been hundreds of victims of daily attacks and ambushes between soldiers, fundamentalists
and civilians. In spite of the reassuring air he puts on in public, Bouteflika has been unable to continue acting as if nothing has happened. In
September 2005 the president decided to submit a referendum to the people, simply
asking them to let bygones be bygones by erasing all responsibilities for the
civil war, both those of the soldiers and those of the fundamentalist militiamen.
The referendum passed with 99 percent approval, even if turnout was low. The Algerians’
desire for oblivion is obvious. Their desire for safety leads them to prefer impunity
for the murderers over any upsurges of fighting. Nonetheless, the 80 victims of
October prove that the way of oblivion is not a solution.Christian Elia
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