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A Special International Report
Prepared by
The Washington Times
Advertising Department - Published on July 2, 1999
[Home Page]
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Advertisers (1) Sonatrach,
An International Petroleum Group
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Stability predictable for Algeria It would be encouraging to be able to say that the political
future of Algeria will be stable and predictable. There is certainly a common will to efface the deep wounds of the past and a unanimous desire to return to peace and normalcy.
But in a country consisting of people as volatile and unpredictable as the Algerians,
where at one time there were 49 different parties, where the real power apparently lies in
the hands of a mysterious group of high ranking military, no one is really able to assess
properly who will run the government. Certainly President Bouteflika has taken over. For
the first few weeks he remained resolutely silent and now he is to be heard practically
every day telling the people of the deep reforms which he plans to introduce. If he manages to carry them through he will certainly be the most effective president
Algeria has seen for many years and likely the most popular. He has started well by
dismissing the problem of the Arabic language, by negotiating a peace with the AIS (Armee
Islamique de Salut) and telling the Algerians that educational standards should be raised.
His reputation leads one to believe that he will be profoundly pro- USA - when he was
in the government as foreign minister he was known by the people as "The
American".
A feeling of powerlessness vis a vis the government of the country which most feel has
never been in the hands of its citizens has led the Algerian people to flirt with
dangerous Islamic militantism. It has learned a bitter and disastrous lesson. It is a
country, which does not yet know what it wants, but now certainly knows what it
doesn’t want. In essence terrorist movements have to be minorities and certainly the estimated 4,000
have lost any sympathy which they may have once had. They have turned the majority of the
people towards an attitude of “anything but give us peace.” Bouteflika's announced policy of making peace and giving an amnesty to those without
blood on their hands has so far made a good impression on his people. But will this be
good enough to bring peace from the people who have engaged in terrorist acts and have
killed and maimed, who know that the courts will give no mercy? One of them who
surrendered and spent six months collaborating and betraying his former terrorist friends
was sentenced to 12 years hard labor recently. Another solution, which gives a general amnesty, might have better results but it will
meet bitter and angry opposition from the families of the victims who want revenge. Bouteflika would probably have a hard job selling the argument that peace is worth
forgiveness. Are relatives prepared for their desire for vengeance to slow the peace
process and consequently cost yet more lives, when the troubles could probably be stopped
by a complete amnesty? What is wrong with governmental policy - perhaps the communication between the grass
roots and the decisionmakers? They seem to ignore the real needs of the people and then,
when protests begin, to over-react, resulting in a constant stop, start, about turn,
series of policies. In deciding that Arabic was to become the official language and that fines would be
imposed for using other languages in state institutions, the government seriously
underestimated the importance of tamazight to the Berbers, were caught off their guard and
had to backpedal rapidly. Widespread imprisonment of suspected terrorists and their
sympathizers led to mass releases, and the setting up of special courts led to their rapid
abolition. France has still a considerable influence over Algerian affairs it is claimed that the
French government was consulted before the Army’s coup in 1992, when the elections
were canceled to prevent the FIS Islamists coming to power - a move welcomed incidentally
by all the neighboring Arab states. The US State Department feels that in view of the change of presidency and the
tribulations of Algeria, it will just have to stand back and watch for a period which
could reach 18 months, but at the same time it makes loud whispers about hope for
cooperation and American aid. It feels that the country has an interlocked series of three
problems that are dependent on each other. Observers compare it to a messed up ball of
string. If you pull on one string you are not sure that it will not tangle down on the
others. The three problems are Islamic terrorism, a severe financial crisis caused by the
fluctuating price of oil and the leftovers of years of socialist rule. The change of presidency was at first seen with disapproving eyes by its Moroccan
neighbors. They felt that Bouteflika who was foreign minister during a period of extremely
bad relations between the two countries represented an adverse change, but now opinion is
beginning to alter. The upcoming OAU meeting will surely be the occasion of some reconciliation between the
two countries over their longstanding disagreement on the Western Sahara. There is a rare consensus of opinion between the United States and Europe over Algeria. France hesitates often to make firm stands over Algeria in view of its exposed position
as a former colonialist and its high immigrant population, more than two million of whom
are Algerians. It is strange that the right wing, notably the national front, is extremely
sympathetic towards the Algerian nation, but often extremely racist when talking about
"Arabs". All this after the Algerian war of independence in which more than a
million and a half Algerians were killed. Why does the military have such a powerful hold over the political scene? If one is
charitable one could say that the Algerian people are so politically immature that they
need someone to guide them along the right lines. The alternative explanation is that the
military is acting entirely out of self interest, full of seekers of power and wealth.
Despite strident denials, mystery and intrigue it is clear that they are manipulating the
government and people of Algeria and veiled references to Swiss bank accounts often appear
in the press. Genuine free and fair elections seem difficult to obtain and great creativeness seems to be applied to the results and voting percentages. When it was obvious that the FIS was going to win in 1992 the elections were simply
canceled. The elections in 1997 were rigged claimed international observers. And finally
this year’s presidential election had a reported turn out of 61percent, (observers
said that it was really under 25percent), giving a tailor made result for Bouteflika who
had vehemently protested that he would not take part in electoral dishonesty and would
only take office if he had a clear and frank victory. But so used had the other parties
grown to rigging that the six other candidates resigned on the eve of the election after
appealing for an audience to President Leroual to reveal evidence of fraud, knowing that
they had no chance of a fair poll. Talking about electoral fraud after the elections, Ahmed Djeddai, secretary of the FFS,
alleged during a meeting in Algiers, ‘There was a poll of the services on April 11
which said that there would be a second round between Bouteflika and one of the six other
candidates and that on the second round it would be one of the six who would be elected. He added; ‘There are six generals who hold the reins of power since October 1988 -
this time they have been unmasked.’As free as the press may be in Algeria, no one
dares to publish the names of the six generals. They are alleged to be Mohamed Medienne,
head of the secret service; Mohamed Lemari, military chief of staff; Ismail Lemari, number
two in the secret service; Larbi Belkhair; Khaled Nazzar and Mohamed Betchine. Bouteflika is probably awaiting the meeting of the Conference of the Organization of African unity in July before altering his government and no one yet knows to what extent it will be changed. A possible new prime minister is said to be Mr. Mentouri. Candidates for the presidential elections were Mouloud Hamrouche Mokdad Sifi, Dr Taleb, Mr Saad Abdellah Djaballah, president of the MRN, National Reform movement, Youcef Khatib Ait Ahmed. |
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Table of Contents (1) His Excellency
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria (14) Algeria is gateway to Africa (15) A country made for Tourism (16) A Rich Heritage in Arts and Crafts (17) Casbah's unique beauty to be restored (18) Algeria Facts (19) Privatization goes forward with progress, challenges (20) Country rich in resources, civilization, ambition (21) World renowned hotel carries proud past of history and wealth (22) Fight against terrorism has helped world (23) Banking reforms, foreign investment moving quickly (24) World Bank senses new optimism in Algeria (25) Algerian-American Chamber of Commerce meets to promote trade relations (26) Ministry of Labor promotes programs to reduce unemployment (27) Agriculture potential is tremendous, but investment is needed (28) Algeria adopts new programs to solve water shortages (29) Wine growing provides export income (30) Petroleum companies aware of potential says Sonatrach CEO (31) About Sonatrach (32) Bright future ahead for oil industry (33) Huge oil resources will last for many years (34) The place of small industry in the economy (35) Country's first Bourse to open soon (36) ONAB encourages investors to grasp potential in Algeria (37) The El-Aurassi Hotel plans to go public (38) Enad hopes to partner with leading detergent producers (39) ENGG strives to improve refining system and attract foreign investment (40) Agricultural Bank plans expansion (41) Vehicle manufacturer seeks further investment |
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