From: esrmp@warwick.ac.uk (Lami Kaya)
Subject: The will of the Algerian people must prevail
Organization: Computing Services, Warwick University, UK
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 09:46:30 GMT



I have been asked by a friend to forward this message regarding
the situation in Algeria. Please feel free to forward the article
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Lami
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        The will of the Algerian people must prevail


With the news of the explosion of a bomb at Algiers Airport, Air
France and Swissair Algeria has moved one step closer towards
all-out violence.  Needless to say that the root cause of the series
of killings and violent clashes between the security forces on the
one hand and Islamic and probably other groups on the other goes back
to the coup of January 1992.

Were it not for the military and some politicians whose personal
interests were at stake, 1992 would have marked the beginning of a
new era in Algerian politics.  The results of the first round of the
first free legislative elections ever held in Algeria were for some
hard to swallow.  Indeed, they were unacceptable.  The Islamic Salvation
Front (FIS), backed in the ballot box by the majority of the people,
had gained a significant victory.  Five days before the second round,
however, the military struck a fatal blow to democracy.  They forced
Chadli Bendjedid to resign and declared a state of emergency.

To have a clear vision of the situation in Algeria, any event that
followed has to be seen in the light of the hideous coup that deprived
the Algerian people of a historic step forward.  Since the coup,
the military have banned FIS and detained its leaders and thousands
of other Islamists in order to stop its activities and hope
that the people accept the "fait accompli". But to no avail.

The High State Council (HCE), formed shortly after the coup, was
and (still is) in disarray.  Resentment which took the form of attacks
on well-chosen targets  within the security forces, clashes with the
army in many areas throughout the country and desertions of thousands
of military conscripts including officers was growing. Nonetheless,
given the fact that the HCE could not control the situation as they
probably expected, they had to find fresh ideas.  They soon resorted
to dirty tricks in order to achieve their sinister goal: discredit FIS.
The assassination of the former president of HCE, Boudiaf, was probably
their first big move in this direction.  As a matter of fact, no sooner
than the news broke out all eyes were set on FIS, accusing it of carrying
the attack. But this did not last long as everybody soon realised that
everything surrounding Boudiaf's death indicated that the fingers of
accusation should be pointed elsewhere.  Well, almost everyone for the
national radio and Television(RTA) was still looking for ways to incriminate
FIS. Boumarafi, the man who came from behind the curtain and fired at Boudiaf,
was, as alleged by RTA, of an Islamic tendency and influenced by two Eygptian
scholars Muhammed El-Ghazali and Yusuf El-Qardawi. This was a probably their
first major attempt to get the approval of the people in a dirty war against
FIS.

The second attempt unfolded a few days ago at Algiers Airport when the
powerful bomb killed 9 people and injured over a hundred.  The reaction
was yet again the same.  The Islamists are behind it. The ugly act of
planting the bomb at the airport - a public place- was well prepared in
advance. According to the press, the bomb was planted near the Alitalia
counter, the Italian national Airlines.  But why not in Alitalia offices
as was the case with Air France in the city centre?

Who did it anyway?  Two possible answers come to mind:  the FIS to
scare foreign investors mainly the Italians and the French and thus weaken
the government. The security services - in line with the propaganda
war waged by the government against the FIS - to make the Algerian people
believe that the FIS did it and at the same time create terror that would
urge people to accept the slogan "security under dictatorship rather than
confusion".  What security anyway?  I was in Algeria and I was shocked by
the number of robberies and attacks on innocent people in their homes.
All this is happening with the full knowledge of those in charge of
security without a hint of action on their part.  Yet when it came to
dealing with the Islamists no effort was spared.  They were rounded up
and taken to detention camps.   A strange notion of security!

The Islamists have always been qualified by certain quarters as "barbarous",
"bloodthirsty", "extremists", "fundamentalists", "Anti-Western" and thus get
easily targeted in circumstances such as these.  By choosing Alitalia, Air
France and Swissair and by planting the bomb, the government tried to hit
"three" birds with one stone.  To discredit the FIS in Algeria and abroad,
to terrorize the population - through the killing of innocent people in a
public place- and fuel their anger (against the FIS) and to be justified in
introducing new security measures that would give them absolute powers.  Not
to mention the possibility of rallying the little opposition left in Algeria.

Some might suggest that it is a far-fetched interpretation of the events.
Well, it's certainly not with an unelected and illegitimate government that
has however full control of the media and deprives the people of a basic
human right, freedom of expression in the name of preserving security.
Reports of Amnesty International are in full concordance with this.
Besides, not long after the coup that led to the resignation of Chadli
Benjedid and the imposition of a state of emergency, the Egyptian and
Tunisian authorities declared themselves ready to lend a helping hand to the
military junta in terms of security matters.  And it is all too clear what
they mean by security cooperation.  Needless to mention here that both
countries have a very bad record in terms of human rights violations
particularly against Islamists as reports of Amnesty International clearly
show.

The crisis in Algeria - many believe- is political rather than economic,
however significant the economic factor is.  The people have no confidence
in any government that plays the games of the military Junta.  To stop the
violence that has spread into the streets of algerian cities, the democratic
process has to start again so that the Algerian people has to have the last
say.  Only then can we talk of finding real solutions to the economic
problems of Algeria.  Talking of democracy, FIS got a landslide victory in
fair elections (as acknowledged by independent international observers)
where 52% of the Algerian people voted.  The figure is actually higher than
even those who claim to be the champions of democracy.  Unfortunately, the
advocates of freedom and democracy remained silent after the coup and thus
encouraged the unelected military junta to persecute the innocent people of
Algeria.

It is such an irony that those who got the trust of the people in the ballot
box end up in jail and detention camps and those who failed become the
bearers of power. And to crown it all, Belaid Abdessalam who stood as an
independent in legislative elections and failed to win a seat in parliament
becomes Premier Ministre (head of government) of Algeria.
Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast