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Algeria’s 19-Year-Old State of Emergency to Be Lifted
February 14, 2011  
By: Chinyelu Odunze| Printer Friendly

On February 14, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said the country’s 19-year-old state of emergency will end within days and brushed off concerns that recent anti-government protests would escalate to the levels experienced in Tunisia and Egypt. 

Reuters reports that Foreign Minister Medelci said, "In the coming days, we will talk about (the state of emergency) as if it was a thing of the past.” He continued, "That means that in Algeria we will have a return to a state of law that allows complete freedom of expression, within the limits of the law."  Medelci also suggested the president may be willing to make changes in the government as he has done in the past. 

According to Slate Magazine, Algeria’s state of emergency has limited the citizens’ right to assemble, along with freedom of association. 

However, the government insists the state of emergency was a necessary tool in the fight against terrorism, but critics argue that recently it has been used to silence the political opposition by banning marches.  The state of emergency was declared as Algeria spiraled into a civil war between Islamists and government forces, a years-long battle that killed up to 200,000 people. Violence has tapered off and attacks by militants are now only sporadic. 

Medelci discounted the scope and the impact of anti-government protests that took place this past weekend in Algiers and in other key cities in the North African country.  According to Medelci, the protests were supported by a minority of Algerians and he doubts that they will gain strength in the coming weeks. 

The Christian Science Monitor quotes Ali Rachedi, the former head of the Front of Socialist Forces party as stating, “This demonstration a success because it's been 10 years that people haven't been able to march in Algiers and there's a sort of psychological barrier.  The fear is gone.”

The Associated Press reported that February 12, about 10,000 protesters faced off against 30,000 riot police in the streets of Algiers.  According to estimates by protest organizers, although Algerian officials put the number of protesters at around 1,500.  Hundreds more demonstrated in cities around the country and youths clashed with police the next day in the eastern city of Annaba. 

In addition to calling for an end to the country’s emergency law, the protestors also called for the resignation of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has led the country since 1999.  Protesters now say they will hold anti-government rallies every weekend until the government implements political reform. The February 12 march was organized by unions, youth organizations and opposition politicians in this North African country, in what seems to be an attempt to mimic the uprising in neighboring Tunisia and protests in Egypt.

According to the state APS news agency, Bouteflika made the announcement of lifting the state of emergency during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, where he charged the government with finding an alternative method to combating extremism.  Still, President Bouteflika insists that the state of emergency "didn't at any moment hinder pluralist political activity," reports the Associated Press. 

Like several of its North African neighbors, Algeria, a nation of 35 million people, is on edge. Riots broke out last month after a spike in food prices.  Several Algerian cities including the capital experienced days of rioting and protests last month, provoked by a jump in food prices. Two people died and hundreds were injured, officials said. To calm the situation, Algeria cut the cost of some basic foodstuffs and increased supplies of wheat to markets. 

The February 11 resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and last month's overthrow of Tunisia's leader, have led many to ask which country could be next in the Arab world.

Many analysts have said an Egyptian-style revolt is unlikely in Algeria because the government can use its energy wealth (oil and gas) to placate protesters.  Some analysts also note the rallies have failed to attract the massive numbers witnessed in Cairo and Tunis.

For A Timeline of Algeria’s Political Unrest Since 1988, please see:
Al Jazeera - Algeria: A Timeline of Discontent

Sources:
AP - Algeria's 1992 State of Emergency to be Lifted 

Christian Science Monitor - In Algeria, Police Flood Streets to Prevent Egypt- Style Revolution

Reuters - FACTBOX- Middle East Rulers Make Concessions to Protestors

Reuters - Update 1- Algeria Sees State of Emergency Over In Days

Slate - Can’t We All Just Calm Down?

Voice of America - Algeria’s Emergency Law to End

Washington Post - Pro-democracy group vows to march despite ban