Blog archive: Algeria
Algerian protesters turn their attention to the military
Brian Whitaker
For the twelfth consecutive Friday, protesters took to the streets in Algeria yesterday, continuing their battle to dismantle Le Pouvoir – the corrupt network of political, military and business elites that has ruled the country for decades. Tens of thousands demonstrated in Oran, Tizi Ouzou...
Bouteflika is going, but what next for Algeria?
Algerians who have been demonstrating on the streets for more than a month appear to have achieved their primary goal of toppling President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. On Monday the official news agency reported that the 82-year-old president will resign "before 28 April" – the date when his...
Bouteflika's tricks and promises stir renewed anger in Algeria
Protesters returned to the streets of Algeria with renewed anger on Tuesday, accusing President Bouteflika of trickery. For a brief moment on Monday night it seemed that their key demand had been granted, and that the 82-year-old president, who is in poor health, would not after...
Algerian president Bouteflika cancels election but promises reforms
The strikes and street protests seen in Algeria over the last couple of weeks bore fruit on Monday with the announcement that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is 82 and in poor health, will not be seeking a fifth term in office after all. At first sight, this is a significant victory for the...
Algeria's army chief distances himself from ailing president
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika returned to Algeria on Sunday after two weeks at a hospital in Switzerland for what were described as routine medical tests. His plane arrived at a secluded military airfield outside the capital where there was no official welcoming ceremony. He was then whisked...
Bouteflika offers reform in Algeria, but is it just a ruse?
Algeria's 82-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was formally nominated yesterday for a fifth term in office, even though the current constitution says he is limited to two terms. Bouteflika, who is in poor health and uses a wheelchair, is reported to be in Switzerland for medical...
Algeria: the people versus the 'mafiocracy'
When the Arab Spring uprisings broke out in 2011 there were riots in Algeria, as elsewhere in the region. But while the leaders of three neighbouring countries – Tunisia, Egypt and Libya – were toppled the regime of Abdelaziz Bouteflika survived relatively unscathed. Although Algeria...
Algerians show their discontent: images from the protests
Large-scale protests are continuing in Algeria against President Bouteflika. Now aged 81 and in poor health, he has been president since 1999 is seeking re-election for a fifth term in office (see previous blog post). Today student demonstrations are being organised though there are reports of...
Algerians mock 'dead' president as he seeks re-election
Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been president of Algeria since 1999. Now aged 81 and in poor health, he is seeking a fifth term in office. The ruling FLN party has already adopted him as its candidate for the election in April and other sections of the political establishment have declared their...
University student arrested in Algeria's 'homophobic murder' case
A 20-year-old student has been detained in Algeria, accused of murdering a fellow student in an apparent homophobic attack. The suspect, who has not been named, appeared briefly in court on Monday and was remanded in custody awaiting trial. If convicted, he could face the death penalty...
Algeria student's throat slit in apparent homophobic killing
Twenty-one-year-old Algerian student Assil Belalta was murdered on Sunday night in what appears to have been a homophobic killing. According to friends who discovered his body, his throat had been slit and the words "He is gay" were daubed in blood on the wall of his room. The Algerian...
Bell Pottinger: a disgraced PR firm and its work in the Middle East
A public relations firm which became notorious for assisting dodgy regimes – including several in the Middle East – has finally got its comeuppance. London-based Bell Pottinger has been expelled from the PRCA (the trade body for "respectable" PR firms) for bringing the industry into...