Algeria: Corruption Arrests and Protests Continue

As a reminder, back on April 2nd, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign by the army after weeks of protests. I last wrote about Algeria in mid-May. In that blogpost, I discussed how the arrests being made by the Algeria military were either driven by an attempt to gain support by the protests or to stop political opposition (or possibly both).

Both the arrests and protests continue.

From Al Jazeera (June 18):

Those with "grudges and animosity towards the army and its command . . . are undoubtedly enemies of Algeria," a defence ministry statement on Tuesday quoted Gaid Salah as saying at a military base in the southwestern province of Bechar . . . Large weekly demonstrations similar to those that led to Bouteflika's exit have continued, with protesters demanding the fall of establishment insiders and the setting up of independent institutions . . . On Monday, a court in the capital, Algiers, ordered the detention of Mourad Eulmi, head of family-owned firm SOVAC, a partner of Germany's Volkswagen AG, over suspected corruption . . . On June 16, former Finance Minister Karim Djoudi had appeared before the Supreme Court to face questions about corruption accusations, according to state media . . . His hearing came days after the same court ordered the detention of former Prime Ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, as well as former Trade Minister Amara Benyounes for "dissipation of public funds and awarding illegal privileges".

Part of me

honestly wonders: is army chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah innocent of any corruption? I have to believe that someone at that level can't possibly be clean of corruption charges. To me, if you believe he also has to be tainted by corruption, Salah is just attempting to pacify the protests. At the same, he is taking out powerful individuals. Also, is there an inherent threat being made to the protestors not to go to far in their demands? 

Reuters (June 19) had this:

Six provincial governors were also referred to the Supreme Court in the same case, the statement said . . . “It is my responsibility to draw attention to a sensitive issue, namely the attempt to infiltrate the marches and to raise flags, other than our national flag, by a tiny minority,” the statement quoted him [Gaid Salah] as saying at a military base in the southwestern province of Bechar. 

Reuters believes this statement on flags is related to the Kabylie region east of Algeirs where the Berber minority resides.

According to Wikipedia, Algeria has 48 wilayas (provinces). So 6 of the 48 governors were recently referred to the Supreme Court. I'm not sure if more were referred in the past. This surely seems to hint that the army is clearing out potential opposition.

Al Jazeera (June 21) had this about protests that occurred that day (Friday):

Some also carried the Amazigh colours despite a ban on the minority's flag imposed this week by the army chief, General Ahmed Gaid Salah. "No to regionalism, we are all brothers," the protesters chanted. . . . Some protesters denounced the confiscation of the Amazigh flag. "It's a suppression of free expression, a violation of identity and a provocation attempt," a protester said in central Algiers. The Amazigh make up around 10 million of Algeria's 42.2 million population. 

Reuters uses Berber while Al Jazeera uses Amazigh. Is the military getting worried that the protestors might be going in a direction that might eventually target them? This highlighting of the Amazigh/Berber flag is indicating that the protests are going beyond just corruption issues. There might be some social justice issues here that I am not aware of as I'm not sure of the situation regarding this minority group.