Algeria: Update on Protests

It has been awhile since I last looked into the protests that were occurring in Algeria. In fact, it has been so long that I didn't even realize that Amy Chief Gaid Salah had died. Al Jazeera reported (Dec 25, 2019):

Thousands of Algerians gathered for the funeral procession of the country's powerful army chief, who fought for independence from France as a young man and this year became the country's de facto leader. 

The wooden coffin containing the body of Gaid Salah, who died of a heart attack on Monday aged 79, was covered in a national flag and carried by officers.

Since then, of course, I've blogged extensively about COVID-19. As can be seen in this New Internationalist (Aug 17): report, the virus is also impacted the protests in Algeria:

As with any revolution, counter-revolutionary forces have mobilized to block change. The counter-revolutionary campaign currently under way in Algeria draws support from abroad: regionally, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are using their money and influence to halt potentially contagious waves of revolt in the region. At the global level, France, the US, UK, Canada, Russia and China, along with their major corporations, seeing a potential threat to their economic and geostrategic interests, are all supportive of the Algerian regime.

. . . Entering into its second year, the Hirak could not topple the regime; likewise the regime could not exhaust the movement.

. . . The Covid-19 pandemic has, in a way, been a blessing to the ruling classes in Algeria. But the movement is not finished: ‘We are the descendants of Amirouche [anti-colonial national hero] and we will never go back.’ 

First off, it looks like all major powers are supportive of the current regime. China and the US appear to be on the same page according to the journalist. Second, the journalist believes that the protests are not exhausted, but does admit that COVID-19 has allowed the regime to consolidate power.   

As a note: COVID-19 has "official" spread to around 1% of the population. As with all official numbers, the actual numbers are likely much higher.

The following articles explore the topic of the regime consolidating power.

Amesty International (Aug 27): wrote:

The Algerian authorities must immediately end an escalating campaign of media harassment which has recently seen two prominent journalists handed harsh prison sentences simply for expressing their views or for covering protests, said Amnesty International today.

Since the Hirak protest movement, which is calling for radical political change in Algeria, started in February 2019, at least eight journalists have been imprisoned over their reporting or social media posts, often after being convicted on bogus charges such as “harming Algeria’s territorial integrity”, “insulting the president of the republic” or “inciting a gathering”. Several news websites well known for their critical stance towards the government are facing disruption to their accessibility via Algerian networks.

Middle East Monitor (Aug 13):

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called on the relevant state institutions on Wednesday to initiate preparations for the holding of a referendum on a “profound constitutional amendment” that is under consideration.

. . . Tebboune also took the opportunity to accuse former regime members, without revealing their identities, of launching a counterrevolution by using corrupt money to incite popular unrest.

According to President Tebboune, an official opinion poll showed that 80 per cent of respondents are satisfied with the current security situation, because Algeria has managed to avoid the turmoil seen in Libya and Syria.

Okay, any opinion poll run by a (basically) authoritarian government can't be trusted, but it does provide some propaganda. On the other hand, maybe the majority of citizens are fearful that continued protests could lead to a situation like neighbor Libya.

Interesting note is that President Tebboune is saying that former regime members are supporting unrest with corrupt money.  Attacking political rivals is a strategy that I've written about in the past. As I speculated way back then, this is a way to consolidate power. Also, again, nice propaganda to use saying that the protesters are being funded by corrupt money. Previously, (same post) business leaders were being arrested for corruption in an attempt to appease the protesters. Now, charges of corruption are being leveled against supporters of the protesters. To me, this move makes it appear like the government feels it has the political upper hand and that they no longer need to negotiate with protesters.

Let's see who is correct in that assessment: the political / military leadership or the reporting on the ground from New Internationalist.