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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 April 1999 Issue No. 426 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 April 1999 Issue No. 426
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Special Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'Give him one year'
By Khaled DawoudAbdel-Aziz Bouteflika joined the Algerian Liberation Army shortly after completing his high school education in 1956. He participated in the resistance against French occupation and was among the closest confidants of former President Houari Boumedienne.
In 1962, he was appointed minister of sports and tourism in Algeria's first post-independence government led by President Ahmed Ben Bella. In 1963, Bouteflika became foreign minister, and in 1965, he joined Boumedienne in ousting Ben Bella from power.
As foreign minister, he built strong ties with Arab, African and other Third World countries at a time when Algeria was gaining a reputation for supporting liberation movements worldwide while conducting successful negotiations with the French and the Americans on oil deals and other sensitive issues.
Bouteflika remained in his post until 1979 when he was ousted by former Algerian President Chedli Benjedid and forced to live in exile for six years.
While in exile, he worked in Arab Gulf countries, which may have been responsible for his conversion from an advocate of a state-controlled economy to free market ideas. Yet, in his campaign he said that he would give priority to restructuring and improving the huge public sector and rein in the policy of laying off workers which has been pursued steadily for over a decade as part of agreements with the International Monetary Fund.
Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika
In 1994, Bouteflika refused the offer of the presidency when the army sought a candidate for the post following the cancellation of the January 1992 election clearly won by the now banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). Bouteflika said he would not take up the post without popular approval and the position went to President Liamine Zeroual instead.
In press conferences held after Bouteflika was declared the winner in this week's elections, his six opponents insisted that the turnout for the vote could not have exceeded 20 or 25 per cent and said they would protest the result by peaceful means. The six candidates who decided on a last-minute pullout from the presidential race and are supported by many Algerians, do not recognise him as the legitimate president, insisting that the elections were rigged.
Bouteflika said in a press conference held after his victory that he would be "a president for all Algerians" and announced that he would remain committed to a truce reached more than a year ago between the army and the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the military wing of FIS.
The truce has greatly helped reduce the violence that has rocked Algeria since 1992. Algerian security sources told Al-Ahram Weekly that the AIS has been helping the authorities in hunting down the more violent Armed Islamic Group (GIA) militants. Bouteflika also said that he would make no major changes in the cabinet line-up until the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in Algiers in June, and that he was in no hurry to amend the constitution.
According to Saeed Nasser, an Algerian columnist, "Bouteflika's road will not be paved with roses" due to the many challenges he will have to deal with. On the security level, the situation has largely improved as GIA fighters have been isolated in the mountains in a few regions near the capital and deprived of popular support, as a result of the atrocities they have been accused of committing. These included the killing of children, women and elderly people and the kidnapping of Algerian female villagers as sex slaves.
Yet, violence remains a major threat and an obstacle towards restoring domestic and international confidence.
In addition to pledging support for the truce with the FIS, Bouteflika said at election rallies that he would not rely solely on security measures as a way of ending the violence. He promised also to give priority to improving deteriorating economic conditions and creating job opportunities, particularly for youths, 60 per cent of whom are out of work.
The unemployment problem is strongly evident on the streets where young men while away the long hours leaning against walls and staring aimlessly at passers-by. According to official Algerian statistics, more than 60 per cent of the population is under 30.
Like the other candidates, Bouteflika raised the slogan of "reconciliation" although he never made it clear which parties he would seek reconciliation with. Algerian analysts attribute Bouteflika's vagueness on this issue to the fact that he cannot afford, at this time, to anger influential elements within the military establishment who reject any dialogue with Islamists, no matter how moderate. Such military leaders are described in Algeria as "the eradication trend".
Neither is the economic picture encouraging. Algeria is saddled with a $30 billion foreign debt and its economy is suffering from the effects of falling oil prices, widespread corruption and a huge bureaucracy built up in the socialist era.
However, diplomats in Algiers speak of an informal understanding reached between Bouteflika and the United States under which Washington has promised more aid and investment in the oil and gas sectors in the country in an attempt to help the economy.
And despite the insistence of the six presidential candidates who withdrew that they do not recognise Bouteflika as the legitimate president, the door is not closed to dialogue between the two sides, especially in the light of reports that Ahmed Talib Ibrahimi and Mouloud Hamrouche are planning to announce the formation of new political parties.
Except for Hocine Ait-Ahmed and Saad Abdullah Gaballah who already had their own political parties, the four other candidates had to campaign on the basis of their individual records. Both Ibrahimi and Hamrouche managed to attract a wide following during nearly three weeks of campaigning, and reports in the Algerian press now speak of an Islamist party which will include FIS supporters led by Ibrahimi and a liberal party led by Hamrouche.
"They will all have to deal with the new president whether they like it or not," said Hameed Yassin, an Algerian commentator.
"Bouteflika is an intelligent and skilful man and even during his election campaign, he did not attack the other six candidates, referring to them as 'knights' running in the same race," he added.
"Give Bouteflika one year. If he manages to survive, he will have a very good chance of finishing his five-year term. In the end, Bouteflika is not Zeroual. He is definitely more outspoken and will not give in easily to pressure even if it comes from within the army," an Algiers-based Arab diplomat told the Weekly.
