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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 Apr. - 5 May 1999 Issue No. 427 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 Apr. - 5 May 1999 Issue No. 427
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Focus Special Travel Sports People Features Living Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Bouteflika's presidency begins
ABDEL-AZIZ Bouteflika formally took over as Algeria's new president at a swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday boycotted by opposition groups which accuse the military of rigging his election.Bouteflika, a former foreign minister, urged all political forces to join him in restoring peace to the violence-torn North African country, saying this was his top priority. But he vowed to follow an iron-fist policy to wipe out Islamist extremists locked in a seven-year-old conflict with government forces in which more than 80,000 people have been killed.
"The utmost priority for me is to restore peace and eradicate violence, all forms of violence," Bouteflika, 62, said in his address given at the seaside Palais des Nations, or Palace of Nations.
"The state is obliged to ensure the security of the people and their properties. We must confront terrorism and mobilise all the necessary means to wipe it out," he added.
Bouteflika made no direct reference to the outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and other opposition groups which stayed away from the ceremony to underscore their claims that he had no legitimate mandate. But he said the task of restoring peace was the duty of all Algerians. "We are all called upon to participate in the efforts to end the causes of rifts and feudings."
Bouteflika pledged to foster a multi-party democracy where politicians from all hues can compete to gain power. "I'm looking forward to a new start based on the respect of all political convictions and in which all politicians can compete in peace and harmony in the framework of the constitution guaranteeing all individual and collective freedoms," he said.
Bouteflika won a one-candidate presidential election on 15 April after all his six rivals pulled out on the eve of the poll on charges of massive ballot-rigging in his favour by the dominant military establishment. Official results gave him nearly 74 per cent of the vote, or nearly seven million votes out of the country's 17.5 million eligible voters. The Interior Ministry said 10.5 million people took part in the election, a turnout of 60.2 per cent. However, the six candidates who pulled out from the race insisted that the turnout did not exceed 20 to 30 per cent.
Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika inspecting honour guards after he was officially sworn in as the country's seventh president on Tuesday (photo: AFP)Bouteflika took over earlier on Tuesday from former army general Liamine Zeroual during a brief ceremony at the presidential palace, attended only by presidential staff. Later, he took the oath of office at a bigger ceremony at the Palais des Nations attended by more than 2,000 officials, diplomats and pro-government politicians.
In his speech, Bouteflika gave no specific details on economic policy but said he would work hard to restore what he called "the respect of the values of hard work and sacrifice" which he said are the foundations to restructure the state-dominated economy.
On Monday, about 10,000 riot police were deployed in Algiers to enforce a government ban on a street protest called by the six opposition leaders to vent anger at the alleged vote fraud.
Besides the violence, the country suffers from an unemployment rate of about 30 per cent and a chronic housing shortage. (Reuters, AP)
