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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Reconciled at last
By Salama Ahmed Salama
An improvement in democratic practice in any Arab country -- no matter to what degree -- is worthy of praise. Perhaps the stagnation and lethargy which have prevailed for so long are not chronic or irreversible. In the past few weeks, Algeria has opened a new page in its history by restoring peace and stability within its borders, while in Kuwait, the general elections have given the opposition a parliamentary majority.
The results of the Algerian elections and the victory of Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika, however, have not sufficed to dispel all doubts. The withdrawal of six presidential candidates on the eve of election day aroused suspicions that Bouteflika himself may be a puppet put in place by the generals to perpetrate their control over the country. After only a few months in office, Bouteflika has already shown himself to be a seasoned politician. He has derived invaluable experience from his involvement in the revolution, with its positive and negative aspects, its good and evil, its successes and failures. With determination, the will to reform, political realism and the urge to eliminate the constraints imposed by the military on Algerian political life, he has taken the one step few Arab leaders would dare to take, and made peace with the Islamic Salvation Front. As a token of the government's desire for reconciliation, after the Islamist leaders' pledge to renounce violence against the state and abide by law and order, he released thousands of Islamists from Algerian prisons.
While the FIS is still banned as a political party and its leader, Abbasi Madani, is under house arrest, this gesture has enabled Bouteflika to succeed in restoring peace and stability and isolating armed militias intent on persisting in their armed struggle from their grass-roots support base. By declaring that he would take the national reconciliation law to the people in a public referendum, although it had been already passed by parliament, he sought to assert the principle of constitutional legitimacy and show his immunity to military pressure. Bouteflika has also admitted that over 100,000 people were killed during the bloody years of civil war, not 70,000 as had been claimed in recent years.
Once a more stable, calm situation had been created, he turned his attention to France in an attempt to mend relations with that country, which was routinely accused by some Algerian politicians of fostering unrest and violence, and even invited President Chirac to visit Algeria. Having achieved internal reconciliation, he sought a truce with the outside world.
Algeria's human rights record in recent years has been a source of grave concern to human rights organisations. Bouteflika's declaration that the military would have no hand in affairs of state was one of the most significant statements he made to Al-Ahram's editor-in-chief, and to members of the Arab and international press. He clearly attributed the problem that resulted in the generals' monopoly of political power to the failure of several presidents to fulfil their mandate, and their decision to relinquish their authority to commanders-in-chief and prime ministers.
As for Bouteflika himself, he is determined to exercise his mandate in full. His repeated assertions that he has no intention of joining a political party, choosing instead to maintain his neutrality and independence from partisan bickering and political interests, are signs that he will watch his step and avoid the pitfalls that brought his predecessors down. Previous presidents drew their legitimacy from the army or from the National Liberation Front, which for some time was the only political party on the scene. This error may have been the cause of Zeroual's downfall: his attempts to draw legitimacy from a political party failed due to military intervention.
The lack of a legitimate base of support and the influence of the military are problems in many Arab countries carrying out democratic reforms. Party manoeuvres and rivalries could lead to many errors, for which the president alone bears the responsibility and pays the price. If he is entangled in party politics, a president's freedom of movement is impeded and his vision of the future blurred.
The years of suffering and bloodshed may at last have come to an end. The Algerians who suffered years of terror and repression, in addition to a crippled economy, are certainly eager to begin anew. Fortunately, with a man like Bouteflika at the helm, the prospects for Algeria seem good.
