FLN-Bouteflika battle widens

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Police arrest a demonstrator as FLN lawmakers protest outside the parliamentary building in Algiers on Sunday. Anti-Bouteflika demonstrators, who were protesting against a court's decision in December to freeze the party's activities, called the president a "dictator" and a "traitor". The demonstration preceded calls for the president to resign ahead of April's election

LAWMAKERS from Algeria's divided ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) demanded on Monday the resignation of President Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika.

The FLN lawmakers -- who support Bouteflika's arch-rival and former right- hand man, Ali Benflis -- issued a statement calling on the president to stand down. "[Bouteflika] represents a threat to the stability of our country, a danger to public order and security, and an insult to the dignity of the Algerian people and the sovereignty of elected assemblies," the statement said.

The call for the president to resign came a day after police dispersed an anti- Bouteflika demonstration planned to be held outside parliament. Riot police blocked demonstrators before they could reach the National Assembly. During the protest, the demonstrators shouted support for Benflis, called for a "free and democratic Algeria" and chanted anti-Bouteflika slogans, calling the president a "dictator" and a "traitor" as riot police and passers-by looked on.

The protest came amid a widening rift within the FLN as April presidential elections loom. Benflis has announced his candidacy in the April polls, while Bouteflika has not yet said whether he will seek re-election.

Sunday's demonstration protested against a court ruling last Tuesday by the administrative chamber of the Algiers Court which froze the FLN's activities and funding, and nullified the results of a party congress that re-elected former head of government Benflis as FLN secretary-general. The ruling was made in response to a complaint lodged by a pro-Bouteflika "reform movement" within the FLN in a continuing legal tug of war between the two factions.

"The FLN parliamentary group expresses its indignation at the abusive and inappropriate use of repressive means, the sole objective of which is to still the voice of the people's elected representatives," the anti-Bouteflika statement said. The statement also said that the deployment of riot police in Algiers "again proves the determination of the powers that be to oppress freedoms, undermine democracy and the political pluralism which the Algerian people fought for tooth and nail".

The party congress last March broadened Benflis's powers while withdrawing its backing of Bouteflika, whom the FLN had propelled to power in the 1999 elections that were marred by an 11th-hour withdrawal of six other candidates alleging massive fraud.

The president sacked Benflis eight months ago in a move that sparked the rift in the FLN, pitting Bouteflika's backers against those of his former right-hand man.

Meanwhile, journalists and diplomats in Algeria warned that Sunday's unrest could be a harbinger of incidents to come in the run-up to the elections. "Serious clashes could take place between the two sides if the presidential clan decides to organise 'spontaneous demonstrations' to show their backing for the president, as it is in the habit of doing," a Western diplomat said.

Newspapers recalled demonstrations in May and June 1991, when backers of the now-banned Islamic Salvation Front staged several days of street protests in Algiers. These degenerated into running battles with the security forces and dozens of protesters were killed and injured.

Last Wednesday the "reform movement" leader, Foreign Minister Abdul- Aziz Belkhadem, called for a "unifying" party congress to heal the damaging rift.

Benflis has openly blamed his former ally for the rupture, and said on Saturday that Belkhadem did not have the right to speak for the party, accusing him of trying to "usurp" the post of secretary-general. He hinted that he might take the pro-Bouteflika faction to court.

The FLN is facing its worst internal crisis since the October 1988 riots ended the monopoly of power it had enjoyed since leading the 1954-62 war of independence from France. Politicians from across the political spectrum slammed the court for freezing the FLN's activities, voicing fears over the move's implications for the fairness of the upcoming elections.

Observers said Benflis, a former human rights lawyer, would be crippled without the political machine of the FLN. A commentary in Algeria's most popular French-language daily, Le Quotidien d'Oran, expressed these concerns: "Even though it is clear that the verdict will in no way affect Benflis's decision to run ... it will go a long way towards further weakening his chances of success."