Algeria general praises public’s ‘noble aims’
ALGIERS: Algeria’s army chief declared that the public has expressed “noble aims” during weeks of demonstrations against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the strongest signal yet that the military is distancing itself from the longserving ruler.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah said the month had been “marked by the deeds of noble aims and pure intentions, through which the Algerian people has clearly expressed its values “and principles of sincere and dedicated work to Allah and the motherland”.
The general’s comments, made on Tuesday during a tour of a military district and carried by Algerian media on Wednesday, came as an influential party in the governing coalition publicly turned on Bouteflika and those around him.
Bouteflika’s plan to seek a fifth term, now abandoned, was “a big mistake,” Seddik Chihab, the spokesman for the party, the National Rally for Democracy, told El Bilad TV.
“Extra constitutional forces have seized power in the past few years and ruled state affairs outside a legal framework.”
Bouteflika, who has ruled for 20 years, bowed to the protesters last week by reversing plans to stand for a fifth term. But he stopped short of stepping down and said he would stay in office until a new constitution
LIEUTENANT GENERAL AHMED GAED SALAH SAID THE MONTH HAD BEEN “MARKED BY THE DEEDS OF NOBLE AIMS AND PURE INTENTIONS, THROUGH WHICH THE ALGERIAN PEOPLE HAS CLEARLY EXPRESSED ITS VALUES...”
is adopted, effectively extending his present term.
His moves have done nothing to placate protesters pushing for a new generation to take over from Bouteflika and other veterans of the 1954-1962 independence war against France who have dominated the country.
Several members of the ruling National Liberation Front party, known by its French acronym FLN, have joined protesters.
A leading FLN official said on Wednesday that any leadership vacuum would lead to chaos.
RND leader Ahmed Ouyahia, a former prime minister who had close ties to intelligence agencies, spoke out on the protesters’ side on Sunday, telling followers in a letter that “the people’s demands should be met as soon as possible”.