Algerians say ‘no to rule of generals’

Thousands of Algerians demonstrated in the capital Algiers yesterday to demand the country’s military steer clear of politics, marking the 13th straight week of anti-government protests.

Army chief of staff Gaid Salah has been in the spotlight since February, when many Algerians took to the streets calling for then-president Abdulaziz Bouteflika to step down after 20 years in power.

Last month, Bouteflika resigned after weeks of nationwide protests and under pressure from the powerful military.

Since then, demonstrations have continued in Algeria to pressure key Bouteflika-era officials into leaving and demand an overhaul of the political system.

Yesterday, protesters rallied in the centre of Algiers, raising placards, reading: “No to the

rule of generals.” Some protesters were critical of Salah, who was appointed by Bouteflika in 2004.

“Gaid Salah tries to get round people’s demands although he is one of the symbols of the Bouteflika regime,” said Salima Hadaidi, a protester.

“Algerians will not accept the military to rule,” the 42-year-old woman added at Central Post Square, a focal point of the weekly protests in the capital.

Other demonstrators renewed their demand for the departure of interim President Abdelkader Bensalah, Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui and parliamentary speaker Mouad Bouchareb, regarded as loyalists of Bouteflika.

Bensalah has set presidential elections for July 4, a step that demonstrators opposed.

“There will be no elections,” protesters chanted in central Algiers yesterday.

They fear that the polls would be rigged by Bouteflika’s allies, who are still in power.