July, 2001

The Berber Uprising and Developments in Algeria

Khaled Al-Sergani

Internal crises inside Africa have escalated during the past three months with the eruption of the Berber uprising on 20 April 2001. The uprising started as a demonstration against the killing of a Berber citizen in a police station. Soon, however, it developed into demonstrations against economic and social conditions, and a demand for the cultural rights of the Berbers, especially the acknowledgement and teaching of their language. The demonstrators soon resorted to violence, and began destroying government buildings and police stations. This highlighted the dangerous internal conditions in Algeria, in light of the escalating violence practised by Islamic groups.

The Berber uprising came at a time when Algeria was about to commence its third year of President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika's term in office, which started with promises to terminate the crisis. Bouteflika took practical measures to put an end to the violence, chief among which was issuing the civil reconciliation law, intended to abolish the main cause of the political violence. However, consecutive developments and the numerous atrocities that occurred showed that the reconciliation law did not provide an effective solution. Economic conditions worsened with the escalation of violence. The political reforms carried out by Bouteflika following the Berber uprising failed to soothe deteriorated conditions.

It is worth mentioning in this regard that the leaders of the military institution, although not at ease with Bouteflika due to his highly centralised authority and as a result of his failure to handle the crisis, have not taken serious steps to relieve him of his duties. They fully realise that they do not at the current time have a competent substitute. Deposing one president after the other, without actually solving the problem, would lead eventually to the military institution losing credibility in the eyes of the public. The military institution and Bouteflika are thus compelled to live temporarily in coexistence until the latter manages to settle the situation or until such time as there is a viable alternative to him. There is, however, no shortage of competitors waiting for an opportunity to replace him.