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Algeria: Army Chief, FLN Throw Support behind Protesters

Algeria: Army Chief, FLN Throw Support behind Protesters
folder_openAlgeria access_time5 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

Algeria’s army chief said the public expressed “noble aims” during protests against current President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and the ruling FLN party withdrew its support for him, in the heaviest blows for the veteran leader since the unrest began.

Relatively, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Gaed Salah said that a month of demonstrations had been “marked by the deeds of noble aims and pure intentions, through which the Algerian people have clearly expressed their values and principles of sincere and dedicated work to Allah and the motherland.”

The comments, made Tuesday during a tour of a military district and carried by Algerian media Wednesday, were the clearest signal yet that the army was distancing itself from the ailing Bouteflika, in power for 20 years.

The ruling National Liberation Front party, or FLN, also sided with the protesters after a meeting of its top officials.

The “FLN fully supports the popular protest movement,” the APS state news agency quoted FLN leader Moad Bouchareb as saying.

The party also called for negotiations to ensure stability in Algeria, a major oil and gas producer.

“There is a need to work devoutly and advocate unified dialogue,” Bouchareb added, according to the APS agency.

Bouteflika, 82, 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 is adopted, effectively extending his present term.

Leaders who have emerged from the protest movement have not yet built up enough momentum to force Bouteflika to quit or make more concessions. But the position of the army chief of staff and the FLN could make his position untenable.

The military, which wields enormous power from behind the scenes, has patiently watched the struggle from the sidelines, while making it clear that chaos would not be tolerated.

Bouteflika has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke five years ago, and the protesters say a shadowy circle of aides, including his powerful younger brother Said, have been ruling the country in his name.

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