|
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika |
Algiers – Thousands of police in riot gear blocked off the centre of
Algeria’s capital on Saturday and stopped government opponents from
staging a protest march that sought to emulate Egypt’s popular revolt.
Small groups of demonstrators angry at President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika, in the picture, gathered in May 1 Square in the centre of
Algiers shouting “Bouteflika out!”. They waved newspaper front pages
reporting Friday’s overthrow of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak.
But riot police hemmed them in, stopping them from carrying out a
plan to march through the city. Other protesters trying to reach the
square found their way blocked and at least one of the protest
organisers was arrested.
“It is a state of siege,” said Abdeslam Ali Rachedi, a university lecturer and government opponent.
After about three hours, hundreds of people left the square quietly,
with police opening up gaps in their cordon to let them through. Some
200 young men from a poor neighbourhood nearby stayed on the square.
Some threw objects at police.
Mubarak’s resignation and last month’s overthrow of Tunisia’s leader
have electrified the Arab world and led many to ask which state could be
next in a region where an explosive mix of authoritarian rule and
popular anger is the norm.
Widespread unrest in Algeria could have implications for the world
economy because it is a major oil and gas exporter. But many analysts
say a revolt is unlikely because the government can use its energy
wealth to resolve most grievances.
Officials had banned Saturday’s protest, citing public order
concerns. A massive police mobilisation, which started on Friday
afternoon, appeared to have stifled it.
Not backed by unions
“I am sorry to say the government has deployed a huge force to
prevent a peaceful march. This is not good for Algeria’s image,” said
Mustafa Bouchachi, a leader of the League for Human Rights which helped
organise the protest.
The protest was not backed by the main trade unions or the biggest
opposition parties. Nearly all members of Algeria’s radical Islamist
groups, which were banned in the 1990s but still have grassroots
influence, stayed away.
Responding to opposition pressure, government officials say they are
working hard to create more jobs and improve housing, and they have
promised more democratic freedoms including the lifting of a state of
emergency in force for 19 years.
The Interior Ministry statement on Saturday’s protest said: “An
attempt to organise a march was recorded today at May 1 Square by a
crowd estimated at 250 people. Fourteen people were detained and
immediately released.”
Officials with the opposition RCD party, which helped organise the
protest, told Reuters the demonstrators totalled between 7 000 and 10
000 and that 1 000 people were arrested.
Reuters reporters at the scene said protesters were outnumbered by
police and by hundreds of onlookers milling around. A small
counter-protest started up nearby, with people chanting “We want peace
not chaos!” and “Algeria is not Egypt!”
The head of an Algerian human rights group says 400 were arrested during the reform protest in Algiers.
- Reuters
Zambian Watchdog