T
tariq
Guest
THE STUBBORNNESS AND FAILURE
OF THE ALGERIAN PRESIDENT
BOUTEFLIKA'S COMMITMENTS
TO THOSE WHO BROUGHT HIM
BACK TO THE POWER
NOT TO ALLOW THE ISLAMIC
SALVATION FRONT IN
THE POLITICAL SPHERE, NOT
TO INTERFERE IN THE
OIL BUDGET, NOR IN THE
WESTERN SAHARA ISSUE
BY: TAOUFIQ GAZOULIT
Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika seems to have respected up to now the three
main commitments towards the generals of the Algerian intelligent army
services, to remain the president of his country, while Moroccans have
been optimistic that the son of Oujda would play a constructive role
in order to help the process of reaching a political settlement to the
Western Sahara conflict. Unfortunately Bouteflika surprised the
Moroccan national opinion, when he embraced rather negative policies
against the endless Moroccan attempts to put an end to such crisis
that lasted over three decades.
Bouteflika became the seventh Algerian president on the 15th of April
1999, ever since he enjoyed the support of the army establishment
which made out of him a fairly week head of state, he knows that the
army was behind the coup d'etat against the former president Benjdid,
and the elimination of President Boudiaf, the army even got rid of two
other presidents Ali Kafi and Lyamin Zerwal.
BOUTEFLIKA AND WESTERN SAHARA
The present deadlock is basically a result to the Algerian non
commitment to its explicit statement, which says that it does not
consider itself as part of the conflict. Facts on the ground show
unfortunately that Algeria is the main and strategic supporter of the
non elected and non democratic polisario.
In his report of 19 February 2002,the former secretary general of the
UN Kofi Anan informed the security council on the visit of the
Algerian president to Houston on 2 November 2001during which he told
the UN secretary general personal envoy James Baker that Algeria and
the polisario are ready to discuss and negotiate the splitting of the
territory as a political solution to the dispute over western Sahara.
This initiative proves Algiers direct involvement in the conflict .In
addition, Algeria continues under the leadership of Bouteflika to
exert a direct control on the refugee camps, particularly by strictly
controlling and limiting the movement of sahraoui refugees. Algeria
and its president should be held responsible for the non-
implementation of the convention on the refugees' status of 1951, by
virtue of which any contracting state, which is Algeria in the case of
sahraoui refugees on its soil, gives the refugees living regularly in
its territory the right to choose to remain, or to move freely. If
Bouteflika is willing ,as he claims ,to help sahraoui refugees in
its own territory in Tindouf, then he ought to instruct his army to
lift the military and security blockade imposed around the camps, he
would then find out that Sahraoui refugees will automatically exert
the self -determination by walking from the camps and returning to
their homeland in Morocco.
In the 28 February 2006 Algeria took part in the festivities of the
Polisario for the 30th anniversary of its creation, there is no doubt
that polisario would not organize such a big military parade in
Tifariti without the approval of the army approval. For the same
occasion Bouteflika seized the opportunity to send a message to the
leadership of polisario where he described Morocco being "the
colonizer country".
When it comes to the recent developments concerning the Moroccan
substantial autonomy proposal. The secretary general personal envoy
for Sahara Van Walsum stated (in his press conference at the
headquarter of the UN, after presenting his report to the UN chief)
that the Moroccan proposal to grant substantial autonomy to the
western Sahara "was the result of an extended political process of
national and international consultations" .As to the role of Algeria
in the conflict Mr Walsum recognized the pre-eminent role of Algeria,
"Algeria has in this whole dossier (Sahara issue) played an absolutely
pre-eminent dominant role ever since1975" this is the third time that
a senior UN official dealing directly with the western Sahara issue
that recognized in a diplomatic Worthing to what extent the Algerians
are directly involved in the western Sahara dispute ,and even in the
decision making on behalf of the separatist movement called
polisario
Despite the Algerian continuous sabotage since the election of
Abdelaziz Bouteflika ,as the president of his country sahraouis
support the autonomy project whether they are in, Semara, Laayoun ,
boujdour, Dakhla, and the rest of the territory, and even in the
Tindouf camps where the overwhelming majority of refugees back the
Moroccan substantial autonomy plan seeing in it a solution that
guaranties political ,economic, and social rights
BOUTEFLICA'S ALGERIAN OPPONENTS TO HIS POLICIES
TOWARDS THE WESTERN SAHARA CONLICT
During the last decade a number of Algerian politicians, and even
former policy makers ,and military generals have expressed openly
their total disagreement with Boutaflika's politics towards the future
of western Sahara .Anouar Haddam one of the leaders of the Islamic
Salvation Front told "ALKHABAR" a daily Algerian newspaper " Sahraouis
would never agree to separate themselves from Morocco", as to Abbassi
Madani,who in a number of occasions expressed his refusal to the
dispersion and the splitting of the north African countries, made it
loud and clear when he was interviewed by "ALJAZIRA"network TV
channel ,and said "as far as the western Sahara issue, we believe that
Moroccans and Sahraouis are one people, we refuse what is called
western Sahara". In the same respect Louisa Hanoun the general
secretary of the Algerian labour party said "the western Sahara issue
is an artificial problem" she added "Morocco is the only Maghreban
country that is facing external plans ton split its territories".
The former Algerian prime minister Abdelhamid Ibrahimi, insists that
the leadership of the army is behind the dispute over western Sahara
dispute, in his latest interview with the daily newspaper "ATAJDID" on
the 12 December 2006 he said "the autonomy plan was discussed when I
was prime minister with president Benjdid, provided that Morocco
preserves its sovereignty over its territory, including foreign and
defence policies. The agreement was made, and president Benjdid did
not refuse"
When it comes to the army leadership it is worth mentioning that the
former general and defence minister Khalid Nezar advocates a political
solution to the conflict, he said "the settlement of western Sahara
conflict should be achieved through the application of such
substantial autonomy as proposed by king Mohamed VI"
It seems that although the political leaders and most of the former
generals of the Algerian army are explicitly against their president's
policy towards the Sahara, Bouteflika is determined to follow the
instructions of the generals with the aim to achieving the strategic
goals as seen by the Algerian army intelligence leadership which have
nothing to do with the wellbeing of sahrauois
THE FAILURE OF BOUTEFLIKA AT HOME AND ABROAD
Bouteflika undoubtedly failed to promote democracy in his own country.
He failed to put an end to "terrorism
OF THE ALGERIAN PRESIDENT
BOUTEFLIKA'S COMMITMENTS
TO THOSE WHO BROUGHT HIM
BACK TO THE POWER
NOT TO ALLOW THE ISLAMIC
SALVATION FRONT IN
THE POLITICAL SPHERE, NOT
TO INTERFERE IN THE
OIL BUDGET, NOR IN THE
WESTERN SAHARA ISSUE
BY: TAOUFIQ GAZOULIT
Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika seems to have respected up to now the three
main commitments towards the generals of the Algerian intelligent army
services, to remain the president of his country, while Moroccans have
been optimistic that the son of Oujda would play a constructive role
in order to help the process of reaching a political settlement to the
Western Sahara conflict. Unfortunately Bouteflika surprised the
Moroccan national opinion, when he embraced rather negative policies
against the endless Moroccan attempts to put an end to such crisis
that lasted over three decades.
Bouteflika became the seventh Algerian president on the 15th of April
1999, ever since he enjoyed the support of the army establishment
which made out of him a fairly week head of state, he knows that the
army was behind the coup d'etat against the former president Benjdid,
and the elimination of President Boudiaf, the army even got rid of two
other presidents Ali Kafi and Lyamin Zerwal.
BOUTEFLIKA AND WESTERN SAHARA
The present deadlock is basically a result to the Algerian non
commitment to its explicit statement, which says that it does not
consider itself as part of the conflict. Facts on the ground show
unfortunately that Algeria is the main and strategic supporter of the
non elected and non democratic polisario.
In his report of 19 February 2002,the former secretary general of the
UN Kofi Anan informed the security council on the visit of the
Algerian president to Houston on 2 November 2001during which he told
the UN secretary general personal envoy James Baker that Algeria and
the polisario are ready to discuss and negotiate the splitting of the
territory as a political solution to the dispute over western Sahara.
This initiative proves Algiers direct involvement in the conflict .In
addition, Algeria continues under the leadership of Bouteflika to
exert a direct control on the refugee camps, particularly by strictly
controlling and limiting the movement of sahraoui refugees. Algeria
and its president should be held responsible for the non-
implementation of the convention on the refugees' status of 1951, by
virtue of which any contracting state, which is Algeria in the case of
sahraoui refugees on its soil, gives the refugees living regularly in
its territory the right to choose to remain, or to move freely. If
Bouteflika is willing ,as he claims ,to help sahraoui refugees in
its own territory in Tindouf, then he ought to instruct his army to
lift the military and security blockade imposed around the camps, he
would then find out that Sahraoui refugees will automatically exert
the self -determination by walking from the camps and returning to
their homeland in Morocco.
In the 28 February 2006 Algeria took part in the festivities of the
Polisario for the 30th anniversary of its creation, there is no doubt
that polisario would not organize such a big military parade in
Tifariti without the approval of the army approval. For the same
occasion Bouteflika seized the opportunity to send a message to the
leadership of polisario where he described Morocco being "the
colonizer country".
When it comes to the recent developments concerning the Moroccan
substantial autonomy proposal. The secretary general personal envoy
for Sahara Van Walsum stated (in his press conference at the
headquarter of the UN, after presenting his report to the UN chief)
that the Moroccan proposal to grant substantial autonomy to the
western Sahara "was the result of an extended political process of
national and international consultations" .As to the role of Algeria
in the conflict Mr Walsum recognized the pre-eminent role of Algeria,
"Algeria has in this whole dossier (Sahara issue) played an absolutely
pre-eminent dominant role ever since1975" this is the third time that
a senior UN official dealing directly with the western Sahara issue
that recognized in a diplomatic Worthing to what extent the Algerians
are directly involved in the western Sahara dispute ,and even in the
decision making on behalf of the separatist movement called
polisario
Despite the Algerian continuous sabotage since the election of
Abdelaziz Bouteflika ,as the president of his country sahraouis
support the autonomy project whether they are in, Semara, Laayoun ,
boujdour, Dakhla, and the rest of the territory, and even in the
Tindouf camps where the overwhelming majority of refugees back the
Moroccan substantial autonomy plan seeing in it a solution that
guaranties political ,economic, and social rights
BOUTEFLICA'S ALGERIAN OPPONENTS TO HIS POLICIES
TOWARDS THE WESTERN SAHARA CONLICT
During the last decade a number of Algerian politicians, and even
former policy makers ,and military generals have expressed openly
their total disagreement with Boutaflika's politics towards the future
of western Sahara .Anouar Haddam one of the leaders of the Islamic
Salvation Front told "ALKHABAR" a daily Algerian newspaper " Sahraouis
would never agree to separate themselves from Morocco", as to Abbassi
Madani,who in a number of occasions expressed his refusal to the
dispersion and the splitting of the north African countries, made it
loud and clear when he was interviewed by "ALJAZIRA"network TV
channel ,and said "as far as the western Sahara issue, we believe that
Moroccans and Sahraouis are one people, we refuse what is called
western Sahara". In the same respect Louisa Hanoun the general
secretary of the Algerian labour party said "the western Sahara issue
is an artificial problem" she added "Morocco is the only Maghreban
country that is facing external plans ton split its territories".
The former Algerian prime minister Abdelhamid Ibrahimi, insists that
the leadership of the army is behind the dispute over western Sahara
dispute, in his latest interview with the daily newspaper "ATAJDID" on
the 12 December 2006 he said "the autonomy plan was discussed when I
was prime minister with president Benjdid, provided that Morocco
preserves its sovereignty over its territory, including foreign and
defence policies. The agreement was made, and president Benjdid did
not refuse"
When it comes to the army leadership it is worth mentioning that the
former general and defence minister Khalid Nezar advocates a political
solution to the conflict, he said "the settlement of western Sahara
conflict should be achieved through the application of such
substantial autonomy as proposed by king Mohamed VI"
It seems that although the political leaders and most of the former
generals of the Algerian army are explicitly against their president's
policy towards the Sahara, Bouteflika is determined to follow the
instructions of the generals with the aim to achieving the strategic
goals as seen by the Algerian army intelligence leadership which have
nothing to do with the wellbeing of sahrauois
THE FAILURE OF BOUTEFLIKA AT HOME AND ABROAD
Bouteflika undoubtedly failed to promote democracy in his own country.
He failed to put an end to "terrorism
