Algeria to Lift State of Emergency

justoneofmillion

Junior Member
:salam2:After the numerous concessions the Government in Algeria Gave following the Manifestations and clashes in Early January.On the Oil And sugar prices that were immediately sunk for a period of 8 months!I guess the government is doing good steps may it carry on inshallah.If it is not here to serve Allah swt and be just to his people.It knows what is waiting.

Algeria to lift emergency powers


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Algeria's 19-year state of emergency will be lifted in the "very near future", state media has quoted Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the president, as saying.

During a meeting with ministers on Thursday, the president also said Algerian television and radio, which are controlled by the state, should give airtime to all political parties.

He added that protest marches, banned under the state of emergency, would be permitted across the country of 35 million except in the capital.

His comments come as anti-government protests escalate in Egypt and follows a wave of similar uprisings in other Arab states including Tunisia and Yemen.

Opposition groups in Algeria had recently made the repeal of emergency powers one of their main demands, ahead of a protest planned for February 12.

Last month several hundred pro-democracy protesters took to the streets in Algiers, the capital, demanding the government overturn a law banning public gatherings.

It came after riots erupted over rising food costs and unemployment.

Bouteflika said on Thursday the government should adopt new measures to promote job creation in the former French colony.

Egypt experience

Tarek Masoud, a political analyst from Harvard University, told Al Jazeera that "Arab regimes are learning from the Egyptian experience".

"I think others who are maybe in similar positions to Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, are learning from this experience and perhaps the counter-productive thing to do is to crack down on protests," he said.

The state of emergency was enforced in Algeria following a brutal 1990s conflict with Islamist fighters, which left tens of thousands of people dead.

The government had said at the time it needed the extra powers to fight groups linked to al Qaeda.

But on Thursday Bouteflika said he "ordered the government to immediately draw up appropriate provisions which will allow the state to continue the fight against terrorism until its conclusion, with the same effectiveness".


Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Assalaam walaikum,

It has taken almost 70 years for the Arabs to wake up. Now it is time for action. Please keep informing us.
 

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
In Algeria has just same problems than in Tunisia and Egypt; corrupted officers, violent police, dictator and huge amount of young people without job and future.
 

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
Assalaam walaikum,

It has taken almost 70 years for the Arabs to wake up. Now it is time for action. Please keep informing us.

:salam2:

I try my best, Aapa. My fiancee is Algerian. If there happening protests, I try to send fresh news from there.

:lol:
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Assalaam walaikum,

Just send me some wedding cake.. ( i got cold feet at the altar..and am still single)

Back to the topic: I hate the French. I just hate the French.
 

justoneofmillion

Junior Member
Me too Algerian!

:salam2:

I try my best, Aapa. My fiancee is Algerian. If there happening protests, I try to send fresh news from there.

:lol:
:salam2:Mashallah sister harb I did not know that!May he be a good and pious husband to you Algerians are warm hearted, strong and proud people !but by watching your "awful" thread on foods I think you gonna end up taking over the control of matters hehe.And you know That Algeria does not recognize the Illegitimate state of ....,never did and never will inshallah,There is no Sahyouni embassy in Algeria.You just have to read or hear what the Late Yassir Arafaat has to say Best wishes:)
 

sister herb

Official TTI Chef
:salam2:Mashallah sister harb I did not know that!May he be a good and pious husband to you Algerians are warm hearted, strong and proud people !but by watching your "awful" thread on foods I think you gonna end up taking over the control of matters hehe. Best wishes:)

:salam2:

He is good and pious muslim and likes a lot every kind of sweet desserts... I need to be carefull with foods thread.

:SMILY209: Back to topic.
 

justoneofmillion

Junior Member
:salam2:Update.




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Thousands of police in riot gear were in position in the centre of the Algerian capital to stop a planned pro-democracy demonstration that could mimic the uprising which forced out Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Officials have banned Saturday's opposition march in Algiers, setting the stage for possible clashes between police and demonstrators.

Security forces have closed all entrances to the capital, sources told Al Jazeera.

Already at the scene of the protests, blogger and activist, Elias Filali, said the atmosphere was quite tense.

“I’m right in the middle of the march,” he said. “People are being arrested and are heavily guarded by the police.”

The banned march, that was supposed to begin at 11am local time, was partly broken up a few hours ahead of time. Filali said that people were determined to continue protests.

Protesters are demanding greater democratic freedoms, a change of government, and more jobs.

Police also charged at demonstrators and arrested 10 people outside the Algiers offices of the opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), as they celebrated Mubarak's downfall, Said Sadi, RCD leader, told AFP news agency.

"It wasn't even an organised demonstration. It was spontaneous. It was an explosion of joy," he said.

Mubarak's resignation on Friday, and last month's overthrow of Tunisian leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, have electrified the Arab world.

Many are left wondering which country could be next in a region where a flammable mix of authoritarian rule and popular anger are the norm.

"The timing is absolutely perfect. [Mubarak's departure] couldn't have come at a better time," Elias Filali, a blogger and activist in Algiers, told Al Jazeera ahead of the protest on Saturday.

"This is a police state, just like the Egyptian regime [was]," Filali said, adding that Algeria's government was "corrupt to the bone, based on electoral fraud, and repression".

"There is a lot of discontent among young people ... the country is badly managed by a corrupt regime that does not want to listen," he added.

Police on alert

Said Sadi, the RCD leader, had said earlier that he expected around 10,000 more police officers to reinforce the 20,000 that blocked the last demonstration on January 22, when five people were killed and more than 800 hurt.

Police presence is routine in Algeria to counter the threat of attacks by al Qaeda insurgents. But Filali called the heavy police presence in the capital on Saturday "unbelievable".

At May 1 Square, the starting point for the planned march, there were around 40 police vans, jeeps and buses lined up, Filali said.

At several road junctions, the police had parked small military-style armoured vehicles which are rarely seen in the city. Police standing outside a fuel station, about 2 km from the square, were wearing anti-riot body armour.

The latest rally is being organised by the National Co-ordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD), a three-week-old umbrella group of opposition parties, civil society movements and unofficial unions inspired by the mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt.

Demonstrators in the oil-rich nation have been protesting over the last few months against unemployment, high food costs, poor housing and corruption - similar issues that fuelled uprisings in other north African nations.

Earlier this month, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria's president, said he would lift emergency powers, address unemployment and allow democratic marches to take place in the country, in a bid to stave off unrest.

"The regime is frightened," Filali said. "And the presence of 30,000 police officers in the capital gives you an idea of how frightened the regime [is] of its people."

Wider implications

Widespread unrest in Algeria could have implications for the world economy because it is a major oil and gas exporter, but many analysts say an Egypt-style revolt is unlikely as the government can use its energy wealth to placate most grievances.

Meanwhile, in a statement, rights group Amnesty International said "Algerians must be allowed to express themselves freely and hold peaceful protests in Algiers and elsewhere".

"We urge the Algerian authorities not to respond to these demands by using excessive force."

The government said it refused permission for the rally for public order reasons, not because it is trying to stifle dissent. It said it is working hard to create jobs, build new homes and improve public services.

Other Arab countries have also felt the ripples from the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.

Jordan's King Abdullah replaced his prime minister after protests.

In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh promised opponents he would not seek a new term.

The Bahraini government has also made several concessions in recent weeks, including promising higher social spending. Activists there have called for protests on February 14, the tenth anniversary of Bahrain's constitution.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201121235130627461.html
 
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