Date: Friday, 19 October 2018
Why did Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika decide to arrest a group of army generals, asks Haitham Nouri
Friday,19 October, 2018
The arrest of five senior members of the military has been making headlines in Algeria, with a military court in Blida south-west of Algiers imprisoning pending investigation five generals on charges of illicit enrichment and the use of senior officers’ privileges for personal purposes.
Algeria’s Al-Nahar TV said the five military personnel were Menad Nouba, a former head of the gendarmerie, Habib Chentouf, Said Bey, Abdel-Razzak Cherif, former military regional heads for regions one, two and four of Algeria and Boudjemaa Boudouaour, former financial services chief at the Ministry of Defence.
A colonel charged with security affairs in Oran also appeared for questioning.
The sentencing comes less than a month after 81-year-old President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika ordered changes to the military and the security chain of command, both of which are powerful circles in Algeria and are shrouded in mystery.
The Algerian president had earlier revealed a zero-tolerance policy towards people charged with corruption, demanding that no exceptions be made to officials on matters of judicial questioning.
The Algerian media stated last month that the Blida Military Court had ordered the five generals’ passports to be confiscated after they were issued with travel bans.
Bouteflika began sacking military and security officials in June, starting with Head of National Security Abdel-Ghani Al-Hamel. On 22 August, he sacked Mohamed Tersh, director of army security and Boumedin bin Anou, the inspector-general of the armed forces.
The Algerian president, whose age and illness has been preventing him from making public appearances, also sacked the leaders of the land and air forces, Ahsan Tafer and Abdel-Kader Lounas, respectively, bringing to 10 the total number of generals sacked.
He removed the head of security at the Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers after the official had “overlooked” the flight of Said Bey and his family despite the court’s travel ban.
Algerian newspapers have pointed out that the dismissals included some second-in-command officials. Observers say that while the sackings have been going on for some time, the political climate in Algeria remains foggy.
Al-Geish magazine, a Ministry of Defence mouthpiece, said the changes were meant to “inject new blood into the military institution to face the challenges of terrorism.” Critics of the government believe the sackings are meant to pave the way to the post-Bouteflika era.
The ill, rarely-spotted president may not be able to continue at the helm, whether or not he runs for a fifth term in office.
Despite the power of the country’s generals, greater than that of most ministers, the military did not oppose Bouteflika’s previous four presidential bids. There is therefore no need for him to dismiss army figures to guarantee an electoral victory.
There also seems little need to dismiss the generals to win the battle against terrorism. The Algerian military has a proven record in this domain, whether in the civil conflict in Algeria in the 1990s, in Mali in 2012-13, or after the 17 February 2011 Revolution that overthrew Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
However, the sacking of the generals could be meant to pave the way for younger military figures, not necessarily enjoying the same authority, to counter the power of the older generals.
Algeria has been suffering economically as a result of fluctuating oil prices, though this may be about to end after the price of a barrel of oil reached $85 and may cross the $90 mark.
Aiding Algeria is the US embargo on Iran, which US President Donald Trump has ordered to start on 5 November. The US move will halt the buying of Iranian petroleum, now exceeding 3.5 million barrels per day, and this may push up the price of a barrel of oil to $100.
The rising oil price will strengthen Algeria’s position economically, especially for the country’s young population that has been ailing during the past 10 years since the international financial crisis.
Algeria could put a younger leader at the helm to help steer the country out of the current impasse, compounded by an economic slowdown and terrorist activities surrounding Algeria from the east in Libya and in the south from the Sahel countries, in addition to the problem of illegal immigration.
In the long list of Algeria’s troubles is the complex relationship with France, after French President Emmanuel Macron recently admitted France had tortured and killed a Frenchman who had participated in the Algerian Revolution in the 1950s before its independence from Paris in 1962.
However, France has honoured Algerians who fought alongside France in the 1950s against their country’s independence. These “harkis” are traitors in the eyes of their countrymen, and France has never really acknowledged their contributions.
No less complex is Algeria’s relationship with Morocco, even if this may soon be resolved.
It may be that observers will not have long to wait before they know who will lead the “country of a million martyrs,” as presidential elections in Algeria are slated for April and May 2019.
