Anti-government protests resume in Algeria
Thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets across Algeria on Friday as the “Hirak” pro-democracy movement gathers renewed momentum after a year-long hiatus due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Despite a ban on gatherings over Covid-19, crowds rallied in several neighbourhoods of the capital Algiers in the early afternoon after Friday prayers and marched toward the city centre.
“It’s awesome. It’s like the big Friday Hirak protests,” one demonstrator was reported to have said.
Initial protests
The Hirak protests were sparked in February 2019 because of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term and the long-time leader was forced from power in April that year.
Demonstrators kept up weekly protests after Bouteflika’s resignation, demanding a sweeping overhaul of a ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962.
They only suspended protests last March due to Coronavirus restrictions but calls have recently circulated on social media for a return to the streets.
On Thursday, rallying cries online also included calls for everyone to wear masks at the protest after many had not at a Monday demonstration to mark the second anniversary of the Hirak protests that also drew thousands.
Many people still went unmasked on Friday.
Appeasement gesture by the president
Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune who was elected in December 2019 on a very low turnout in a poll boycotted by the protest movement has made several bids to head off renewed rallies.
On the eve of the Hirak anniversary on Monday, he announced a limited government reshuffle and signed a decree dissolving parliament, clearing the way for early elections, though no date has yet been set.
In another gesture of appeasement last week, he announced pardons that have led so far to the release of dozens of pro-democracy activists, including journalist Khaled Drareni, who has become a symbol of the struggle for a free press.
Amnesty International this week accused the Algerian authorities of a coordinated strategy to silence critics based on an investigation it carried out on the cases of 73 activists who were “arbitrarily arrested” and prosecuted.
Nneka Ukachukwu
