BOUTEFLIKA'S STRATEGIC MANEUVERING ON THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 001402

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD FR AG
SUBJECT: BOUTEFLIKA'S STRATEGIC MANEUVERING ON THE
FRANCO-ALGERIAN FRIENDSHIP ACCORD

REF: A. ALGIERS 1084


B. PARIS 4560

Classified By: Ambassador Richard W. Erdman,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
--------------


1. (C) President Bouteflika has spoken out twice in the last
ten days against the French law passed by the French
Parliament in February citing the positive achievements of
the French colonial period. Prior to Bouteflika's comments,
however, Algerian Foreign Minister Mohamed Bedjaoui spoke of
a need to focus on the future rather than the past. The
Algerian press and political leaders have vied with one
another in grandstanding and expressing outrage over the
insulting and insensitive nature of the French law, with
several suggesting that the law could undermine the chances
of concluding the Franco-Algerian Friendship Accord in the
works since April 2003. The French Ambassador believes
Bouteflika's sharp criticism of the French legislation is
designed to get in front of building criticism and then guide
attention to the future rather than the past, with a view to
concluding the passage of the Friendship Treaty with France
before the end of the year. The orgy of criticism, coupled
with continued signals about concluding the Friendship
Treaty, underscore Algeria's continuing love-hate
relationship with France, its prickly nationalist pride, and
its greater assertiveness, as it emerges from over a decade
of terrorism and diplomatic ostracism. (End Summary and
Comment)


BOUTEFLIKA CONDEMNS 23 FEBRUARY FRENCH LAW
--------------


2. (U) France was the target of some sharp criticism by
Bouteflika in May on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary
of the 1945 massacres in Setif (Ref A). After a brief
respite without public comment, the criticism resumed in late
June, this time focused on a law passed by the French
parliament in February that cited the positive achievements
of the French colonial period (civilizing mission). President
Bouteflika has spoken out twice in the last ten days against
the law. In a June 30 speech commemorating the 50th
anniversary of the founding of the General Union of Algerian
Muslim Students (UGEMA) and its role in Algerian
independence, Bouteflika rejected the notion that
colonialization has been a civilizing experience for Algerian
society. On the contrary, it had been "a massive undertaking
to decivilize them. It is difficult not to be incensed by
the law voted by the French Parliament on 23 February and
which represents a mental blindness bordering on negativism
and revisionism."


3. (U) On July 2, Bouteflika gave another speech celebrating
the founding of the National Liberation Army (ALN) and said,
"We must be vigilant towards these laws emanating from the
French Parliament that are far from innocent." He continued
his comments by saying, "How can a parliament glorify a
colonial presence guilty of massacres against an entire
people and pretend that this presence rendered service to the
colonized peoples?" Prior to these statements, the only
Algerian principal who had criticized the law had been former
Foreign Minister and current head of the National Liberation
Front (FLN),Abdelaziz Belkhadem.


BEDJAOUI OUT OF TOUCH?
--------------


4. (SBU) Bouteflika's comments are all the more surprising
when compared to public statements of Algerian Foreign
Minister Mohamed Bedjaoui made just weeks earlier. In a June
14 speech, Bedjaoui told reporters that the French law came
as a "surprise" to Algeria, but he underlined that the
Friendship Accord agreed to by Bouteflika and Chirac in 2003
was "important" and that "each country must assume its
responsibilities in this regard....and turn our focus towards
the future." On June 25, he commented that the absence of an
official Algerian reaction to the French law was wise and
that it was unnecessary to "throw oil onto the fire. The
trial for colonialism is not expected in 2005; colonialism is
already condemned."


POSITIVE REMARKS ON ALGERIAN-FRENCH FRIENDSHIP ACCORD
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Bouteflika did strike a positive note for the
Friendship Accord in his June 30 speech, however.
Bouteflika tempered his remarks against the French Parliament
by noting that the Friendship Accord would not be derailed:
"The Algerians extend with goodwill to the French a fraternal
hand to take up the challenges of the future and to finish
with the times of colonialism and the universal claim of the
West." French Ambassador Hubert Colin de Verdire privately
commented to Ambassador that Bouteflika was positioning
himself politically to go forward with the Friendship Accord
later in the year. By first acknowledging the internal
criticisms about the French law, Bouteflika could, in the
French Ambassador's view, prepare public opinion and then win
support for passage of the Friendship Accord.


ERDMAN