ALGERIA'S DEMOCRACY REMAINS A WORK IN PROGRESS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 001816 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2016 TAGS: PINS PGOV KISL AG SUBJECT: ALGERIA'S DEMOCRACY REMAINS A WORK IN PROGRESS, ISLAMIST PARTIES SAY REF: A. ALGIERS 01704 ¶B. ALGIERS 01724 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Thomas F. Daughton for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Political contacts from two moderate Islamist parties believe Algeria's democracy is a work in progress and that civil liberties are overly restricted. Both parties cite difficulty in organizing civic groups as a notable problem. The contacts also believe that the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) had lost considerable popular support and was unlikely to make a serious comeback. The parties support a constitutional revision, as President Bouteflika has proposed, but want specific information about what it will entail. END SUMMARY Algeria: A Fragile Democracy? -------------- ¶2. (C) Abdelouahab Abdelhalim, national secretary in charge of youth for the Society for Peace Movement (MSP, a member of the presidential coalition that holds 38 parliamentary seats and 4 cabinet positions),told poloff October 3 that democracy in Algeria, until additional liberties were enshrined in the constitution, would remain fragile and that the government overly restricted civil liberties. He cited difficulties with his own attempts over five years to organize different groups of artists, women, athletes, human rights activists and humanitarians, and maintained that the government had repeatedly blocked the groups' attempts to obtain legal recognition. At present, he added, political parties were not allowed to have formal relationships with student unions, though they existed informally. In sum, democracy in Algeria remained a work in progress. ¶3. (C) On October 9 Ali Bengouya, national secretary in charge of youth for Islah, an opposition party that holds 43 parliamentary seats, echoed those remarks, telling poloff that Algerian democracy was at a fragile state of development and that the political environment was not very open. He added that Islah viewed preparations for May 2007 parliamentary elections as a "struggle on a daily basis." National Reconciliation and a Reborn FIS? -------------- ¶4. (C) MSP's Abdelhalim said that the national reconciliation process and the resulting return of former Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) leader Rabeh Kebir (ref A) made a new and changed FIS party possible, though he did not elaborate on what a changed FIS might look like. When asked why elements of the FIS did not simply integrate into other political parties, he responded that some of its members had, but noted that ideological differences made it difficult for former FIS members to integrate into MSP. He added that MSP supported the government's compensation plan for the families of those who disappeared during the violence of the 1990s, as well as the national reconciliation process. Both were important for Algeria as it moved forward. ¶5. (C) Islah's Bengouya maintained that a revitalized FIS was unlikely to reappear in Algeria because the party no longer had the influence that it once had. If it was revived, he added, it would be different and renamed. He viewed the national reconciliation process as a "good idea." Open debate, specifically on national reconciliation, was positive for Algeria. Bengouya maintained, however, that there had been no open debate on national reconciliation. Instead, he asserted, President Bouteflika bypassed discussion of the measure by issuing it as an ordinance. Constitutional Revisions -------------- ¶6. (C) President Bouteflika's intention to amend the existing constitution through a national referendum process has been openly discussed for months. In our conversation, MSP's Abdelhalim supported the principle of revising the constitution, but stressed that Bouteflika had not presented the specifics of his plan. Islah's Bengouya viewed constitutional revisions as an opportunity to provide clarity on the status of political parties, on the conduct of elections, and on the relationship between parliament and other government bodies. He dismissed concern about presidential succession and said attention to it was largely media-driven (ref B). ¶7. (C) Comment: The view from the two main Islamist parties that freedom remains overly restricted in Algeria is consistent with that of NGOs. Many foreign NGOs are in limbo because they lack legal permission to operate, though the government, with varying degrees of interference, permits them to do so. Islah clearly views itself as a guardian of Algeria's traditional values, which sets it apart from MSP. When asked about last year's revisions to Algeria's Family Code, which expanded freedom for women, Bengouya voiced opposition to them and said that the party had a responsibility to help preserve the country's culture and religion. MSP, in contrast, supported the changes. DAUGHTON