Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ALGIERS565
2006-03-29 15:57:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Algiers
Cable title:  

REALITIES OF RECONCILIATION CHARTER IMPLEMENTATION

Tags:  PTER PGOV PHUM KDEM AG 
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VZCZCXRO6011
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHMOS RUEHPW
DE RUEHAS #0565/01 0881557
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 291557Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0690
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ALGIERS 000565 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV PHUM KDEM AG
SUBJECT: REALITIES OF RECONCILIATION CHARTER IMPLEMENTATION
HITTING HOME FOR ALGERIANS

REF: A. ALGIERS 338

B. ALGIERS 365

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

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ALGIERS 000565

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV PHUM KDEM AG
SUBJECT: REALITIES OF RECONCILIATION CHARTER IMPLEMENTATION
HITTING HOME FOR ALGERIANS

REF: A. ALGIERS 338

B. ALGIERS 365

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

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


1. (C) Influential segments of the Algerian public, assured
by President Bouteflika last fall that voters were not
approving a general amnesty for terrorists, are expressing
serious reservations on its implementation after seeing
prominent terrorists and FIS leaders returned to the streets
and making public statements demanding a right to return to
political activity. Sensing the public worry surrounding the
mid-March releases of over 2,200 prisoners in implementation
of the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, top
government officials including President Bouteflika, Prime
Minister Ouyahia, and Interior Minister Zerhouni, after a
week of unsettling silence, made public statements making
clear that the Charter's ban on political declarations and
activity by released terrorists would be strictly enforced.
Among the released prisoners have been high-profile former
terrorist Abdelhak Layada, a "regional emir" and number two
of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA),and prominent Islamic
figure Ali Belhadj, former number two in the banned Islamic
Salvation Front (FIS).


2. (C) Initially, the size of the prisoner release, the
inclusion of prominent former extremists, and the political
declarations of some of these figures, contrary to the terms
of the charter, shocked and worried many Algerians,
especially the victims' families, who feared many would
return to violence. The more general concern, however, is not
that the former terrorists will take up arms in the hills
again, though a small percentage may do so, but that the
release of prominent radical Islamists could revive a
political agenda dedicated to establishing an Islamic state.
Following the high-profile government warnings and state
security private warnings, public concerns have been somewhat
allayed and the released terrorists have ceased overt
political activity. Arguably, another positive factor is

that, unlike in the past, the press and middle class
professionals are reacting so quickly and widely at even the
first sign of extremist Islamic political recidivism. That
said, the concern remains; low-level protest demonstrations
have continued, and many contacts fear released terrorists
and FIS leaders are using the quiet to consider options and
lay the groundwork for future political action. (End Summary
and Comment.)

MAJOR GIA FIGURE RELEASED FROM PRISON
--------------


3. (U) Abdelhak Layada, former "regional emir" and number
two of the GIA, was released March 12 from prison in Algiers.
Layada is the most senior member of the GIA, the bloodiest
of the Islamic groups that terrorized Algeria during the
1990s, to benefit from the limited amnesty given to former
terrorists through implementation of the Charter for Peace
and National Reconciliation. Layada was arrested in 1993 for
recruiting and training members of the GIA in Morocco and
sentenced to death in 1994. The death sentence was later
redacted after Algeria abolished the death penalty.


4. (U) A major figure in the GIA from January 1992 until his
arrest in 1993, Layada was suspected of masterminding several
bombings during that time, even though none of the
allegations was proven in court. His release brought to the
surface questions on the implementation of the Charter,
especially among families who lost loved ones to terrorism.

LAYADA MET AT PRISON GATE BY PROMINENT FIS FIGURE
-------------- --------------


5. (U) Upon his release, Layada was met by another Algerian
Islamic figure of the 1990s, Ali Belhadj, the former number
two of the FIS, who himself had been released several days
earlier. Press accounts reported that Belhadj, along with
family and friends, waited for Layada at the gates of the
Serkadji prison. Belhadj accompanied Layada to the grave of
Layada's mother, who died while he was in prison, and then to
Layada's home.

PRESS AND PUBLIC REACT WITH SURPRISE AND CONCERN
-------------- ---


6. (C) The embrace of Belhadj and Layada at the prison gate,
captured on the front pages of most newspapers in the
country, shocked large segments of the Algerian public as
much as the release itself. Conversations with Algerians

ALGIERS 00000565 002 OF 003

SUBJECT: REALITIES OF RECONCILIATION CHARTER IMPLEMENTATION
HITTING HOME FOR ALGERIANS
from all walks of life indicate there is a sense of disbelief
and anxiousness at the release of prominent extremist
figures, like Belhadj and Layada. At a recent dinner hosted
by Ambassador, for example, five of the six Algerian guests
were deeply concerned by the sweeping nature of the releases.
A physician worried that extreme anti-human behavior has
psychiatrically scarred released terrorists and made it
impossible for them to reintegrate socially without
psychiatric help. A civil society activist whose work takes
her to villages and rural areas reported serious unease among
the villagers. Since provisions of the implementing
ordinances made clear (see reftels) that those held on
charges of terrorism involving mass murder, rape, or
detonating explosives in public places would not benefit from
the Charter, Algerians tell us they cannot imagine who would
not qualify for release in the aftermath of the decision to
set free the notorious terrorist Layada. Belhadj has also
pushed the limits of the ban on political activity for former
members of the FIS by releasing several statements
criticizing the Charter and stating his intention to resume
political activity.

CHARTER REALITIES AROUSE PUBLIC CONCERN
--------------


7. (C) The realities of implementing the Charter have begun
to hit home for the Algerian public. Despite a claimed 85%
voter approval for the Charter in September 2005, the release
of over 2,000 former prisoners has made some Algerians
rethink what national healing and forgiveness actually mean.
A Presidential aide quoted in a leading French-language daily
El Watan said, "I understand the pain of the families, the
unfinished mourning, but the crisis spared no one, and the
majority decided in favor of forgiveness." True, Algerians
tell us, but Bouteflika assured the public during last fall's
campaign that they were not voting for a general amnesty for
terrorists. Peace may come at the price of justice, but the
embrace at the prison gate, one Embassy contact explained,
left the impression that former terrorists were free to walk
the streets and form new alliances, since Layada's GIA was
never part of Belhadj's banned FIS. Layada's March 18
interview on Al-Arabia television where he commented on the
National Reconciliation also led many Algerians to question
what constitutes a ban on political activity under the
Charter.

LOW-LEVEL BUT CONTINUING PROTESTS
--------------


8. (SBU) During a March 12 protest rally by several families
against his release in front of the office of the Prime
Minister, Cherifa Keddar, president of the Djzairouna (Our
Algeria) association said, "We refuse to forgive and forget.
No one has the right to forgive, except the families of
victims." Many of the demonstrators promised to protest
every Sunday to show their disagreement with the
implementation of the Charter. These demonstrations are
continuing and reportedly growing in size. The March 26
demonstration featured posters with the faces of women
murdered by terrorists.


9. (SBU) In a March 21 meeting with Ambassador, Ali Mrabet,
head of the Samoud organization dedicated to serving the
interests of the families of terrorism victims, argued that
implementation of the Charter was contrary to the information
the GOA had provided before the referendum, was illegal, and
ignored the concerns of victims' families. Noting that he
had written a letter to President Bouteflika to protest the
release of terrorists, Mrabet said he "would prefer to live
under a dictatorship than a democracy in which his views were
ignored." He added that it was characteristic of Algerians
to forgive as soon as forgiveness is requested, but Algerians
do not forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. Samoud,
like Djzairouna, planned to organize demonstrations. In
order to prevent the police from breaking up the
demonstration planned for the next day, widows of slain
police officers would be prominent in the group.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
--------------


10. (U) In public speeches meant to reassure Algeria on the
government's position on the implementation, Interior
Minister Zerhouni said, "The red line (of the Charter for
Peace and National Reconciliation) is not to use religion as
an instrument, and those who do cannot perform any political
activity." Zerhouni continued, "the Charter was clear about
(former members of the FIS) going back into politics;
however, if they should be excluded, their families should
not, for it is one of the foundations of the reconciliation
not to leave anybody on the margins of society. Why should
the terrorists' children pay for their parents' mistakes?"

ALGIERS 00000565 003 OF 003

SUBJECT: REALITIES OF RECONCILIATION CHARTER IMPLEMENTATION
HITTING HOME FOR ALGERIANS
Prime Minster Ouyahia reiterated these statements in his
March 21 press conference by saying, "When individuals are
banned from political activity, they are banned from it, and
the State should shoulder its responsibilities and will
surely not tolerate any manipulation of Islam...going back to
the chaotic situation of the 1990's will not happen". A few
days later during a March 24 speech to an Algerian lawyer's
association, President Bouteflika said, "I know that the
wounds are still hurting and that the sight of a terrorist
walking in all liberty hurts tremendously, but on reflection,
I understood that the solution was not eradication (of the
terrorists). Eradication is one of the weapons used to fight
terrorism but in precise and clear conditions. The struggle
is social, cultural and economic in order to avoid the
crumbling of our society." He also made clear that
implementation of the Charter would be done in a way that
would promote security as well as social peace.


11. (C) The GOA architect of the National Reconciliation,
Farouk Ksentini, told Ambassador March 22 that he had met for
more than an hour with Belhadj. Alluding to a difficult
encounter, Ksentini remarked that Belhadj "now understood"
the limits the Charter imposed on his activities. Ksentini
also remarked to PolEc Chief that "the word was being passed"
to lower profile individuals released under the Charter,
presumably a reference to home visits by state security
personnel.

ISLAMISTS AT THE GATE
--------------


12. (C) Embassy contacts have reported seeing Islamists
waiting outside prison gates throughout the country during
prisoner releases. The Islamists, according to these
sources, have been on hand to offer moral support,
reintegration assistance, and jobs to the former prisoners.
One policeman reported that he saw an Islamist giving
released prisoners envelopes containing 5,000 Dinars (US
$60). According to several Embassy contacts, the Islamists
operate large networks in contraband goods, including
cigarettes and clothing. This contact expects many of the
prisoners to take jobs from their Islamic brothers instead of
seeking governmental assistance under the Charter in
reclaiming jobs they lost prior to their arrest.

ERDMAN