OPPOSITION PARTY ALLEGES INTIMIDATION, CONTAINMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 001585

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AG
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION PARTY ALLEGES INTIMIDATION, CONTAINMENT

REF: A. ALGIERS 1527


B. ALGIERS 1559

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Thomas F. Daughton;
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In what he describes as an effort to confine
his party's influence to its historical base in the Kabylie
region, Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) leader Said
Sadi alleged privately to us that RCD activists have been
intimidated, kidnapped and, in some cases, tortured. In the
run-up to the November 29 local elections, scores of RCD
candidates in districts outside the party's Kabylie
stronghold were rejected with security and administrative
justifications (ref B),and the October 29 edition of the
government daily El Moujahid featured an official response to
these cases from the Interior ministry. Beyond the media
furore over rejected candidate slates and the role of
Interior lie more sordid examples of the obstacles facing the
RCD, most of which have remained out of the public eye. END
SUMMARY.

A CANDIDATE KIDNAPPED, THREATENED
--------------


2. (C) RCD President Dr. Said Sadi, along with Bejaia MP and
RCD Secretary for International Relations Tarek Mira, told
poloff on October 27 that the ruling regime was playing "a
dangerous game" to prevent the RCD from expanding and
competing in the elections outside of the troubled Kabylie
region, RCD's traditional Berber base. The October 29
edition of El Moujahid featured a detailed government
response to an appeal filed by the RCD, but the response
focused solely on the issue of the candidates rejected by the
Interior ministry (ref B). RCD's complaints run much deeper.
According to Sadi, in the wilaya of El Golea, an Arab oasis
town in central Algeria, RCD candidate Abdelhakim Benmechrah
was blindfolded and kidnapped for a week at the end of
September. According to Sadi and Mira, Benmechrah was even
threatened personally by the wali (governor) "not to bring
this Berber party into Arab lands." Benmechrah, the son of a
wealthy Toyota dealer, subsequently had his candidacy
rejected by the police for security reasons after the El
Golea RCD slate was submitted on October 9.

BERBERS AND HARKIS "NOT WELCOME" IN ARAB AREAS
-------------- -


3. (C) In the wilaya of Chlef, halfway between Algiers and
the western city of Oran, Sadi recounted that RCD candidate
Hamouni was also confronted personally by the wali one week
before the October 9 deadline for the submission of candidate
slates. After telling him that "the RCD has no chance in an
Arabic zone," the wali told Hamouni, according to Sadi and
Mira, that the administration would produce and publicize a
file showing that he was the son of a harki (a collaborator
with the French during the war for independence) unless he
withdrew his candidacy. Hamouni was later among the
candidates rejected after local police review, again for
security reasons.

FROM MP TO SECURITY THREAT... IN FIVE MONTHS
--------------


4. (C) Meanwhile, in the wilaya of Ghardaia, Sadi and Mira
told the story of a man named Krouchi, who up until the May
legislative elections had served as an MP representing the
entire wilaya in Algiers. Krouchi presented himself as a
candidate for the local elections on the RCD slate for his
local district, only to be told by the police that he was
rejected for security reasons. Sadi pointed out that the
Interior ministry has complete dossiers on every member of
parliament, and nobody can be elected to the parliament
without its blessing. He shook his head and laughed at how
the same individual could be acceptable as a national
parliamentarian in Algiers but somehow a threat to security
within his own tiny district.

INTIMIDATION NOT A NEW PHENOMENON
--------------


5. (C) Sadi said that intimidation and even violence were not
new obstacles for the RCD. He told the story and showed

ALGIERS 00001585 002 OF 002


graphic pictures of former journalist Djaffar Ait Mesbah, a
close personal friend, who was allegedly tortured in early
2005 simply for being an RCD member and a close friend of
Sadi's. Ait Mesbah, according to Sadi, was held for over a
week, beaten, and cut repeatedly with razor blades all over
his body. Bleach, lemon juice and salt were then poured on
the wounds. As soon as he was released, the RCD leadership
took a series of photos of Ait Mesbah, which Sadi showed to
poloff. Sadi said that he used his own personal connections
in France to get Ait Mesbah sent there to recover, but that
his old friend was "still not doing well" and had suffered a
nervous breakdown.


6. (C) COMMENT: Allegations of intimidation and torture are
difficult to verify, and have remained notably absent from
the press in favor of a public battle over slates of rejected
candidates. However, Said Sadi's own personal reputation,
the detail of the stories, and the photographic evidence all
lend credibility to the claims, which are consistent with
previous reporting in ref A and B. Perhaps owing to the
RCD's traditional identification with Berber issues, the
government seems to prefer to contain and minimize the party.
This stance, enforced by an aggressive Interior ministry,
can only strengthen a popular perception (ref B) that the
upcoming elections are being managed to produce a predictable
outcome and perpetuate the status quo.
FORD