BOUTEFLIKA SEEKS TO RECONCILE THE UNRECONCILED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 000782

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2018
TAGS: PTER PGOV PHUM KISL AG
SUBJECT: BOUTEFLIKA SEEKS TO RECONCILE THE UNRECONCILED

REF: 07 ALGIERS 1618

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Thomas F. Daughton;
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) During his July 5 Algerian independence day speech to
the military leadership, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
revisited the theme of national reconciliation, calling on
Algerians to unite against extremism and "to put down the
fire of Fitna." He underscored the need to pursue security
and development goals in parallel to erase the consequences
of Algeria's violent past. Bouteflika said that misguided
groups in Algeria were preying on young people and
undermining Algeria with false fatwas, destructive ideas and
preaching that contradicts the tenants of Islam. He urged
extremists to return to the "straight path", rejoin their
families and contribute to the country's future. In a
two-sided message, the president vowed that Algeria would use
all means necessary to confront remaining terrorist elements,
while leaving the door open to those who repent, "as they are
the children of this good and generous land."


2. (SBU) On the same day, about 100 Algerians participated in
a sit-in near the National Commission for the Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights (CNCPPDH),organized by the
Algerian NGO SOS Disparus to commemorate the tenth
anniversary of weekly protests staged by families of the
disappeared (victims of 1990s violence who remain unaccounted
for). In a July 5 communique, SOS Disparus declared that
families of the disappeared wanted to use Algeria's
independence day to register their outrage and disappointment
concerning the government's efforts to reveal the truth
behind the disappearances and to bring those responsible to
justice. SOS Disparus characterized Bouteflika's 2005
Charter of Peace and National Reconciliation as a means to
conceal the truth, noting that death certificates for the
disappeared were issued without any meaningful inquiry into
the cause of death. Echoing the sentiment of relatives of
the disappeared, SOS Disparus President Fatmouzohra Yous said
that, despite the issuance of death certificates, families
would not give up their search for the truth.


3. (C) Reactions to Bouteflika's comments on national
reconciliation shared with us by political party and civil
society representatives underscored the continuing split in
Algerian society between those who view reconciliation as a
success and those who feel the charter has failed to address
the social scars left by the violence of the 90s. The head
of the Algerian Human Rights League, Mostefa Bouchachi, said
that continuing protests by family members proved that the
reconciliation charter was not working. Bouchachi commented
that the policy lacked a comprehensive long-term approach and
warned that short-term solutions could have disastrous social
consequences. Lawyer and human rights activist Khaled
Bourayou shared this view and called the situation a "social
time bomb." Compensation was only part of the solution, he
said, adding that after more than a decade, the authorities
remain reluctant to disclose the facts surrounding
disappearances in the 90s. Karim Bahloul, the External
Relations Officer of the opposition party Socialist Forces
Front, said Bouteflika's speech offered nothing new, adding
that instead of amnesty for terrorists, reconciliation should
seek to alleviate Algerians' social concerns. Not
surprisingly, National Liberation Front (FLN) Election
Campaign Director Mohamed Frikha told us that Bouteflika's
speech promised a continuation of the president's charter,
which he asserted has already succeeded in helping Algeria
overcome its security crisis.


4. (C) COMMENT: Bouteflika has been largely silent about his
cherished reconciliation program since the December 2007
suicide car bombs in Algiers. He chose to revive his message
of forgiveness in his annual address to the senior ranks of
the military, which furnished the hard core of the
"eradicateurs" -- who advocated wiping out the terrorists --
in the 1990s. The speech also came just days after
Bouteflika abruptly changed (or was forced to change) prime
ministers from an Islamist sympathizer and strong supporter
of the Charter to a man who calmly told Codel McCollum on
June 30, "I am an eradicateur." While Bouteflika's speech
highlighted the continuing split in Algerian society over
reconciliation, it was also a public salvo in the largely
hidden struggle within the leadership between the

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eradicateurs and those who favor amnesty. It is likely not
accidental that the speech accompanied the promotion of 22
colonels to the rank of general. Many of them, one Islamist
politician told us, were chosen by Bouteflika rather than the
old-line military leadership. As the behind-the-scenes
tug-of-war between eradicateurs and conciliators goes on, the
frustration of an unreconciled population persists and
Bouteflika's reconciliation program continues to walk a fine
line between amnesty and aggression. The Charter of Peace
and National Reconciliation officially expired in August
2006, but as Bouteflika pointedly reminded the audience on
July 5, it remains applicable at the sole discretion of the
president himself.
DAUGHTON