FIS WRITES TO AMBASSADOR AND RAISES STREET PROFILE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 000031

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KISL PTER KDEM AG
SUBJECT: FIS WRITES TO AMBASSADOR AND RAISES STREET PROFILE

REF: ALGIERS 18

Classified By: DCM Thomas F. Daughton; reasons 1.4 (b),(c) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. Ali Benhadj, vice-president and spiritual
leader of the disbanded and outlawed Islamic Salvation Front
(FIS),wrote a letter to the Ambassador in which he advised
the United States to revise its support of Israel in the wake
of the current situation in Gaza, and in which he decried the
Algerian government's refusal to allow public marches on the
Embassy. More important than the content of the letter is
the fact that Benhadj is using the situation in Gaza as a
platform to foment anger toward the Algerian government by
railing against what many Algerians have seen as a lackluster
reaction to the crisis, and against the government's
limitations on freedom of expression. The government has
since allowed demonstrations in support of the people of
Gaza, but die-hards like Benhadj may be able to sway
discontented Algerians to a more stringent Islamic viewpoint
as the Gaza situation continues, and should it worsen in the
eyes of sympathetic Algerians. Benhadj was swept up from the
Embassy's outer entrance by plainclothes security agents
within minutes of his arrival to deliver the letter to the
Ambassador on January 6, but it was sent to the Ambassador
the following day via an email account in the UK. The
London-based email address is linked to three active
terrorism cases in the U.S.. (We are sending an English
translation of Benhadj's full letter to NEA/MAG.) END
SUMMARY.

ALI BENHADJ RETURNS TO THE EMBASSY, BRIEFLY
--------------


2. (C) Ali Benhadj was dropped off in front of the Embassy
the afternoon of January 6 and attempted to deliver his
letter, but was whisked away by plainclothes security agents
within two minutes of his arrival. Benhadj tried to do the
same thing last year and met a similar fate, though was able
on that occasion to deliver his text. Although the police
told us January 6 they would provide a copy of the letter,
they have not yet done so. We obtained a copy on January 8
from a contact at Arabies magazine, who could not say if or
when the letter might be published (to our knowledge the
letter has not yet been published in Algeria). The
Ambassador also received a copy of the Arabic-language letter
on January 7 as an attachment to an email sent to his
official unclassified account from an email account that
appears to be based in London. The email address is linked
to three terrorism cases under investigation by the FBI.

USING U.S. HISTORY TO TEACH US A LESSON
--------------


3. (C) Benhadj's letter first rails against the Algerian
government for refusing to allow a march on the Embassy to
protest Israel's actions in Gaza. It then urges the U.S. to
change its position supporting Israel, and to stop referring
to Hamas as a terrorist organization. Benhadj refers to U.S.
history and asks if the American war for independence would
not have been considered terrorism by the standards the USG
now applies to Hamas, which the letter refers to repeatedly
as a "liberation movement." He quotes Thomas Jefferson,
"Henry David" (presumably Thoreau) and the Declaration of
Independence on armed rebellion, civil disobedience, and the
overthrow of tyranny and colonization, and argues that the
United States is hypocritical in embracing its
"political-revolutionary" history and principles upon which
the Constitution was founded, but branding Hamas and
"resistance movements" like it as terrorists.


4. (C) Benhadj goes on to describe the Algerian people as
revolutionary by nature and tending to support the oppressed
peoples of the world. He characterizes Israel's actions in
Gaza as a "massacre" and crimes against humanity, subject to
sanction under international law. The United States, he
writes, is complicit in its political and military support of
Israel through weapons sales and our use of veto power on the
UN Security Council. He pleads that the current or next
American administration revise its policies regarding Israel
in order to preserve its place in history and its reputation
in the Arab and Islamic world, because the country's
interests may otherwise face danger from just regimes,
particularly those who triumph the Palestinian cause, or from
people who seek justice but who are subject to immoral
governments. Benhadj concludes by imploring the United

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States to pressure Israel to stop its "fascist aggression"
against Gaza before it reaches "the point of no return, at
which moment, your regrets will be insufficient."

ANTICS, OR RAISING THE ISLAMIC PROFILE?
--------------


5. (C) Benhadj signed his letter as vice president of the
disbanded and outlawed FIS, and has been using the Gaza
situation as a platform to foment public anger toward the
Algerian government and its perceived lackluster response to
the crisis (reftel). He has been arrested several times
since December 28 in highly publicized incidents, and he has
issued public statements blasting Arab governments for their
passivity toward the crisis. His activities have not only
been reported in Algerian press and on Al-Jazeera television,
but at least one of his speeches has been posted on YouTube.


6. (C) On January 2, Benhadj took the floor of the Hai el
Badr mosque in the Algiers district of Kouba after the Friday
sermon and rallied congregants to give extra alms to the
Palestinian cause. He was arrested outside the mosque as he
attempted to lead a march on the Presidency, which, according
to his letter, would have allowed the group to also
demonstrate at the Embassy (the Embassy lies between the Hai
el Badr mosque and the Presidency). He was released several
hours later, but arrested again the following day for
attempting to march on the Egyptian embassy, and the day
after that when he attempted to confront the former minister
and ruling FLN party leader Abdelaziz Belkhadem. He appeared
on Al-Jazeera later that day denouncing his arrest and what
he called "Arab hypocrisy." On January 7 he stole the show
at a Gaza rally called by the Workers Party (PT) at which the
PT leader and possible presidential candidate, Louisa
Hanoune, did not appear. He was arrested on January 8 after
he spoke at a gathering in a movie theater organized by the
opposition Islamist party, Islah, and again on July 9 after
appearing with other FIS leaders in central Algiers at a
government-sanctioned demonstration at which he was accused
of inciting violence.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) Benhadj may be a relic of an old Islamist political
movement, but there remains among some Algerians a lingering
nostalgia for the pre-civil war messages of the FIS. On
January 9, the government allowed public demonstrations for
the first time since 2001 (septel) and officials have been
taking more vocal stances against Israeli actions in Gaza.
But these efforts may not be enough quell the anger felt by a
segment of the Algerian population who deeply sympathize with
the Palestinians of Gaza, as evidenced by the number of
people injured and arrested in clashes with police during the
legal demonstrations (50 demonstrators and 30 police were
reported injured in a clash in the Kouba section of Algiers).
Thousands are taking to the streets across Algeria, and
support for the Palestinians in the form of cash alms, blood
drives and other acts of solidarity is increasing daily.
After having served 12 years in prison, Benhadj has a tacit
understanding with police that when he acts out in public
they will detain him, but never hold him in custody very
long. Given the mounting frustration most Algerians feel
regarding the situation in Gaza, his message and that of
other Islamists (including a newly formed Islamist political
party, septel) will continue to resonate with the significant
segment of the population who also feel disaffected and
disillusioned with the current government.
PEARCE