The military has shown its full support for the new Algerian Constitution, which submits the army to the people's sovereignty

Anti-army "lobbies" that threaten Algeria's stability

photo_camera REUTERS/LOUAFI LARBI - Algerian soldiers stand guard at the Tiguentourine gas plant in In Amenas, 1,600 km southeast of Algiers, on 31 January 2013

The president of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, denounced this week that various "pressure groups" are attacking the National People's Army ( NPA ) with "desperate campaigns". In a speech at the Ministry of Defence, he said that these "lobbies", coming from "the jealous enemies of Algeria who hide and disguise themselves", "are still trapped in a past that has taken hold forever". "It is not surprising that they persist in their hysterical campaigns to attack their morals, because they are incapable of learning the lessons of the past. Otherwise, they would have learned that these campaigns against the ANL with their diversified tricks and artifices, will only strengthen the support of our people around their Army and make their bond even more unbreakable," the president said.

Tebboune also said that from the presidency they are "here to confront them" and that they will not allow "the commitment to the blessed Hirak [protest movement] to build a new Republic" to be corrupted, since it must be continued in "the era of hope and the restoration of self-confidence".

The Algerian president's denunciation comes just half a month after a new constitution was drafted in the country at Tebboune's request. The constitution, the fifth since the country's independence in 1962, includes the consecration of civil power "as the only legitimate representative of the people over military power, which abused its legitimacy granted by seven years of anti-colonial war, and respect for state powers, to hold real power in Algeria," according to analyst Pedro Canales in Atalayar.

El presidente de Argelia, Abdelmadjid Tebboune

Thus, with the new text, the military is now subject to civilian power. In addition, the position of vice-president of the country is created - a position to shield the function of the head of state - with the objective, also, of "avoiding any military pronouncement or soft coup against the president", explains the expert.

It is therefore no coincidence that the "lobbies" referred to by Tebboune this week are trying to intensify their actions against the Army, to try to regain the influence they are already losing with the adoption of the new Constitution. Moreover, they have been left without support within their own ranks, since the military leaders have defended the strategy adopted by the country's political power. "The inexhaustible support of the head of the PNA's cabinet, Major General Said Changriha, for the process initiated by the president, reflects all the cohesion that exists between the two institutions, presidential and military. It is understood that both are working towards the same goal, namely to save the Republic and frustrate attempts to attack its stability and security," the analyst said Boucetta in the local newspaper L'Expression. In short, we are now dealing with "a republican army at the service of the people," according to this expert.

Traditionally, the Armed Forces had managed to penetrate all layers of society in Algeria, including politics and business, often becoming "levers of corruption, nepotism and the progressive weakening of the military establishment," as Canales points out.

Los argelinos marchan durante una manifestación antigubernamental en la capital, Argel, el 5 de abril de 2019

Moreover, the former strongman of the Algerian Army, General Ahmed Gaïd Salah, until his death last December, had made it clear that he would be the commander of the transition after Abdelaziz Bouteflika's removal from power in April 2019. Although the military man had also assured that his intention was to call presidential elections as soon as possible, the Hirak protest movement showed its mistrust of Salah's proclamations, accusing him of being on the same side as the four Bs, Bouteflika, Bensalah, Bedoui and Belaiz, the latter three being the president of the Council of the Nation and later interim president, prime minister and president of the Constitutional Council, respectively, who were leading a regime corrupted by an authoritarian and oligarchic power structure.

The local newspaper L'Expression also reports that Tebboune's intervention took place in a "context of abundant regional security", as it coincides with the "incessant and repeated attacks by the Makhzen on Algeria". It should be noted, at this point, that 'Makhzen' means the deep Moroccan state and the way in which the king and the surrounding elite are managed in the political life of the country, although it is a complex term to define exactly. "The Makhzen understands the cause: Algeria is a permanent enemy and therefore we must be prepared to fight it at any time," Brahim Takheroubt said in the publication. In fact, last May 14, the Moroccan consul in the Algerian city of Oran openly declared that "Algeria is an enemy state", which has already caused the increase of tensions between the two administrations.

For this reason, the Algerian president could also have referred to Rabat when talking about the "lobbies" which exert pressure against the army. Thus, the "cold war" in the Maghreb, which was already a reality with the arms race between the two countries, could soon escalate. 

Un hombre argelino sostiene un cartel contra las “3B” (Abdelakder Bensalah, Tayeb Belaiz y Noureddine Bedoui), durante una protesta en la ciudad costera septentrional de Orán, el 9 de abril de 2019
Release of Hirak leaders

The president, who has extended his hand to both the people and the army, is now considering the release of two leaders of the Hirak movement, Karim Tabbou and Samir Benlarbi, arrested for their participation in the protests, in another gesture that seeks to meet the demands of Algerians for a renewed and open state. 

"President Tebboune assured me that he would ensure his constitutional prerogative so that Tabbou and Benlarbi could regain their freedom... It is a solemn commitment on his part," declared opposition party leader Jil Jadid, Soufiane Djilali, in AFP. Similarly, the spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic, Belaïd Mohand-Oussaïd, confirmed Tebboune's intentions in the daily Liberté: "The president will study this request in accordance with the law and within the framework of strict respect for the independence of the judiciary," the official said.

Un manifestante argelino marcha con un cartel que pide la liberación del político Karim Tabbou, el 27 de septiembre de 2019

According to the country's National Committee for the Release of Detainees, some 60 people are currently in prison for charges related to their involvement in the Hirak. 

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