| The War of Words |
Make no mistake about it, both Nezzar and Bendjedid are trying to rewrite history while alive, insuring that their names do not go down in the history books as enemies of the Revolution and a disgrace to the Martyrs of the war of liberation. Both Men, Nezzar and Bendjedid, worked closely for more than four decades in different capacities but under the same dome of the Military institution; however, each man took different course in the Eighties when the later became a President of the Republic. The affair of the killing of Col. Chaabani is only the tree that hides the forest. What is currently at stake is the future of the Algerian Military role in the politics of the country especially in light of the upcoming election and the strong possibility of a third term for president Boutaflika who is a front for the Generals. Withstanding the fact he was president of the Republic himself, Bendjedid taking a swap at Nezzar is an attempt by the former President to expose the ongoing mismanagement of the country by the Generals who have been looting the country since the Algerian independence; and to bring a new generation of Algerians into political play jut before the elections. Whereas substantiating the involvement of Gen. Nezzar with the French spy agencies is difficult, it is a fact that he was in the French Army and did joint the ALN at a late stage in the Revolution. In truth, this detail is irrelevant to today's political discourse in Algeria. What is relevant is: the role and scope of Gen. Nezzar and his allies played in making some of the major political choices since independence, how and at what extent the Military keeps controlling the decision making process in Algeria, and how much responsibility this institution bares in plunging the country into a civil war and economic ruins. In his counter-attack, Gen Nezarr called former president names, by insinuation, from "not manly" to "a puppet of the Islamist movement". He stated: "During his reign, [PresidentBendjedid] opened doors extensively to weakness and irresponsibility." Nezzar, also, accused the former president of instigating the bloody civil war and plotting against the Military in favor of the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) who won the national elections under President Bendjedid's watch. Conspicuously lost in this debate are few major details: President Bendjedid presided over fair elections, a rarity in the Arab world, in which the Algerian people clearly choose the FIS to represent them. Nezzar complete disregard of the choice of millions of Algerians is the source of many of Algeria's problems today. Benjdid was clearly shaken by the 1988 popular uprising and for all the good intentions wanted to cut the Military out of the political life and open the door to a new generation, be it Islamist or otherwise. In fact, Nezzar argument that Bendjedid was not tough on Islamists is proof that the Military establishment was against Benjdid then as it is today, and that is why Chadli is making waves at this moment in time before the 2009 election. The role of the Algerian Military in the atrocities committed against civilians during the civil was never mentioned in this debate. Many press reports based on accounts by former members of the Algerian Security forces, implicated the Algerian Special Forces (under direct supervision of the head of counter-intelligence at DRS) in vicious attacks against farmers and villagers. It is still unclear who was behind the 1997 and 1998 massacres that killed thousands of civilians in the most barbaric way, even tough credible reports in the French media talked about fake Armed Islamic Groups under orders of Colonel Smail Lamari as being responsible. By orchestrating these attacks the Military hoped and succeeded in turning the population against the Islamists including the FIS. The assassination of President Boudiaf was never mentioned. If the allegation of the behind the scene execution of Colonel Mohamed Chaabani is any indication, we can guess who killed another Algerian patriot. This type of ongoing debate in Algeria is very rare in our region. I hope the Algerian people learn from this exercise and stand up to the people that have been oppressing them. Colonialism has different faces but the same goal: the degradation of people. I wish the Algerian public vote for self-determination in the referendum (AKA Presidential election) of 2009 and break away from this sad history.
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mo
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The war of words between Gen. Khaled Nezzar, Former Algerian Defense Minister, and the Former Algerian president Chadli Bendjedid regarding the circumstances surrounding the execution of Colonel Mohamed Chaabani, a hero of the Algerian revolution who led an anti government revolt against the then president Ben Bella, is a rare window into the working of the Algerian government long influenced by the Military establishment. While there are no doubts that Bendjedid was involved in the execution of Col. Chaabani under orders from Benbella, the role of Boumediene in this decision is some what up for debate.
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... its easy to blame the military on the aftermath of the 1991 crisis,what about the share of responsibility by islamists who were not mature enough to choose a political solution to political problem instead they took the option of armed strugle and we know how devastating the result was for them and the nation and how their movement evolved to killing intelectuals ,journalists ,algerian citizens and pushed for the legitimization of the military power .but you have to distinguish the arrival of bouteflika who was away from the mess of the 90's and the gradual return of the power to civilians the first thing bouteflika did is to dismiss all the old generals,lamari,belkheir,nezzar...and tried to strenghnthen the institutions, and launched the reconciliation program ,things are not perfect but after 10 years of politcal turnoil and guerillas attacks ,the picture is looking much better today than in the 90s after the 1999 the 1st priority was stabilty,bouteflika established stability despite some risidual attacks in the mountains . |
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