Amazigh demonstrators and gendarmes fought running street battles on Thursday, July 26 and clashed again on Monday of this week in Tizi Ouzou, in the Kabylie region. Thursday’s demonstration in the city’s streets was organized by the Coordination of Traditional Tribes, a local body, to demand the release of Amazigh activists detained since March, after previous protests. Some of the detainees are now on hunger strikes.
The march turned ugly when police stepped in to break up the crowd of hundreds. Police use of tear gas and barricades were met with stone throwing and gasoline bombs. Protestors responded in kind again on Monday, setting up their own flaming barricades in a fresh protest, after issuing an ultimatum following Thursday’s violence which called for the immediate release of the prisoners and the removal of government security forces from the district.
The unrest came amidst new overtures by Prime Minister Ali Benflis directed toward the disaffected Amazigh community. In an address to the Council of the Nation, reported on July 29 by an Algerian television network, Benflis reiterated the government’s willingness to ‘consult’ with Amazigh representatives on their list of 15 demands issued earlier this year, in the wake of violent uprisings against government repression throughout 2001. He specifically called for a formal dialogue with Amazigh leaders to address “unresolved matters” in Kabylie. In the context of the recent events of Tizi Ouzou, the statement met with skepticism and consternation from some Imazighen and observers.
Mistrust of government motives, already prevalent in Kabylie, seemed to be reinforced by police actions. As N. Sebti wrote in a July 23 editorial in the Algerian paper Liberte, referring to events preceding the clashes, “One indeed cannot understand how the head of government is appealing for dialogue while Interior Minister Noureddine Zerhouni's police continues to carry out arrests among the delegates.” Sebti questioned the sincerity of the government’s call to move away from “confrontational thinking”, citing the ongoing standoff between authorities and members of the Amazigh community in Kabylie.
The state has a long history of repression of the Amazigh culture, language and political expression. Demonstrators have clashed with police on a number of occasions in recent years, but the conflict was renewed in earnest in April 2001, when Amazigh high school student Massinissa Guermah was murdered by a gendarme. In the demonstrations that followed, dozens of Imazighen were killed and thousands injured by police firing on crowds.
Amazigh leaders responded by presenting a set of 15 non-negotiable demands to the Algerian government, ranging from issues such as official recognition of the Tamazight language to increased economic opportunities for the Amazigh community. Some locals feel that the detainees are being used to force the Amazigh to the bargaining table, where they may be pressured to capitulate on some of these demands. The withdrawal of the gendarmes from Kabylie continues to be the most urgent issue for the Amazigh. But it seems unlikely that either side will yield on this point in the near future; government officials have repeatedly insisted on the military police presence to contain what they characterize as a dangerous and chaotic situation.
Amazigh disenchantment with the government’s policies was amply demonstrated by the 3% voter turnout in Kabylie for national elections held in May. Boycotts effectively shut down polling stations in Tizi Ouzou during the voting. Local leaders have also called for boycotts of local elections to take place on October 10.
