ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika hit out against what he said were moves to undermine his office and the army, suggesting both were falling prey to political infighting.
“The fictitious conflict... within the ranks of the People’s National Army is linked to a destabilisation plan developed by those troubled by Algeria’s regional weight and influence,” he said in comments published by state media.
The comments come amid a mounting war of words, relayed by the country’s independent media, over the military’s role in Algerian politics, in which top brass have been portrayed as opposing a fourth term for the incumbent in April’s presidential election.
The ailing leader, in power for 15 years, has yet to say if his health will permit him to stand for a fourth term following a mini-stroke that confined him to hospital in Paris for three months last year.
Bouteflika did not elaborate on the destabilising activities to which he referred.
But he said they “benefit from the irresponsible behaviour of some and the lack of maturity of others, influenced by different aspects of the media war currently being waged against Algeria, the presidency, the People’s National Army and the military intelligence agency (DRS).”
Earlier this month, in what suggested an intensifying power struggle between Bouteflika’s supporters and the army, ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) secretary general Amar Saidani demanded that veteran DRS director Mohamed “Tewfik” Mediene quit over alleged security failings.
Saidani, who has repeatedly backed a fourth term for the 76-year-old incumbent, who has not been seen or heard in public since his stroke, said Mediene’s persistent interference in politics came at the detriment of the strategic North African country’s security.
Despite Bouteflika’s much-vaunted efforts to roll back their prerogatives — a hallmark of his presidency — the army and the secretive DRS retain much of the political power they have wielded ever since independence in 1962.
AFP
