On Friday, thousands of Algerian protestors took to central Algiers’ streets to protest against their unfair regime. The angry crowds who were chanting in solidary announced that they had officially begun their second phase of the anti-government strikes. The protests had stopped last year following an outbreak of the novel virus. The first protest after the lockdown took place last week in the eastern town of Kherrata, and the first protest to re-occur in Algiers was on Monday.
Though covid-19 is still a pandemic, the demonstrators feel less endangered considering they have adopted the virus safety rules, masking and sanitizing as the primary measures. Nonetheless, the onset of the covid vaccination campaign has also contributed to a plunge in unrest and fear levels.
The Second Phase of Protests
While thousands of Algerian civilians marched the streets, hailing against their incumbent regime, security forces were quick to act, trying all means to disperse the demonstrators. Sources reported that as the crowds followed the shortest route to the center of Algiers’ protests, officers started firing teargas and used truncheons on them. The Hirak movements have staged such protests even before covid, and they are committed to pursuing their urge to the fullest.
The Hirak protesters want an end to corruption, a significant issue in Algeria for years. Additionally, they are demanding the retirement of the current head of state and the army to withdraw from politics. Dethroning the incumbent head of state is a national concern, which the ruling party has not taken lightly.
During the Friday strike, the demonstrators were chanting, “peaceful, peaceful, and our demands are legitimate. Some even held burners condemning the current regime.
When Did These Protests Begin?
The strikes kicked off around February 2019. Civilians would stage strikes every week. These riots prompted the army to force veteran President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power. Bouteflika’s ousting is one of the most significant Algeria’s political systems has experienced in decades. The Hirak movement, leading the strike, only halted them when the state went under lockdown around March last year.
As of now, the current President of Algeria is Abdelmadjid Tebboune. He got to power after winning the 2019 Algerian Presidential election on December 12th. He assumed office seven days later. Tebboune’s reign has not been a walk, more so as the Hirak uprising seem contented to render him powerless. Though he has been struggling to restore peace and better the country, his governance has received unending criticism.
“Neither Islamist nor secular, but Hirakist,” read a banner carried by protestors.
Police vans were parked near the city center’s main squares, with several blockades placed on the roads leading to the state’s capital. Compared to the strikes before lockdown, the current turnout was a plunge. Last year, tens of thousands of people regularly showed up for the strikes.
Meanwhile, a prominent human rights activist, academic Kaddour Chouicha, conducted rallies in northeastern Kabylie and northwestern Oran provinces. Nevertheless, the protests did not end successfully as the activist was arrested. Hopefully, soon, the north African state will resolve its issues and restore peace.
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