In the Algerian province of Béjaia , grassroots democracy reached new heights in the four-day general strike in the run-up to the presidential election on 12 December. Middle East Solidarity spoke to university lecturer Kamel Aissat, an activist with the socialist PST party, about how organisation from below delivered an almost total shutdown of the…
On 12 December Algerians went to the polls to elect a new president – or did they? Millions boycotted the election, which they saw as illegitimate. Since February 2019, a huge protest movement has developed against the corrupt regime. Weekly demonstrations involving millions across the country keep demanding system change, a state based on the…
By Sheila Amrouche From Middle East Solidarity magazine, issue 12. Order a print copy or download as a pdf here The rising repression in Algeria has sparked an international campaign in defence of political prisoners. Trade unionists, MPs and activists in Spain, France, Portugal, Peru, Brazil, South Africa and Germany gathered outside Algerian embassies in…
Ten months since the mass movement erupted, hundreds of thousands still surge into the streets. Samir Larabi asks if the people or the old regime will emerge the winners from this contest? From Middle East Solidarity magazine, issue 12. Order a print copy or download as a pdf here Since 22 February 2019, Algeria has…
Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of the capital Algiers, joining millions all over the country in mass protests on Friday 11 October. Demonstrators are opposing the old regime’s attempt to hold presidential elections in December without changing the political status quo. They continue to demand a civil, not a military state, and…
By Anne Alexander As millions take to the streets on Friday 20 September for the global Climate Strike, activists in Algeria are gearing up for another Friday mobilisation. For the 31st time since February, tens of thousands are expected to march under the slogan “Système dégage!” (Down with the regime!) to demand an end to…
Sheila Amrouche interviewed Henia Sadi, a teacher at a local high school in the Kabylia region of Algeria during a visit in July 2019. Henia has been active in the weekly protests which have led to the forced resignation of President Bouteflika, and which have progressed on to the demand for an end to the…
Feature article from the summer 2019 issue of Middle East Solidarity magazine. Download a pdf or order a print copy here A mass movement on an extraordinary scale seems set on a collision course with the military core of Algeria’s authoritarian regime. Gianni Del Panta, Lemnaouar Hamamouche, Kamel Aissat and Selma Oumari discuss the roots…
For the second week in running, thousands of protesters across Algeria defied attempts by the police to seize Amazigh (Berber) flags after army chief Gaïd Salah declared that only the national flag would be permitted on demonstrations. Police used tasers against protesters in the capital Algiers, and made numerous arrests. One of those seized for…
Trade unionists and activists are mobilising for an international day of action on 20 June in solidarity with Louisa Hanoune, General Secretary of the radical left Workers’ Party who was detained by a military court in Algeria on 9 May. Louisa is one of increasing numbers of activists to face detention and jail in recent…
