ALGERIA-
Thousands of students met in front of the Great Post Office in the center of the capital of Algeria. The activists marched to the National People’s Assembly building by overcoming the barriers of
police without any conflict.
Students stood in front of the Parliament building and chanted “you looted the country, thieves”. Students have been on the streets every week since February 22nd to protest the Buteflika regime in Algeria.
The target of the students is the ruling party. They also chanted “FLN traitors” regarding the National Liberation Front. The political life of Algeria has been dominated by the FLN since their independence. The students demanded a civilian government, not military.
Until a few months ago, even taking action in Al Jazeera was forbidden. The main scenario is this: Algerians will go to the polls on April 18th, and Abdulaziz Buteflika, 82, will be ruler of the country for the fifth time. However, after millions had come to the streets, Buteflika, who had ruled the country for 20 years without interruption, had to resign on 22 February.
The protesters do not want the institutions and persons in the state apparatus established by Buteflika to manage the transition process. On July 4, the Algerians also rejected the new presidential elections.
After Buteflika’s resignation, the army returned to the center of the political game. Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Saleh, who has remained faithful to the deposed leader for 15 years, has actually become the country’s new strong man.
Buteflika’s departure did not cause the reaction of the streets to settle. The Algerians want the ruling system as a whole to be destroyed.
