Algerian referendum campaign comes to a close

26/09/2005

The awareness-raising campaign for the referendum on Algeria's draft charter for national peace and reconciliation ends on Monday (26 September), with a meeting led by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 26/09/05

[File] Bouteflika makes his final public appeal for the draft charter on 26 September

Algerians living abroad have been voting since Saturday (24 September) on the draft charter for national peace and reconciliation. The referendum opens within Algeria on Thursday (29 September).

A positive vote would give President Abdelaziz Bouteflika a lot of latitude to decide on arrangements for granting pardons or commuting sentences of reformed terrorists, as well as compensation measures for families of terror victims.

Throughout the referendum campaign, the Algerian president has worked to explain the outlines of the draft charter and the expected achievements of its application. He has been careful to draw a distinction between the reconciliation and a general amnesty. In particular, he has ruled out any return to political activity by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) or by Islamist leaders who have encouraged or justified acts of terrorism.

The referendum campaign has been marked by active campaigning by parties in the presidential alliance and associations supporting the draft charter, though a blackout has been imposed on parties and associations calling for a boycott of the referendum and protesting the absence of a wider debate about it.

While ex-FIS leader Abassi Madani along with his foreign spokesman Rabah Kebir support the draft charter, the same cannot be said for other party officials such as Kamal Guemmazi, Abdelkader Boukhamkham and Ali Djeddi, -- who remain highly active despite the party being outlawed since 1992.

Madani Mezrag, former national chief of the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) and his principal lieutenants have led a campaign in favour of the draft charter. From prison, Abdelhak Layda, the first chief of the Islamic Armed Group, which committed the bloodiest attacks between 1992 and 1997, is also supporting Bouteflika's approach. The AIS, which laid down its weapons in 1999 to benefit from the civil concord, hopes to gain further benefits from the national reconciliation.

The government is hoping that the draft charter will lead to the surrender of around 1,000 terrorists. However, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, which is linked to Al-Qaeda, remains firm in its rejection of any dialogue or compromise. Such a stance has been made clear by attacks committed during the referendum campaign, targeting security forces in particular.