Al-Qaeda prompts legal questions in Algeria's national reconciliation

2007-10-02

On September 29th, 2005, a near-majority of the Algerian people approved President Bouteflika's Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation in hopes of ending a decade of chaos in the country. Security has improved, but al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb is preventing the country from realizing total peace.

By Achira Mammeri for Magharebia in Algiers – 02/10/07

[Getty Images] Tens of thousands of Algerians protested against terrorism on September 9th in Algiers after two suicide bombings claimed by al-Qaeda rocked the country.

The alliance forged earlier this year between Algeria's Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and al-Qaeda has prompted concerns that the relationship might compromise the integrity of the Charter for Peace and Reconciliation. Algerian legal experts involved in the implementation of the charter have engaged in a protracted debate over the question.

Attorney Fatima Benbrahem said that by declaring allegiance to Bin Laden's organisation, "the terrorists working under the control of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb are not in a position to benefit from the provisions of the charter, particularly concerning the termination of legal proceedings or sentence reduction in cases where they have turned themselves in."

The charter was initially conceived by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to help end a decade of chaos in the country. However, the new strategy adopted by the GSPC has further complicated the peace process upon which Algerian authorities have embarked. "While the terrorist acts committed until 2005 were part of a project aimed a destabilising Algeria's internal security, the attacks claimed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are part of the greater threat which endangers world peace and security," Benbrahem said.

"Proof," she added, "can be found in the fact that on the international stage, the political and media impact of the attacks carried out in Algeria since 2006 is not that same as that following the terrorist acts committed between 1990 and 2005, although in terms of human and material losses, the damage was much more tragic in that earlier period. If our country wins its latest battle against terrorism, it will no doubt help to diminish the degree to which al-Qaeda can be a threat to the world."

The question central to the legal debate is whether Algeria's plan, which pairs a political solution – opening the door for terrorist groups to renounce violence – with armed combat against those who reject "the open hand of the people", is in tune with the international community's struggle against terrorism.

Benbrahem concluded by saying that Algeria needs to be flexible in adapting to the new threat. She stressed that though the national reconciliation project has not become obsolete, Algeria's security is no longer a purely internal issue. "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb terrorists could be punished under international law. It doesn't constitute interference in the internal affairs of the country, since Algeria ratified the international texts as a sovereign state."

Legal expert Mokrane Ait Larbi believes the charter could be modified. "The charter for peace was brought into force before the creation of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The president must intervene to remedy the situation and provide the charter with new mechanisms to pursue the political process in the fight against terrorism."

Counsellor Amar Khababa believes the authorities need to review each case to identify where the charter has legal authority. From now on, Khababa said, "the processing of cases for those who have turned themselves in will require much longer than usual. The Algerian justice system will take all precautions necessary to look into the possible link between the terrorists and foreign support networks, particularly in the Maghreb countries."

The lawyer said the charter for peace and national reconciliation makes no distinction between terrorist groups. "This project certainly excludes terrorists who have committed massacres or set explosives in public places. Justice is logical; it deals with the acts and not the affiliations of the terrorist group. If a member of al-Qaeda or another group can prove he has not committed the acts mentioned above, there is nothing to stop him benefiting from the pardon."

Khababa cited the case of GSPC founder Hassan Hattab, who surrendered to authorities last week. "Even though he was convicted in absentia, he could take advantage of a sentence reduction, or even of a pardon, if he manages to convince the court that he was not directly involved in massacres."

Mersouan Azzi, chairman of the legal committee charged with applying the peace charter said that the state cannot turn its back on repenting terrorists, even though the "activities of the terrorist groups over the last two years are different from those of the '90s".

"Neither society nor the state can turn their backs on those who repent", Azzi said, adding that "thanks to the confessions of certain terrorists, security services have been able to foil several attacks and save human lives."