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Doc. 7997
27 January 1998
Situation in Algeria
Report
Political Affairs Committee
Rapporteur: Mr. David Atkinson, United Kingdom, European Democratic Group
Summary
The Assembly strongly condemns the massacres in Algeria. It supports the initiatives of the European Union. Islamic states and communities should also use their influence. The Algerian government is called upon to allow a visit by the United Nations, the access of non-governmental organisations and the media, and to open a dialogue with all political forces prepared to reject violence. The Assembly resolves to establish a dialogue with the Algerian parliament, to explore how the Council of Europe’s considerable expertise could be made available to Algeria.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly strongly condemns the continuing wave of massacres in Algeria and expresses its sympathy and solidarity with the victims and their families.
2. The Assembly recalls that millions of men and women of Muslim confession live in member states of the Council of Europe and form part of European society. The Assembly also recognises that Islam – as other main religions – preaches tolerance, peace and understanding. It is extremists and terrorists who, abusing Islam for their criminal purposes, are responsible for the terrible events in Algeria. They are, moreover, contributing to a dangerous confusion, which damages first of all Islam itself, and which, furthermore, endangers the co-existance between Muslims and other citizens in Europe and elsewhere.
3. The Assembly considers that these barbaric acts of terrorism constitute a direct threat to peace and stability in the Mediterranean region. International concern with these massive human rights violations can under no circumstances be considered as an interference in Algeria’s internal affairs.
4. The Assembly fully supports the initiatives of the European Union, such as the visit by ministerial representatives of the European Union troika, to contribute to resolve the crisis. It welcomes the readiness of the Algerian authorities to open a dialogue with the European Union.
5. The Assembly calls on the political and religious leaders of member states of the Islamic Conference and Muslim communities world-wide to unequivocally condemn the savagery taking place in Algeria, to use all their influence to put an end to the violence, and to contribute generously to the provision of international humanitarian aid.
6. The Assembly calls on the Algerian government to :
i. accept a visit by a Representative of the United Nations;
ii. guarantee free access by international organisations, non-governmental organisations and the media;
iii. accept international humanitarian assistance as well as support in combating terrorism;
iv. establish a genuine political dialogue with all political forces which, as a precondition for direct negotiations, are prepared to reject violence.
7. The Assembly will endeavour to establish a dialogue with the Algerian parliament in order to explore how the Council of Europe’s considerable expertise in the fields of democracy, human rights and rule of law could be made available to Algeria.
II. Explanatory Memorandum
1. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
- Constitution of 28 November 1996
The Constitution was adopted by referendum. It establishes Islam as the State religion but prohibits Islamist parties. It also establishes Arabic as the official language and institutes a High Islamic Council as a consultative body. It also reinforces President Zeroual's powers. According to the authorities, this Constitution is aimed at consolidating the rule of law.
- President of the Republic
Liamine Zeroual.
- Government
The Government is appointed by the President and is answerable to the National People's Assembly. The Prime Minister, Mr Ouyahia, leads a governmental coalition made up of the National Democratic Union (RND), the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the "Society for Peace" Movement (MSP).
- Parliament
- National People's Assembly
380 directly elected members (8 seats reserved for the Algerian community abroad); 5-year term of office; last renewal on 5 June 1997.
- National Council
144 members (96 directly elected and 48 appointed by the President of the Republic); 6-year legislature, half of which is renewable every 3 years; the Council adopts the texts formulated by the People's Assembly on a three-quarters majority; this gives the President a de facto veto over legislation.
2. MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES
Algerian political life is dominated by the army and the Islamists. Moreover, even though the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) has been disbanded, it is still a central player. The main Algerian political parties are:
- National Democratic Union (RND)
This party was set up in April 1997 and supports President Zeroual
- National Liberation Front (FLN)
This party led the rebellion against French colonisation and is a member of the current governmental coalition.
- "Society for Peace" Movement (MSP)
This is the main legal Islamic party. Originally known as "Hamas", it changed its name in April 1997 to comply with the law prohibiting Islam-based political parties; it changed from a radical form of Islam to the campaign against fundamentalism, in which it is the Government's "objective ally".
- Nahda (formerly Ennahda) Movement
This is an rival Islamist movement of Hamas and is supported by the FIS.
- Socialist Forces Front (FFS)
This is the party of the opponent of the regime, Hocine Aït Ahmed, who is campaigning for the relegalisation of the FIS.
- Union for Culture and Democracy (RCD)
This party supports the armed struggle against the Muslim guerillas. It is hostile to any negotiated solution with the armed Islamic fundamentalists and militates for the creation of a secular State. Its membership is mainly Kabyle.
- Workers' Party (PT)
This Trotskyite party is campaigning for the relegalisation of the FIS.
3. CHRONOLOGY OF POLITICAL EVENTS
- 3 July 1962: the country becomes independent after an 8-year war against France.
- 1963: Ahmed Ben Bella becomes the first President of the Algerian Republic.
- 1965: Mr Ben Bella is overthrown by Houari Boumedienne.
- 1978: Mr Boumedienne dies and Colonel Chadli Bendjedid accedes to power.
- December 1991: the first round of the general elections is won by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which obtains 47.5% of the vote. President Chadli Bendjedid resigns under pressure from the army, which sets up a collective presidency (High Committee of State) led by Mohamed Boudiaf - assassinated in 1992 - and then by Ali Kaki.
1992
- 12 January: the military authorities suspend the electoral process.
- February: a state of emergency is proclaimed.
- 4 March: the FIS, which had been legalised in September 1998, is disbanded and the civil war    1 begins between the FIS activists, the public authorities and miscellaneous movements.
The GIA (Armed Islamic Group) and the MEI (Movement for an Islamic State) initiate revolutionary guerilla warfare. They resort to terrorism to bring down the regime. The AIS (the armed branch of the FIS) is a more politically oriented paramilitary grouping which only targets members of the armed forces. There is a third form of guerilla activity which has more of a social dimension    2. The violence also comes from the authorities in their fight against "terrorism". The Army seems to be the only force preventing the Islamists from taking over power.
- April: a National Consultative Council is set up to deal with legislative matters.
1994
- February: Liamine Zeroual is appointed Head of State by a national conference.
- May: a National Transitional Council (CNT) is appointed to replace the National Consultative Council.
- 1994-1995: the FIS, FLN, FFS and PT all sign the "Rome Platform" for a peaceful and democratic outcome, a document which is purely symbolic as the authorities refuse to negotiate with the FIS.
1995
- 16 November: first pluralist Presidential elections after more than three years of violence. Mr Zeroual is elected with 61.34% of the votes cast. The former FIS, the FLN and the FFS boycotted the event.
1996
- September: President Zeroual organises a "Conference of National Understanding". Islam is recognised as the State religion and as a fundamental component of Algerian national identity.
- 28 November: A new Constitution is adopted.
1997
- 5 June: general elections. The FIS is not allowed to take part in the poll. The campaign is very heated and violent. Voting takes place under close surveillance, in the presence of international observers. President Zeroual's party, the National Democratic Union (RND), supported by the Army, wins a large majority (156 of the 380 seats). The FLN and RND now hold an absolute majority in the People's Assembly, with 218 seats against 103 for the two Islamist formations, the "Society for Peace" Movement (MSP) and Ennahda. The opposition disputes the results.
- 8 June: the UN observers declare that the manner in which the mobile ballot boxes were managed cast serious doubt on the neutrality of the elections.
- 25 June: formation of the Council of Ministers, chaired by the outgoing Prime Minister, Mr Ahmed Ouyahiya;
- 18 July: release of Abassi Madani, Chairman of the former FIS, and Abdelkader
Hachani, "number 3" in the former FIS. Abassi Madani is placed under house arrest.
- 3 September: The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, appeals for "tolerance and dialogue" and an "urgent solution". In reply, Abassi Madani, sends a letter directly to the United Nations stating that he is prepared to launch an appeal for an immediate end to the bloodshed; the Algerian authorities then threaten to send him back to prison on the grounds that they oppose any "interference in Algerian affairs".
- 21 September: the leader of the Islamic Salvation Army (ISA), Mr Medani Mezrag,
ordered a unilateral end to armed actions starting from 1st October. The GIA (Armed Islamic Group) accuses the ISA of betrayal.
- 14 October: Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights,
Human Rights Watch and Reporters sans Frontières asked for an international enquiry in Algeria;
- October: apart from the National Democratic Union (RND), supporting President Zeroual, which won the local elections on 23 October, all Algerian parties denounced a " massive fraud " in the elections;
- 26-27 November: appeals to "intervention" to stop the killings in Algeria multiplied. The European Parliament proposed to send, in the beginning of 1998, a "delegation" to Algeria in order to discuss the situation with Algerian Parliamentarians. The Algerian Government accepted the arrival of such a delegation but categorically refused any international commission investigating massacres committed on Algerian territory;
1998
- 5-6 January : the US launched an appeal in favour of an international investigation in the Algerian massacres to be conducted by Non-Governmental Organisations. The Algerian authorities refused;
- 8 January: the Algerian Government finally agreed to a visit by the Troïka (Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Austria) of the European Union. However according to the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the visit should only deal with the cooperation in the fight against terrorism;
- 20 January: the EU delegation comprising the Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg (Georges Wohlfahrt), the United Kingdom (Derek Fatchett) and Austria (Benita Ferrero-Waldner), headed by the United Kingdom minister, makes a one-day flying visit to Algeria. It holds discussions on security, human rights, co-operation between Algeria and the European Commission, and humanitarian issues.
The Algerian regime agrees in principle to continued “dialogue” with the EU, but rejects all appeals for an international inquiry, which it describes as insulting attempts to spread doubt about the true identity of the killers (the armed Islamic fundamentalists). It asks European countries to combat “terrorist networks” in Europe more effectively.
The British emissary urges the Algerian regime to be more open.
- More bombings occur during the visit.
- 26 January: The EU Foreign Ministers adopt a declaration3, in which they call “for greater transparency on the part of the Government of Algeria about the situation, in which terrorist groups continue to perpetrate cowardly and brutal attacks on innocent civilians”. They regretted “that the Algerian authorities have felt unable to provide unhindered access for international organisations, NGOs and the media” to the sites of the massacres. They “hoped that the Algerian authorities would feel able to accept a visit by representatives of the UN in the near future”.
- With regard to the Algerian government’s request to fight the terrorist support networks in Europe, the Ministers confirmed the Union’s “willingness” to discuss, within continued dialogue, “any concerns and proposals that the Algerian authorities might seek to bring to its attention, including the struggle against terrorism”. They said that the visit of the troika should be regarded as a key step towards an extensive dialogue with the Algerian Government.
The Fifteen also felt that “the strengthening of inclusive democratic institutions and of the role of the judiciary will help to isolate and undermine those who seek political change through violence”. In this context, the Council (of EU Foreign Ministers) “encouraged more frequent contact between Algerian and European parliamentarians”.
4. VIOLENCE SINCE THE 5 JUNE 1997 ELECTIONS
According to Western estimations, the violence over the last five years has caused over 80 000 deaths (26 000 according to the Algerian authorities).
Over 700 civilians have reportedly been massacred since the general elections on 5 June 1997. Despite its limitiations the independent press in Algeria (eg Liberté, El Watan, le Matin, etc) remains one of the key sources of information on the security situation. The profession is exposed to a constant threat from the armed groups.
In a resolution adopted on 18 September 1997, the European Parliament noted that "the establishment of the national legislative assembly which came to power following the elections on 5 June this year, in which the country's democratic political forces took part, has neither interrupted nor curbed the brutal violence committed by the terrorists". It called for "an ad hoc delegation to be set up to enable a dialogue to be launched without delay, in both Strasbourg and Algiers, with the new Algerian Parliament on the current critical situation in Algeria" (see appendix).
- 16 June: a group attacked the hamlet of Dairet Lebguer (300 km south-east of Algiers) and slit the throats of some fifty persons;
- 5-8 July: over 61 persons were massacred during the Algerian independence festivities.
- 12-13 July: 44 persons had their throats cut in Ksar Al-Boukhari.
- 19-23 July: 56 persons had their throats slit when three villages were attacked in the
south and east of Algiers.
- 25 July: 38 persons were mutilated and had their throats cut in several hamlets in the Region of Hadjout.
- 28 July: a mass attack on a district of Larbaa (35 km south of Algiers caused 51 deaths.
- 30 July: a car bomb explosion in El Bihar on the hills above Algiers left 8 people dead and 24 injured.
- 30 and 31 July: according to the Algerian press, around one hundred persons were murdered in the Departments of Blida and Ain-Defla.
- 3 August: 111 persons were murdered in a further series of killings in the Departments of Blida and Ain-Defla.
- 21 August: 63 persons were murdered in the village of Soulane, south-east of Algiers.
- 24-25 August: 117 dead, including women and children with their throats cut, in four massacres in the suburbs of Algiers and a bombing in a market in the centre of Algiers.
- 26 August: 64 persons massacred during an attack on the village of Beni Ali (60 km from Algiers).
- 29 August: between 200 and 300 persons, according to eye witnesses, and 98 according to official figures, had their throats slit in the village of Rais near Algiers, in the worst carnage yet in the five-year conflict.
- 2-3 September: 22 inhabitants of Ouleb-Larbi (80 km from Algiers) had their throats slit.
- 5-6 September: another massacre in Sidi Youssef, on the hills above Algiers, with 60 to 80 victims.
- 19-20 September: 53 civilians, mostly women and children living to the south of Algiers, had their throats cut, and Islamist militants were killed by Government police forces.
- 22-23 September: 85 people according to the authorities, at least 200 according to eye witnesses, had their throats cut and were burnt to death in Bentalha near to Algiers.;
- 30 September: 40 villagers were killed in the province of Blida;
- 4 October: 88 civilians were killed in several attacks;
- 6 October: some 50 civilians, among them 16 children, were massacred;
- 14 October: 54 passengers in a bus were killed near Sig in the Oran region;
- 20 December: 79 civilans were killed during three massacres, a bomb attack and an ambush;
- 24 December the authorites announced the massacre of 59 persons. The Algerian press reported 90 massacred, mainly women and children;
- 30 december: the authorities announced that 78 civilians were killed and 73 others wounded in Sahnine, Taïeb and Kherarba, in the Relizane province (west Algeria),
1998
Since the beginning of Ramadan, the epicentre of the violence moved from the region of Alger to the West. More than 600 civilians, mostly poor farmers in the West, have been massacred. The killings had a character of a systematic extermination, and resulted in a exodus or rural population in the regions concerned to nearby cities.
- 3 January: the daily Liberté reported 412 deaths (78 deaths and 73 wounded according to the authorities) in the region of Rélizane, 240 km West from Alger;
- 4-5 January: the population of the village of Had Chekala (province of Rélizane) have been massacred during the night (more than 300 deaths);
- 18 January: over one hundred civilians have their throats slit, are shot dead or burned alive in Sidi Hammed (30 km from Algiers);
- 19 January: 33 civilians are massacred in new attacks attributed to the Islamic fundamentalists (GIA);
- 25 January: the Algerian authorities report the massacre of 20 people in Tiaret (west of the country), while the press report the death of 22 civilians and at least 48 Islamic fundamentalists killed by the security forces or in revenge killings by rival groups.
ANNEX 1
Conclusions of the European Union Council of Ministers – 26 January 1998
Reporting committee: Political Affairs Committee.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly : to be assessed.
Draft resolution adopted by the committee unanimously on 27 January 1998.
Members of the committee: Mr Bársony (Chairman), Mr van der Linden (Vice Chairman), Mrs Ojuland (Vice-Chairperson), Mr Baumel (Vice-Chairman), MM Antretter, Atkinson, Mrs. Belohorska, MM Bergqvist, Bernardini, Björck, Bloetzer, Chircop, Chornovil, Daly, Davis, Diacov, Dokle, Domljan, Evangelisti (alternate : Mr. Volcic), Gjellerod, Gül, Hadjidemetriou, Hornhues, Irmer, Iwínski, Kalus, Mrs Kautto (alternate : Mr Korkeaoja), Mr Kirilov, MM Krzaklewski, Kuzmickas, Mrs Lentz-Cornette, MM Lopez-Henares (alternate : Mr Puche), Lupu, van der Maelen, Maginas, Martínez, Medeiros Ferreira, Meier, Mota Amaral, Mühlemann, Musto, Mutman, Nallet, Oliynik, Pahor, Palmitjavilo Ribo, Popovski, Prusak Mrs Ragnarsdóttir, Mr Risari, Mrs Roudy, MM Schieder, Schwimmer, Séguin, Selva, Sinka, Ms G Smith, Mrs Stanoiu, Mrs Stepova, MM Thoresen, Toshev, Urbain, Vrettos, Woltjer, Ziuganov.
N.B. The names of the members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretaries of the committee: Mr Kleijssen, Mr Gruden
    1 The authorities reject the term "civil war", preferring to speak of "terrorism".
    2 European Parliament memorandum of 16 September 1997 on the political situation in Algeria.
3 See Annex.