The government is under
growing political and popular pressure for being out of touch. The
government has consistently sided with dictators in the last year of
Arab Spring uprisings. The government was also very upset with what
happened next door in Libya, when NATO airpower enabled untrained and
poorly armed (but very angry and enthusiastic) civilians to overthrow
the large and well organized security force of a decades old police
state. While not as brutal and theatrical as the Libyan dictatorship,
the Algerian strongmen maintain power using the same combination of
corruption and terror. The Algerian dictatorship (it's more of a
committee of thieves than a single guy in charge) is hustling to make
friends with Western states, especially those who might be called on to
supply warplanes and smart bombs for the liberation of Algeria. The
recently deceased dictator of Libya (Moamar Kaddafi) was a very
unpopular fellow among most national leaders. He was loved by some
African nations to the south, who received billion dollars in Libyan aid
for building religious schools and mosques. Kaddafi also supported many
rebel groups in Africa, and elsewhere, which led to a lot of violence
and death. Overall, Kaddafi was not popular. Noting how that worked out,
the Algerian leadership that used to be a lot more unfriendly to
Western governments has changed. The Algerian dictatorship is looking
for love in all the right places.
Sensing a huge anti-government sentiment among the voters,
Islamic parties are pulling out of a pro-government coalition. The
Islamic parties are betting that the military dictatorship that has run
the Algerian democracy for decades, is ready to allow a free and (fairly
fair) election so they can step down gracefully and escape prosecution.
That might work.
January 10, 2012: In a southern oil town, police injured ten
people suppressing a spontaneous demonstration against corruption and
police brutality (especially a recent incident where cops mistreated
elderly people during a bus stop disturbance.) Protestors were also
unhappy with a shortage of housing and jobs. People note that the
construction contracts are given out to cronies of officials, and a lot
of the money is stolen. Jobs are given out as political favors, not to
those who can best do the job.
January 3, 2012: Police stopped four SUVs coming from
Niger, and arrested the occupants when they found the vehicles full of
weapons. These were apparently just smugglers, who did not expect to
encounter police in a remote part of the border. But patrols along the
border have been increased since thousands of weapons (mainly assault
rifles, machine-guns and RPGs) were stolen from Libyan bases during
nearly a year of violent disorder. Lots of ammunition and portable
missiles disappeared as well.
January 2, 2012: Algerian police killed the al Qaeda chief
for northwest Africa, Sidi Mohand Ormadein and his deputy. The police
identified the two at a roadblock, which led to a brief gun battle.
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