Algeria is taking measures to placate the opposition ahead of a major protest planned for next week.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced on Thursday (February 3rd) that the state of emergency, in place since 1992, would be lifted in the "very near future", APS reported.
The move comes ahead of a major opposition march planned to take place in the capital on February 12th. Governments across the Arab world have been under pressure to respond to citizen demands amidst a growing wave of unrest following the Tunisian revolution.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Bouteflika said the state of emergency would be replaced with laws that would "allow the state to pursue counter-terrorism until its conclusion with the same efficiency and always under law".
The cancelling of the state of emergency was one of the key demands of February 12th march organisers, along with their concerns about the economy and the desire for greater political freedom. As of press time, however, demonstrations were still prohibited within the capital of Algiers.
The protest movement is being organised by a group calling itself the National Co-ordination for Change and Democracy, in conjunction with the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD). The association was formed in the wake of January's Algeria unrest, which left five dead and 800 injured.
The organisation said it wanted the march to be "popular", transcending political divides. The rally was originally planned for the anniversary of the state of emergency, February 9th, but pushed back to allow workers to attend.
Protest organisers will be joined by several trade unions representing educators, civil service workers and students.
Fear of popular discontent led several Maghreb states to take proactive steps towards food prices, with many purchasing additional stocks to ward off any possible price increase.
Wheat exports to Algeria are up 30% this year compared to the same period last year, according to France's state-owned AgriMer.
"These imports have certainly taken place, but they have nothing to do with any kind of political tension. There's nothing extraordinary about these events, and cereal imports are not on any larger scale than normal. It's a regular purchase," Agriculture Minister Rachid Benaissa said on January 26th.
In Algeria, "considerable financial efforts have been made to boost local production, which has risen substantially, but not sufficiently by comparison with domestic consumption needs," said Abdelmalek Serrai, a former adviser to the United Nations on economic issues.
There was no shortage of flour for the internal market, said Noureddine Kehal, Director General of the Algerian Inter-professional Cereals Office (OAIC).
"Stocks are sufficiently high to ride out the problems on the international market," Kehal said, indicating that the lessons were learned from the tension surrounding certain high-consumption products.
While many are waiting to see what effect these decisions will have on the Algerian public, the country continues to see sporadic protests. Apart from the RCD, few of the political parties have given a favourable response to the movement's call.
The government should not be changed through pressure from the streets, but through an electoral process, according to Louisa Hanoune of the Labour Party. She added that her party had nothing to do with decision making process.
"Decisions of this kind are taken with conviction about the unity of the action, teamwork and mutual respect," she said.
"We are working for all the restrictions to be lifted, including restrictions on organising marches, opening up the fields of politics and the media," said Louisa Hanoune, who did not believe in the approaches used in Tunisia or Egypt to change the national political situation.
"Organising a march is a right," stressed Mohamed Djemaa, the spokesman for the Movement for a Society of Peace (MSP). However, he said, "Given the current circumstances, it would be better to call for calm."
Still, all indications are that the government will ban the February 12th march, with Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia telling Liberté that "no march will be authorised in Algiers."
"This refusal is not directed only at the opposition, but any parties planning demonstrations in the capital, including the parties in the presidential alliance," Ould Kabila said.
In his view, "no party or association is able to manage a march and guarantee that it will go ahead in a completely peaceful manner. Algiers is a city with three million inhabitants. There are problems which march organisers may not have taken into account."
"Elements who have nothing to do with the march's objectives could tag along to cause trouble and damage, quite apart from the terrorist threat," the minister claimed.
The organisers said that a technical committee was set up to take charge of the practical aspects of the demonstration, according to Rachid Malaoui, President of the SNAPAP and an active member of the movement.
"We have agreed our route, which will go from the Place du 1er Mai to the Place des Martyrs," said Malaoui, explaining that "the movement is not bureaucratic. Each organisation has autonomy to establish contacts and to publicise things."
A meeting is planned for February 9th to put the finishing touches on the protest plans.
© Magharebia.com 2011
