Algerian protesters not likely to give up anti-Bouteflika demos
It was late February when President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, 82, announced he sought re-election for a fifth term. But demonstrators on the streets across the country do not favor him any longer, and keep calling for him to quit.
The elections are scheduled to be held on April 18. Until that day, protesters are apparently not likely to give up demanding resignation of the ailing president.
Bouteflika has been seen in public only a few times since he suffered a stroke in 2013.
Thousands of students from the University of Algiers marched through the streets of the capital on Tuesday. They chanted slogans against Bouteflika.
Protests have been banned in the city center since 2001. Police keep a watchful eye on that area.
In the cities of Oran and Constantine as well as Annaba and Blida similar demonstrations were held on Tuesday.
“Algeria is not a kingdom,” “Game over,” and “System – go away” were among the slogans written on banners or chanted by demonstrators.
Discontented protesters also warned of a general strike if the incumbent president does not heed their demands immediately.
The current protest movement, going on since February 22, has been Algeria’s biggest in years.
On Sunday, Bouteflika released a statement in which he said if re-elected, he would order a referendum on a new constitution and call an early election where he would not run.
"I listened and heard the cry from the hearts of protesters and in particular the thousands of young people who questioned me about the future of our homeland," Bouteflika said.
No return to bloodshed era
Gaed Salah, the Algerian army chief of staff, said armed forces would guarantee security and not allow a return to an era of bloodshed.
He said there were some parties he did not name which wanted Algeria to return to the "years of pain." He was referring to the civil war of the 90s.
Opponents say Bouteflika is no longer fit to lead, citing his poor health and what they call chronic corruption and a lack of economic reform to tackle unemployment.
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