Deterring terrorism, avoiding conflict with Berber; Benflis new program
Algeria, Politics, 7/22/2002

Algeria's Prime Minister Ali Benflis on Sunday proposed program of his new government before the new parliament. The issue of fighting terrorism was the first among the government's program list.

Benflis said that the legitimacy of the parliament, inspired from the fair elections, will provide the government with the "necessary energy to implement its obligation towards citizens."

Fighting terrorism came as the first in the government program list, as he indicated the increased "terrorism phenomenon" and attributed that to a "despair situation." He called on citizens to be very aware.

He stressed the "persistence of the authority to fighting terrorism until it is eliminated and to provide the security forces with all necessary means to achieve this objective," noting that "peace and security are two necessary conditions to improve economic development."

The issue of al-Qabayel (Berbers issue) came second in the new government's program. In this regard, Benflis called for "unifying all efforts for the return back of calmness to the region through dialogue and consultation without prior conditions." He did not forget to recall the authority's response to demands of the region, and despite that, he called for commitment for solving all these maters "so as to protect Algeria from split among its people."

Talking about the local elections which will be held on October 1st, the Algerian prime minister called on the parties which boycotted the legislative elections to take part in the local elections and carry out its political role. He also called on the public to take part in the next local elections and to give up carelessness, as he attributed the increase in boycotting the elections in the legislative elections to "lack of interest reasons." The government's program will deal with the issue of reforming the educational system. In this regard, Benflis set four pillars for reforms including "improving Arabic teaching so as Arabic language occupies its position as an official national language." This was met with great applause by members of the Parliament. Benflis added that this will go with "improving the Amghazi language and to open up to foreign languages."

The economic issue had the greater part of the government program with all its social dimensions. The prime minister talked about the issue of unemployment rate increase and in this regard he talked about the government's efforts to ensure necessary conditions to encourage local investment and attracting foreign investment by opening all sectors to foreign and national investors, alike, and issuing necessary laws. He said that the government will also work for "privatizing public sector companies."

As for religion, Benflis called for "protecting Islam from being misused." He said that in this regard the government will work for restoring the social status of the mosque and "religious 'corners' as sites for science and belief."

In the foreign policy area, the prime minister renewed Algeria's common positions in supporting people's causes. In this regard he indicated the Palestinian issue and the western Sahara. The program considered the issue of building the Maghreb federation as a strategic issue, as well as strengthening work within the Mediterranean framework through the Barcelona process and NATO states in order to "convert the Mediterranean a zone of peace."

Previous Stories:
  Iraq foreign minister visits Algeria   (7/20/2002)
  Moroccan and Algerian press over Moroccan-Spanish row over Leila islet   (7/18/2002)
  Algeria: the national liberation front wins elections   (6/1/2002)
  Algeria: 23 persons killed, opposition boycotts elections, confrontations in al-Qabael   (5/31/2002)
  Ballot centers for Algerian community in Syria; part of legislative elections   (5/29/2002)

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