Ben Bella in Beirut
Algeria, People, 7/23/1997

Ahmed Ben Bella, the former Algerian president and hero of his country's independence war, arrived in Beirut on July 20.

He has come to take part in rallies commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

Ben Bella, a guest of the Arab National Club, was greeted at the Airport of Beirut by Minister of Vocational Education Farouq Barbir and the club's leading founder, Monah Solh.

Now, 81 Ben Bella said he was delighted to be back in Beirut, which he had not visited in 40 years, and praised the country's efforts to reverse the effects of the civil war, on political and material levels.

Ben Bella is due to meet with senior Lebanese officials and take part in rallies marking the July 23,1952, Egyptian revolution.

"It's an historic moment in my life", Ben Bella said of his arrival in Beirut on the flight from Geneva.

"Following the Algerian liberation war I visited Lebanon dozens of times However, after the independence, circumstances prevented me from coming here."

He described the developments in Algeria as an "accumulation of things" but backed the current leadership's efforts to restore normality to the troubled North African state.

Ben Bella was the first prime minister of independent Algeria between 1962 and 1963. He was elected president in 1963 and served until 1965, when he was toppled and imprisoned by Col. Houari Boumedian.

He was released in 1979 after Boumedian's death.

Ben Bella lashed out at religious fanaticism and cautioned against "confusing Islam with those who pretend to be Muslims," in a reference to extremists.

"I am with the culture of dialogue and I am not against Muslims or Christians, or even Jews. But I am against racism and the war of religions," he said.

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