Benflis: Butaflika is abusing authority regarding the freeze of liberation front activities

The secretary general of the Algerian National Liberation Front, Ali Benflis, criticized the decision of the Algerian judiciary on freezing all activities of the front which enjoys currently the majority at the People's National Council ( the parliament).

In press statements yesterday, Benflis said that this decision once again reveals that nothing prevents the "'candidate' President Abdul Aziz Butaflika in his hunger for power." He described the decision as unprecedented violation of the independence of the judiciary.

Benflis accused Butaflika of monopolizing all authorities in his hand, so as even judiciary is no longer safe from his intervention, noting that his party will contest this decision before the state council, which is the highest judicial commission in Algeria.

On the other hand, the leading figure in what is called the Correctionist Movement of the liberation front, Muhammad Bu Azaza, defended the decision. He said that the Judges took this decision in line with their conscience. He described Benflis statement as extremist, like those which led the country to a bath of blood in the beginning of the 1990s.

These developments came just hours after the Algerian judiciary froze all activities of the National Liberation Front, the former ruling party, which currently enjoys the majority in the parliament.

This decision was taken following a case filed by activists in the party against Benflis, in which they opposed the decision taken by the 8th congress which was held in March this year, during which Benflis was elected as a secretary general for the party.

Those activists who belong to what is called "the correctionist movement in the front ,which is headed by the foreign minister Abdul Aziz Balkhadem, accuse Ali Benflis of 'confiscating' the party, following the congress which gave him wide authorization."

This, however, came, on the background of the conflict between Benflis and the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika. Benflis will be taking part in the presidential elections to be held in April, 2004 in Algeria. Benflis supporters accuse Butaflika of trying to undermine the stability of the party before the elections.

Butaflika is expected to nominate himself for a second term of office, but he has not so far nominated himself, and sees in Benflis a strong rival for him in this regard.