Bouteflika insists on a referendum to bring unity and reconciliation

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika decided to organize a public referendum on the civil reconciliation law in September after issuing the text of a law yesterday that was ratified by the parliament in its chambers at the beginning of the current week.

Bouteflika said he will resort to a public referendum, whatever the results of the public discussions of this issue might be.

He also said he is ready to resign if the people oppose the law.

The law calls for light penalties or complete pardon to those who were ingaged in acts deemed illegal by the state and did not commit rapes or killings in Algeria's seven years of civil unrest. This is an effort by the new president to bring unity and reconciliation to the country with an effort to close this chapter of violence in Algerian history.