Dissention inside the Islamic front in Algeria

An Algerian dissenter from a prohibited Islamic fundamentalist group criticized yesterday president Bouteflika's plan for establishing peace in Algeria. He condemned the referendum scheduled for Thursday as unilateral.

The coordination council affiliated to the Islamic Salvation Front urged the government in a statement issued yesterday from Paris to release the prisoners from the front, fight corruption in the strong military corporation circles and allow an independent investigation into the massacres that took place in the framework of what the statement called a comprehensive solution to the bloody conflict in the country.

The council said, "solution through the referendum is because it wants an end to the war through unconditional surrender of the individuals and the corporations as well as preventing leaders and cadres of the Islamic Salvation Front from practicing any political activity."

The statement reflects a division inside the Islamic Salvation Front toward the peace plan.

Abbas Madani, a leader of the Islamic Salvation Front who lives under house arrest has expressed his support for the president's initiative.

Abd El-Karim Walad Dada, the spokesman of the front abroad, said the front's name should be changed so that it can reenter the political arena.