That’s what former DRS Chief General “Toufik” said about President Bouteflika and the latter’s fourth mandate!

Nothing would be more false than to believe as purported by some circles that the departure of Mohamed Mediène also known as “Toufik” from the helm of the Algerian intelligence services (DRS) stems from a personal quarrel with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

If General Medienne’s relations with the brother and influential adviser to the  President, Saïd is at best lukewarm, his loyalty to the Head of State was never faulted. Since the beginning of their companionship, in 1998, the two men had met, consulted, and talked to each other on the phone for several hours.

This came out in a recent article issued by “Jeune Afrique” website which quoted reliable sources close to the former DRS Chief as arguing that between President Bouteflika and General Medienne, the relationship was cordial and sincere.

During the lifetime of the mother of the President, the latter often invited General “Toufik” to share a hearty meal  at his home in El Biar residential district in upper Algiers.

“Explaining the abrupt departure of General Mediène to retirement by his alleged hostility to a fourth term bid by President Bouteflika is pure wishful thinking”, the sources said.

When the head of state suffered a severe hemorrhage in November 2005, the head of the DRS has rushed to transfer him to the Val de Grace hospital in Paris.

And when President Bouteflika suffered a stroke in April 2013, the first to arrive at her hospital bedside was, again, General “Toufik”, who organized the smooth evacuation of the patient to France. Trying to explain the departure of Mediène to retirement by his alleged hostility to a fourth presidential mandate then vied by Bouteflika is only fantasy, according to the same sources.

 “If Bouteflika sought a fifth term in office, General “Toufik” would not oppose it,” quips one former minister. But the President is a fine tactician and a shrewd strategist, and does not let personal feelings interfere in his decisions.

If we had to draw a marker to pinpoint the beginning of the divorce between the head of state and General Mediène, we place him in August 2013, when the prosecutor of Algiers decided to launch an international arrest warrant against former energy minister Chakib Khelil suspected of involvement in an alleged corruption scandal at Sonatrach. A bolt from the blue !

Between the head of the DRS services and former Energy Minister, there was a lingering malaise gripping them. “Chakib Khelil touched the blood of martyrs,” confided General “Toufik” one day to one of his friends, referring to the much controversial hydrocarbon law devised in 2003 by the man nicknamed “the Texan” intended to greatly favour US energy companies operating in Algeria.

But knowledgeable insiders asserted that General “Toufik” couldn’t undertake anything without notifying beforehand President Bouteflika. Constantly informed of investigations conducted by DRS Officers into misappropriation and misuse of public funds, the DRS intelligence department Chief was fully aware that certain venal officials were involved in shady bribery affairs.

 “Jeune Afrique” magazine also revealed in the article that General “Toufik” even summoned Chakib  Khelil repeatedly to explain himself on corruption suspicions that the DRS disclosed in the course of their in-depth inquiries.

“To this effect, the President said during a meeting of a Council of Ministers that the relevant bribery-related files would be sent to justice without elaborating,” said an official close to the ruling establishment.