Abdelaziz Belkhadem to Echourouk: “Boutefilka did not dismiss me”

Abdelaziz Belkhadem, leader of the National Liberation Front (FLN) and personal representative of the Algerian president believes the appointment of Ahmed Ouyahia as prime minister to replace him is part of the president’s prerogatives. “It is not a matter of dismissal. Otherwise, the president would not have named me as his personal representative in the government,” Belkhadem told Echorouk in an interview.Since Ouyahia was appointed at the head of the government, your party has lost ministerial positions such as the communication ministry. How do you think of that? If the Algerian system was parliamentary, your question would have been logical. As far as the coalition government is concerned, it is something different. The FLN had led the government when it was minority in Parliament. Now, it has the majority of seats while the prime minister represents another party. That means the parliamentary system logic is not applied in our constitution. What are your comments on the candidates’ list for the next presidential elections? Does it give any credibility to the elections? Every candidate has interesting ideas and programs. It is true that candidate Bouteflika has been the president for two mandates. His achievements give him the priority among people. Yet, this does not reduce the importance of the other candidates. Candidate Bouteflika was criticised for his recent visits to some provinces as well as the new measures he launched including grants raise for students and handicaps. This was considered as a preliminary electoral campaign. What is your say in that? Bouteflika will remain the president of the republic until a candidate is elected. Furthermore, those new measures are beneficial for the Algerian people and none can deny that.  There are fears of a low turnout in the next presidential elections likewise the previous legislatives. Are you concerned about that? The popular attitude toward the legislatives is not the same for the presidential elections. People do not understand well Parliament’s role. Law making does not constitute a top priority for people. Thus, it has an impact on the turnout in elections. As for as the presidential elections, it is something else because it has something to do with the leader of the country. President Bouteflika talks about promoting the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation. Does it mean that the State will adopt a new mechanism during a possible third term of Bouteflika? The National Reconciliation is a political act meant to reach a total cohesion in the Algerian society without any marginalisation. If this political act needs some measures, they must be taken. Moroccan government has been asking Algeria to reopen its land borders with it. Why is that? Algeria is sovereign and can not be submitted to any pressure. Everyone knows what happened in Marrakech in 1993. Foreigners confirmed that Algeria was innocent. While we were expecting that our brothers would lift the oppressive blockade, we were considered as terrorists. They should have opened doors for us because we were facing terrorism and isolation. The borders will not remain closed for ever but both countries must work on a common interest. They must settle their disagreements in terms of illegal immigration, trafficking, politics and diplomacy. Although the borders are closed, the trade exchange with Morocco is larger than the one with other countries in the Maghreb. Don’t you think that this answer has some national pragmatism? We are for mutual interests. We are not against that our brothers in Morocco benefit from the reopening of the borders. On the other hand, we insist that Algeria also benefits from this procedure. How did Algeria see in the visit of the UN envoy to Westen Sahara? He was clear in his remarks. He stressed the right of self-determination. That needs the reactivation of the UN resolutions by holding a free and honest referendum. The Algerian position toward the Israeli war on Gaza was described as “more honest than what is existing and less that what is usual.” Is it a just description? I agree with you in the first part of the expression: “more honest than what is existing but it is not less than what is usual at all. Algeria has always been in support of Palestinians. Algeria is faithful to its principles either in terms of the Western Sahara issue, the Palestinian cause, Iraq and the unity of Sudan.  Algeria is the third Arab country in terms of aid to Gaza reconstruction following Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It offered $200 million. Where has this money gone? It is not a matter of an Algerian decision. We are waiting for what Arabs and Palestinians would agree on.