Citizens of Kabylia stand up to upholders of “autonomy” during commemoration of Berber Spring

Citizens of the city of Tizi Ouzou, 100 km east of Algiers, brandished the Algerian national flag to show their total opposition to the “separatist” ambitions of groups of demonstrators who marched on Sunday morning in the streets of the city at the instigation of Ferhat Mehenni, who is sought by justice.

• Ferhat Mehenni, who is at large overseas, addressed the demonstrators through a mobile phone call which was amplified through a loud-speaker.
• The march, held on the occasion of the commemoration of the 26th anniversary of the Berber Spring, was organized by the so-called movement for the autonomy of Kabylia (MAK) led by Ferhat Mehenni.
• The demonstration took a turn for the worse when the marchers chanted slogans hostile to the Algerian state and in favour of the “autonomy” of the eastern Kabylia region.
• Some of the demonstrators even set fire to a portrait of the president of the republic Abdellaziz Bouteflika before being countered by residents of the city of Tizi Ouzou who brandished the Algerian national flag among the crowd to demonstrate their firm attachment to Algeria’s unity and their staunch opposition to the autonomy claims voiced by partisans of the “MAK” movement.
• The serious drifts which characterized the Tizi Ouzou march touched off adverse reactions from numerous political parties including the FLN, the MSP, the Workers Party and the RND among others.
• The representatives of these parties strongly castigated these blameworthy acts saying they carried the seeds of discord and dissension as they dealt a blow to the state’s symbols and to the unity of the Algerian nation.