Gaid Salah Sends A Final Warning To General Toufik

Deputy Minister of National Defense, Chief of Staff of the National Popular Army, Major General Ahmed Gaid Salah, sent warning messages to the former head of the DRS, Mohammad Madine, known as general Toufik, accusing him of manipulating the people and working to inflame the situation by contacting suspicious people and some officials and political parties.

This came in a speech that was delivered to all the units of the military regions on the occasion of his visit to the fourth military region in Ourgla (southern Algeria) on the second day under the supervision of the implementation of a live ammunition exercise “Alnadjm Alsatie 2019” “Bright Star 2019”.

“In my intervention on March 30, 2019, I spoke of suspicious meetings that were held in secret in order to conspire against the demands of the people and in order to obstruct the efforts of the National People’s Army and its proposals to resolve the crisis. However, some of these parties, including the former chairman of the DRS tried unsuccessfully to deny their presence in these meetings and the fallacy of public opinion, despite the existence of conclusive evidence that proves these tendentious facts. We have confirmed that we will reveal the truth, and they are still active against the will of the people and are working to inflame the situation, contact suspicious bodies and incite to disturb the efforts to get out of the crisis, and I sent the last warning to him, and if he continues these actions, strict measures will be taken against him”, Gaid Salah said.

Maj.Gen. Gaid Salah stated that the decision of the National People’s Army regarding the protection of the people is irrevocable and will never deviate from it under any circumstances.

“The decision to protect the people of all its components is irreversible and will not be neutralized under any circumstances. Given the trust that binds the people with its army, we have given clear and unequivocal instructions to protect citizens, especially during marches, but in return we expect our people to avoid resorting to violence and to preserve public and private property and avoid obstructing the interests of citizens”.

“In this context, I would like to mention the need for full respect for the symbols of the State, foremost of which is the national flag, because it represents a sacred symbol of the unity of the nation and the people and the sacrifices of generations throughout history, and we are fully convinced that our people will be at the level of the civilized image that history has recorded, and was transmitted by various media across the world”.

“I am convinced that the Algerian civilized and honorable people are capable of overcoming all challenges and all crises, based on their ingenuity and inspired by their historical values and their long experience in dealing with events”.

He asserted that “the army understands the legitimate demands of the people, which we committed to working with, to fully reflect them. Of course, these goals require achieving stages and steps that require patience, understanding, and rejection of all forms of violence. The basic step has been achieved and certainly will be followed by other steps until achieving all the desired objectives, without prejudice to the work of state institutions to be maintained, to run the affairs of society and the interests of citizens”.

Ahmed Gaid Salah called on the people to “adopt the wisdom and patience because the situation at the beginning of this transition is a special and complex situation that requires the concerted efforts of all loyal patriots to get out of it peacefully”.

He reiterated the National People’s Army’s commitment to “accompany state institutions in this transitional phase, noting that all possible horizons remain open to overcome the various difficulties and find a solution to the crisis at the earliest. The National People’s Army always considers itself, along with all the faithful, and thus it is always mobilized to serve its people and homeland, in fulfillment of the covenant it has made in realizing the legitimate demands of the people and their legitimate aspirations to build a strong, safe and stable state in which every citizen finds its natural place and hopes”.

Maj. Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah called on the judicial authorities to “speed up the pace of dealing with various issues relating to the improper use by some people of loans in the thousands of billions, damage the state treasury and misappropriation of the people’s money”.

The Deputy Minister of National Defense confirmed that the leadership of the National People’s Army will not take any decisions that do not serve the people and the homeland: “I hope that this appeal will received the desired echo among all components of our brave people, because it was issued by the Supreme Command of the National People’s Army, which is faithful to the message of martyrs of revolution and national duty, and its suffering to the suffering of the people, and its desire to build a strong and modern army that controlled the most accurate technologies, which has been achieved effectively in the field, by instilling the values of loyalty to the homeland in the minds and behaviors of members of the armed forces, which is a professional army with soldiers and equipments that is always ready with advanced weapons to fight against the enemies of the homeland and not against its people, an army that will not take any decisions that do not serve the people and the nation, and that is keen not to shed one drop of Algerian blood, to serve the interests of hostile parties, which did not like the peaceful nature of the demonstrations. Algeria is protected by the hands of honest and faithful men who are ready to defend their country no matter what the price”.

Gaid Salah sent a tacit message that he does not aspire to any political position in the future and said: “As the supreme commander of the National People’s Army and in front of the historical responsibility we take, we fully respect the provisions of the Constitution for the conduct of the transitional period”

“I would like to reiterate that all possible horizons remain open to overcoming the various difficulties and finding a solution to the crisis at the earliest times in the what serves the supreme interests of the nation, regardless of the interests of the persons, and that we have no ambition but to protect the country and defend the security and stability, and preserve the reputation of the country, as wanted by the honorable martyrs, and Allah is witnessing my words”.