“General Toufik must resign,” says Saadani

Secretary General of Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN) Amar Saadani criticized the head of the Algerian secret services Mohamed Mediene for failing in protecting assassinated President Mohamed Boudiaf, the Tibehrine monks and oil facilities in the desert and called on him to resign.

“General Toufik is behind attempts to hit the party and its leader’s stability,” Saadani told the online Tout sur l’Algérie news website in an interview on Monday.

Speaking about the attempt of the FLN’s political office general coordinator Abderrahmane Belayat to hold an emergency session of the central committee to elect a new leader, Saadani said Belayat works for General Toufik.

He added that twos senior officers at the internal security department came to the central committee’s members and asked to sign for dismiss Saadani.

According to Saadani, the internal security department established very closed links to political class, press and justice. It interfered in the work of justice, media and political parties.

« When I talked about the opportunity of separating the intelligence department from politics, I mainly meant the internal security department, » he said.

He described allegations about the involvement of the President’s brother Said Bouteflika in Algeria’s affairs management as “no more than rumors and lies meant to hit the environment of the President of the Republic.”

He held the intelligence department responsible for spreading such rumors.

“When the Sonatrach scandal was divulgated, they wanted to target former energy minister Chakib Khelil who is one of the Algerian most competent and honest executives,” said Saadani.

Saadani also criticized the Algiers Court for not respecting laws as it prosecuted Khelil, saying “it was pushed to do that.”

“In Algeria, each time we want to exclude a president, we invent a scandal. In 1997, President Zeroual was the target through the Betchine scandal. In 2004, it was the Khalifa scandal and the target was Bouteflika. In 2014, the target is the same but the scandal is different. It is about Sonatrach and Abdelmoumene Khalifa’s extradition.”

“This case is meant to prevent Bouteflika from running for another term. What was the role of intelligence officers who were at the institutions which injected money at Khalifa Bank,” he added.

Saadani believes that the presence of internal security agents in all the institutions including the President’s Office shows that the Algerian regime is not civil.

He called on the intelligence department to accomplish its missions which are determined in the Constitutions. “The army’s place is in military barracks. What does an intelligence colonel do inside the Senate?”

The FLN’s leader also criticized the internal security department for failing in managing many security issues. “Instead of handling the protection mission, it kept watch on political parties, press and justice. It could not protect assassinated President Boudiaf and Secretary General of the Algerian Workers’ General Union Abdelhak Ben Hamouda. It also failed in protecting the Tiberhrine seven monks who were killed in the province of Medea. It could not protect the Government’s Palace and the UN agency headoffice in Algiers which were targeted by suicide bombers, a few years ago. It did not protect oil facilities in the south and was unable to protect President Bouteflika from an assassination attempt in the province of Batna.”

“After all this, General Toufik was supposed to resign,” he added.

Saadani said the intelligence department would be held responsible if something bad happens to him. “If something bad happens to me, General Toufik will be held responsible for that.”