Louisa Hanoune: “President Bouteflika Should Respond To Algerians”

eneral Secretary of the Labor Party, Louisa Hanoune, asked the country’s decision-makers to respond to the call of the people which is rejecting the president’s bid for a fifth term, warning of the consequences of ignoring this call because of its risks to the country, saying: “We do not want to put Algeria in a dark tunnel”.

“Labor Party refuses to support the regime under the cover of political reforms because it is too late. We call for the need to accelerate the response to the demands of the people, which went out in mass rallies against the President’s bid for a fifth term”.

“Decision-makers have to intervene to preserve Algeria by stopping the electoral process and giving way to the popular will because neglecting such demands would lead the country into a dark tunnel”.

“Popular demonstrations in various cities of the country are a revolutionary path that should not be underestimated. We warn the regime of the repressive forces and supporters of continuity who did not hesitate to provoke the people after last Friday’s demonstrations”.

Hanoune explained, during a meeting with the frames of her party, on Saturday: “We noticed the presence of masked men them with hatred against political parties, whether opposition or pro-government, which aimed at intimidating the people”.

She called for the need to be aware of the “parties that want to distort demonstrations”.

“There are political forces that have financial and media means in the Western and Arab capitals, which are trying to pressurize the youth since February,22, to change the nature of the protests and turn them it into their own interest,” she said.

Regarding the president’s recent message on the occasion of the Women’s Day, the leader of the Labor Party said that what was said was “a provocation to the aspirations of the people demanding the departure of the regime.”

She asked whether the current system would “respond to the demands of the people, preserve Algeria and stop the electoral process, and open the way for a popular will to determine the shape of the institutions’ content”.

On the other hand, Hanoune accused part of the opposition of implicitly trying to circumvent these demands and said, “Those who want to negotiate on behalf of millions with well-known parties want to share the rule with them under the cover of the democratic transition”.

She warned against the danger of deviating from the path of popular mobility: “If the revolutionary path is distorted and deviated or grasped by pro-regime parties or from reactionary forces inside and outside the regime or from external capitals, the nation is the loser, and the beneficiaries are the current oligarchs and those who are coming, which would open the door to foreign intervention”.