MPs Says Food Oil, Sugar Riots Report Covered the Truth

Several critics have been yet pointed at the freshly announced report conducted by the finding facts panel installed by the Parliament to investigate on the factors that sparked what is known as “sugar and food oil protests” that hit several regions in Algeria early this year.

In a news conference held Sunday to make public the report’s outcomes, Head of the panel, MP Kamel Rezgui, of the FLN party, said the 8 month long investigation based on figures and analysis, and that it avoided evoking the protest movements, under the pretext that justice is still dealing with this issue. This is the same reason why the panel has not summoned representatives of the Ministry of Interior and security senior officials to be heard. 

So, the investigation has not taken into consideration the low purchase power and high unemployment rates hitting the society which stand behind the riots of January, observers said. It has rather pointed at the absence of control mechanisms and the monopoly of one operator of the sugar and table oil market, in addition to the proliferation of black market, Mr Rezgui responded.

The report has been adopted by the parliament major party FLN, and recommended to be fully published.

Yet, several MPs have protested against adopting the report without enduring it to debate.