What Chadli did not say about Amirouche in his memories

Algerian late President Chadli Bendjedid’s memories caused different reactions about a number of issues. Of them, the revolution attitude toward escaped officers from French army and the discovery of two martyrs’ bodies detained in a cave of the National Gendarmerie’s general command next to the National Defense Ministry.

Martyr Amirouche ‘s son said his father’s body was not found by the late president, in response to the memories which mentioned that Chadli Bendjedid had discovered Amirouche and Si Al Haouas’ bodies.

“It is not Chadli who found out the martyrs Amirouche and Si Al Haouas’ bodies at the cave of the National Gendarmerie’s General Command. I did tell him about that,” Nourreddine Ait Hamouda told a national newspaper.

Memories writer’s reaction: Amirouche’s son tried and failed to meet Chadli

Abdelaziz Boubakir told Echorouk Nourreddine Ait Hamouda asked him to arrange a meeting with Chadli but he refused. “At the funerals of late Bachir Boumaaza, former senate’s president, in November 2009, I met Amirouche’s son. He asked me to arrange a meeting with Chadli Bendjedid but I didn’t do that.”

Boubakir reported statements made by Amirouche’s son about Chadli: “I don’t like Chadli bendjedid. I was jailed when he was President but I do respect him because he discovered my father’s body and buried it at Al Alia cemetery.”

“Ait Hamouda didn’t meet Chadli. At the time when the body was discovered, he was in jail due to the so-called Berber Spring in 1981. It is also said a captain at the French army named Jean Louis Gallet showed the place of the body. A general commander of the National Gendarmerie brought the body brom the province of Boussaada to the cave of the National gendarmerie’s General Command in Algiers,” said Boubakir.

He added that only three people who knew about the bodies being detained in the cave. They are: former President Houari Boumediene, Secretary General of the Defense Ministry at that time Abdelkader Chabou and the Gendarmerie’s Commander Ahmed Ben Cherif.

“Why did the bodies remain in the cave? Who of the three men is responsible for that? Colonel Chabou died in 1971 in an aircraft crash. Boumediene passed away in December 1878. Ahmed ben Cherif is the only one who is still alive. So, why did he wait for four years to bury the body at Al Alia cemetery in 1982?”

Chadli was informed by Minister Namiche about the body

According to Boubakir, former War Veterans’ Minister Bakhti Namiche told Chadli about the martyrs’ bodies. An investigation was opened into the issue.

The investigation showed that the bodies were detained in the cave. Then, Chadli ordered to rebury them at Al Alia cemetery.

“If Nourreddine Ait Hamouda knew about the place of the bodies, why was he so late to inform President Chadli about that?” said Boubakir.

He also said he was surprised by the big concentration on Amirouche’s body compared to martyr Si Al Haouas though they died in the same circumstances.

It is said that Amirouche’s son contacted the Si Al Houas family for coordination but they refused to give the issue a political character.

Chadli was mad about Amirouche’s son

Boubakir says Chadli got furious when he heard that Nourreddine Ait Hamouda was talking about his father without mentioning Chadli’s contribution in the discovery of the bodies.