Kherrata, Algeria, Feb 16, 2021 (AFP) – Several thousand Algerians rallied in a northern town Tuesday, almost two years since the start of the “Hirak” protests which swept former strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power. Demonstrators brandished Algerian and Berber flags and shouted slogans against the military and current President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in the rally in Kherrata, 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Algiers. “A civilian state, not military. Freedom of the press and of expression. An independent judiciary,” read one banner.
It was in Kherrata that major protests first broke out on February 16, 2019, against Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term. The following week, mass rallies spread to Algiers and across the country in a months-long movement to demand sweeping reforms.
Tuesday’s rally was attended by prominent Hirak figures including Karim Tabbou, who was given a one-year suspended sentence in December for “undermining national security”. Around 70 people are currently in prison over links with the Hirak movement or other peaceful opposition political activity, according to the CNLD prisoners’ support group.
The unprecedented protest movement, which demanded a sweeping overhaul of the ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962, only suspended rallies in March last year as the coronavirus pandemic reached the North African country. But recent weeks have seen renewed demonstrations in the build-up to the February 22 anniversary of the first nation-wide protests, particularly in the traditionally restive region of Kabylie.
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AFP – Hundreds of Algerians rallied Tuesday to mark some of the first Hirak protests, two years into the mass movement which swept former strongman Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power. Defying coronavirus restrictions and a ban on protests, “hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the centre” of Kherrata, seen as the movement’s birthplace, news website Radio M reported.
Protestors brandished Algerian and Berber flags and shouted Hirak slogans against the military and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, according to images published by Algerian news outlets and reports by social media users. Some demonstrators had already arrived in Kherrata from several other regions on Monday evening for the rally.
The town, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital Algiers, was the site of a thousands-strong protest on February 16, 2019, against Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term. The following Friday, seen as the official start of the movement, saw mass demonstrations in Algiers. That triggered an unprecedented months-long movement to demand a sweeping overhaul of the ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962.
The rallies only came to a halt in March last year as the coronavirus pandemic reached the North African country. But recent weeks have seen demonstrations again, particularly in the traditionally restive region of Kabylie.
