With the Arab World's Eyes Again on Algeria, Two Independence Heroes Speak Out

By Aicha Lemsine

Mohammed Boudiaf, who ascended to the presidency of Algeria's State High Council after Chadli Benjedid's resignation on Jan. 11, 1992, was born 73 years ago in M'sila, some 250 miles southeast of Algiers. He is, in fact, the head of state chosen to lead Algeria until the end of 1993, when the state of urgency should be lifted and new elections held.

Boudiaf is not easy to pin down, with a glance that is difficult to catch, a bit nervous. All his strength seems to emanate from his voice, which is quick and self-assertive. Touchy on certain subjects, he is sometimes negative and lofty, and thus may appear contradictory. Actually he is only interested in concrete reality

The new leader spent 29 years of exile in the small Moroccan town of Kenitra, where he ran a successful brick manufacturing business. Back in Algiers, Boudiaf received me in his government home in March. Dressed casually and with a fresh complexion—he had just returned from a walk in the garden—he appeared younger than one might assume.

Numerous and Varied Problems

The conversation began quickly. Without any formal question he explained, "I came back home in difficult circumstances to assume the present responsibilities because my aim is, with the help of my companions and the various associations, to try and get the country out of the crisis it has been plunged into. Problems in this country are numerous and varied, such as the high cost of living and the fact that the fighting spirit and the readiness for sacrifice are no longer present. But we do have a silent majority and I hope it is going to act and take up its responsibilities so we can get out of this tight situation.

"Everything is possible," Boudiaf continued, "when you have active and committed executives who feel responsible for their country's future. Unfortunately, the preceding regimes have failed and given birth to the Islamic movements. Hence the attitude of distrust toward the authorities and the administration. Nevertheless my faith in the Algerian people is still alive, and I am sure that Algeria will find among its sons those who are conscientious enough to help straighten out the situation...the task is arduous, but also exciting."

Acknowledging the desire among Algerians for political change, Boudiaf conceded that the latest round of government reshuffles were disappointing to some, and not convincing to others. "But we cannot do everything in so short a time," he added. "I know that Algerians are critical and in a hurry to witness some changes. Our goal is the democratic solution...We will have the necessary dialogue when elections are to be held."

With regard to religious parties, President Boudiaf has already declared that he "refuses to talk to people who play with machine guns." Boudiaf appears more sure of himself every day, and does not seem inclined to yield to the pressure or intimidation of creeping, violent terrorism. Nevertheless, Boudiaf is adamant that "democracy does not mean the creation of political parties with taxpayer money."

Boudiaf stressed that he was opening his government to all those who were competent and well prepared. I reminded him that inefficient and incompetent individuals from previous regimes were still revolving around his government, and that I was anxious for my country. "No, no!" he answered. "Of course it is your country, and also mine. We want to speak sincerely and say that these people had been put into a government where their intelligence and capabilities were worn out and wasted...We have competent people, and we have to know how to use them.

"I truly suffer to see that things are not going the right way, that we have a 'machine' which does not work and that the population is tired and over-burdened," Boudiaf stated. "Things are different now from what they were during out liberation struggle. You had people like Souidani Boujemaa and Zighout Youcef, who didn't need to be told what to do, but just 'It is time to get on the road.'"

I asked Boudiaf, himself one of the leaders of the liberation struggle, about the claim made by some intellectuals that the Algerian Revolution took its inspiration from the French Revolution. "The impulse and organization of the struggle were born here in our country," he said. "Revolutions are not to be exported. This was Castro's mistake, and we all together—Ahmed Ben Bella, Didouche Mourad, Larbi Ben M'hidi, etc.—knew perfectly well that our ideals had their roots in Algeria."

In answer to my question about the current Middle East peace talks, Boudiaf said, "We must be sincere and honest and try to unite our ranks within the Arab League. Success lies in a true rapprochement among Arabs. Of course we support the just cause of the Palestinian people and we have great respect for the choices and decisions they make."

Speaking of the situation among Arabs in general, Boudiaf stressed that Algeria is "an integral part of the Arab world, and now with the new international political situation, it is very important to draw the ranks tighter from the Maghreb to the Mashriq and get closer by developing multifold cooperation. For our part, this is what we exert ourselves to do."

Ahmed Ben Bella, like Mohammed Boudiaf, is a member of the "Historic Nine" who started the Algerian Revolution in 1954, spent a number of years in exile and remains a political survivor. As a revolutionary and the first president of independent Algeria, Ben Bella is still the symbol of the Algerian struggle throughout the Arab world. Arab-African popular memory will always associate the words courage, pride and dignity with names such as Nasser, King Faisal, Ben Bella and Houari Boumediene.

The only survivor of this line has had a very strange itinerary. Ben Bella has spent 20 years of his life inside French and Algerian jails, and another decade in exile. Yet he always seems to rise again from the ashes of oblivion, and Algerian posterity will probably grant him the place of honor he deserves.

A Human Truth

Now the passionate revolutionary has become a wise man, not because of the 75 years he carries with surprising youth but with the quiet conviction of a human truth often eclipsed but never extinguished. I spoke to Ahmed Ben Bella about the Algeria of 1992, of the violence and opposition between Islamists, democrats and "modernists," and of the new government of Mohammed Boudiaf.

"I must say that I welcomed favorably Boudiaf's arrival," Ben Bella said. "He must succeed, because if he failed the situation would be dangerous. I declared that Benjedid's departure was a positive step, and that our army was an army of patriots, not that of the Shah!

"Nevertheless," Ben Bella continued, "I think it an error to try and exclude FIS [the Islamic Salvation Front, which won the first round of legislative elections] from the political landscape. I believe that Boudiaf should have chosen the path of national reconciliation and a peaceful solution. The FIS issue is not strictly an Algerian problem, but that of a Muslim world which rejects the Western diktat."

Ben Bella condemned the assassination of security officials and the rising tide of violence, but believes "the FIS problem cannot yet be solved only by the army and the police. Violence calls for violence and we cannot go on like this. There are thousands of young sympathizers in the camps in very harsh conditions, and this will only foster more extremists."

Ben Bella sees Boudiaf's program as Marxism in the guise of "modernism" and "secularism." "We find ourselves in a paradoxical situation," he noted. "When Marxism is dying in its own terrain, we witness an attempt to revitalize it in Algeria, where it does not belong."

Still, Ben Bella is also critical of the FIS, saying that FIS rule "would have meant a serious problem because those brothers, just like the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, do not have an understanding of Islam as the bearer of progress and modernity in its cultural dimension. Preventing the FIS from going to the second round of the legislative elections because of their dangerous excesses, all right. But one must not pretend that they do not exist or to try and marginalize or wipe out this expression of a certain majority.

"I think we have to help them rescue themselves, for they have some justified grievances. They have made mistakes and gone too far," Ben Bella said.

"And now we have the Marxists who, in turn, constitute an expression which does not fit this country." Ben Bella believes that this "Marxist-secularist" position has "a reductive vision of Islam. This is also a kind of fundamentalism; a linguistic and cultural fundamentalism as menacing as the religious."

"Short-Term Solutions"

During our interview Ben Bella also offered his critique of the Boudiaf government's actions to date. "They are trying to find short-term solutions in a kind of easy begging from the IMF, the EC or Credit Lyonnais...They are trying solutions which do not rely on our own efforts. Algeria is a country rich with territorial and human potential that are as large as one can imagine. Our country is a giant with a huge grasp. Its credibility is intact. Moreover, the population has no faith in those other solutions," Ben Bella added.

As for steps which would enable Algerians to find renewed confidence in themselves and their rulers, Ben Bella suggested "new people and personnel inside a government of national unity which will have to govern three or four years, because nothing will change while the state of urgency is still enforced. The Western countries do not commit themselves—economically speaking—because of the state of urgency, not because of the FIS."

I reminded the former president that it was FIS violence that brought the army out of its barracks. "Yes, but if afterwards the State High Council had put a policy of national reconciliation in place, we would not have had all this violence, nor all the risks that are confronting our army daily because of the political errors it is committing," he replied.

Ben Bella recently accused former President Benjedid of embezzling 10 to 15 billion dollars in government funds during his 13 years in office, and said that he has evidence that other politicians are also guilty of serious corruption. Since then, Algerian politics has been racked by allegations of financial impropriety on the part of many in previous governments and strident demands for independent investigations.

I asked Ben Bella if he was afraid because of the accusations he had leveled at a number of powerful figures. "No!" he answered, "even if some people are telling me that I am risking my life. It's all the same to me. I have to condemn this kind of behavior, which not only ruined the economy of our country but also besmirched the image of Algeria. That money has to be refunded...I wish that all the actions of justice we undertake here will be an example to other countries in the Third World. I will not keep silent," Ben Bella emphasized. "I consider that this is the natural sequel of what I trust, what I have faith in, and with the help of God I shall do it."

In 1954 Mohammed Boudiaf and Ahmed Ben Bella set in motion a rebellion which grew into a revolution. Nearly 40 years later, these two men are again at the center of Algerian affairs, still trying to realize our country's tremendous potential. On the brink of the abyss, Algeria has turned once again to those who led her to independence. Will they be successful the second time around?

Aicha Lemsine is an award-winning Algerian novelist whose work has been translated into five languages. She lives in Algiers and writes frequently in the Algerian press.