« Change has a considerable psychological impact on human mind. To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse, King. To the hopeful, it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better » (Whiteny Jr., 1921–1971)
« A great revolution is never a fault of people but of the government » (Johann Wolfgang con Goethe, 1749–1832)
1- Algerian regime in agony
The Arab world is actually in fire, peoples have been revolting against their corrupted regimes and intolerant tyrants. Algeria is no more an exception to this sarcastic tragicomedy in which Arab leaders have been terribly toppled one behind the other. Indeed, this unprecedented recent situation will, in all likelihood, inflict seriously upon incumbent authoritarian Algiers’s nomenclature. The democratization wave has submerged dictatorial surge and launched its positive fallouts on the recalcitrant governants, extremely resistant to progress. Thus, Algeria’s destiny appears to take a new turn since social discrepancies experienced in other neighbouring and brother countries such as: Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Yemen, are more and more widening these last decades in its hinterland. Additional factors which will certainly offer food and fuel for increasing thoughts in Algerian streets in support of adepts of change. Nevertheless, beyond the shadow of a doubt, any initiative to change peacefully the society requires a minimum of inventive will and crude imagination because the precipitation in reordering things can easily lead to incredible disasters and unimaginable upheavals. At this respect, it should be convenient to stress strongly on the bitter panorama of political and social scenes at the actual hour in Algeria. On the on hand, power seems to be refusing to work in tandem with civil society. On the other hand, there is a seemingly communication blockade in society spheres since the important mass-media (ENTV) is still being mostly monopolized by the apparatchiks of the system. Worse political parties are consigned to enter to, they are severely excluded from exposing their views at the debates. To really sum up the situation, it’s a classic case of chaos. That tantamount to asserting that even the regime is in agony, in other terms, it’s dying faster and faster because it isolates incredibly itself in its ivory-tower, constructing therefore artificial boundaries around its neck. It’s generally known that this bad reality is likely to enhance the underprivileged to react violently against the savage neoliberalism reforms engaged by the government these last years, moreover, the growing concerns brought out by the riot phenomenon and the degradation of patriotic spirit among the youth transformed the country in giant jungle where it’s suffocating to survive an account of the absence of freedoms and the worrying propagation of insecurity genes. However, this sad depiction is to be pondered relatively over regardless of its negative repercussions because there is still hope in change anchored in the deep Algeria. At this level of analysis, it would seem wise to remind that although the path of social transformation in our country is paved with a lot of hurdles, the striking synchronicity between Arab spring shouts and indoor exasperation will undoubtedly provoke the winter of Algerian regime. However, between the green revolution and the red one, awareness is going astray and the logic of disordered violence should be overshadowed by the strategy of wisdom at the light of what our country has undergone as trauma years ago.
2- The green revolution
The word revolution is excessively uttered at these exceptional circumstances that live our country, which is why it is of a paramount importance trying to define and apprehend and examine this complex concept from every angle. In my eyes, we cannot conceive a revolution without intellectual basis, the culture plays an important role in moulding the future of any country and gathering its forces for realizing the change, the fight against dictatorship is ceaseless because this lethal disease which threaten the existence of the culture of State, affecting society in its body, mind, structures, factories, universities and even mosques has somewhat surprisingly undermined the moral health of Algeria decades and decades ago. So it emerges clearly that the main difficult obstacle to overcome urgently is: the fear of change. That obviously means that the poisons of dictators have been acting as scissors cutting off the top of state from the bottom of society. Also, we must not be blind to the fact that our people had in his tormented history suffered a lot from colonialism bites. In reality, this accumulation of tragedies (colonialism, dictatorships, civil war) had led it inescapably to an existential deadlock. The aimlessness of the statesmen policies increased frustration, despair, disorder, and corruption in its deep tripes. In this perspective, it is highly pertinent to precise that the global political system of Algeria including civil society and associations is like a flightless bird, it has wings but refuses taking off. This bad diagnosis is at a given moment , with a given society, more paradoxical than it would be in regard of the drama that face daily the normal citizen in the corridors of diverse administrations, fighting alone against the bureaucracy and the indifference of all responsible at different levels. Nowadays, to explore the fauna and the flora of change is strictly necessary in a taboos-ridden society and male-dominated mentality where the woman has not already acquired a statute of full citizen. Algerians today have to put things in perspective by looking the reality in the face, our country is too late in the domain of sexual equality irrespective of viewing the succeeded experience of woman condition promotion in the neighbouring Tunisia. As matter of fact, the seeds of change have to be sowed in the roots of the family, society, associations, committees …etc and this process of fecundation must encompass the woman as an inevitable partner. Furthermore, the change, and it is a very crucial point, should be pioneered by the cultured class (intelligentsia), this latter is the only force capable to give a new life-living to a society totally blocked and immersed in a primitive virgin state, in other words, a society lost in its complications. Therefore, the elite will be taken for responsible of the wounds of its society if it doesn’t react to the horrors that it lives. The change is to be viewed as the precipitation of the soul of elite into the brains of people, at that respect, the idea is very fundamental in the beginning of the process of social transformation whereas the action is the further important step just after the it, at that respect, the example of Algerian revolution is incredibly fascinating because, on the one hand the overwhelming majority of its leaders was coming from the colonizer educative system and developed ideas of independence within their structures, then they had been forging and shaping them in the mould of patriotism and nationalism. On the other hand, these leaders themselves had erased the influence of the colonialist hegemony on the brains of those whom they called “les indigenes”. The sublime and courageous writings of the gauche intellectual, Germaine Tillon who qualified the colonialism as the most barbarous and savage operation of “clochardisation” is to add to this tendency of the cultured men and women to reject the sources that had given them birth when these latter proved to be rotten , inefficient or stagger in an erratic way. This means that the authoritarianism is no longer a fatality. European societies had lived the most barbarous wars in the world because there had been a surge of narrow nationalism and a loss of pure patriotism. What had easily favoured the rise of Nazism and Fascism during the black era of all terrors when relegation of pacifist intellectual like “Jean Jaurès” became more than effective? Even in America Latina, Machiavellian schemes had been made by «Los caudillos» to monopolize the power: in Chile with Pinochet, in Argentine with Peron, in Cuba with Castro when intellectuals have been scattered in Europe. It is important to put emphasis on the fact that if these retrograde ideologies had arrived to power, it was basically because there was not a real mobilization of society and intellectuals were rather driven on by despair and resignation or simply excluded and there were not intellectual forces that intervened in the society in the fullness of time. As far as I am concerned, I think that we have to adopt the pattern of the revolution of 1954 by breathing life into the substance of its principles, and thus in the same way, we try racapturing its organization-style as a guiding-line to our peaceful change. Algeria of springtime is bound to struggle fiercely in order to attain progress, the road is long and arduous but the hope is largely permitted.
3- The organizational and institutional reforms
It is important to remind that the steps described above lay their interests elsewhere, that is to say, they have to be carried out in the first stage of the change, and will tend to crystallize the readiness of the society to accept its move forward, furthermore, an account of the strategic country position in the Mediterranean sea, as a pivotal point of the regional stability, the coordination and collaboration at all levels between the influent countries of the north and our country have to be encouraged. That doesn’t signify enhancing authoritarianism but providing help and assistance through co-developmental projects. The problem of Algeria is principally in management, field where it should fill its blanks in emergency. A prosperous society needs good managers and wise politicians whereas Algeria is, at present, on the brink of the abyss for absence of political oversight and bohemian management. That means that our officials have misfired the “the good governance” target. Thus, in case of genuine emergency, to coordinate the efforts with their economic partners and European counterparts in order to avoid anarchy is more than salutary in these critical moments. It will be very interesting to clarify here that this proposal is vital thanks to its insistence on mutual cooperation in organizing this important leap to real democracy in Algeria because the world had changed since the collapse of the U.R.S.S and the Berlin wall in 90, the disappearance of classic State had produced a large-scale disorder in the international relations. Meanwhile, back in Algeria, terrorism and repression have wiped violently out the dialogue spirit, Rome agreement in 1995 was at first a spark of hope eluding terror and anarchy but it had been given a flat refusal by the Power which had preferred the creation of (R. N. D) in 1997, an elite party backed by the predatory military casts that had organized the most scandalous elections that Algeria had ever undergone since “Edmond Neaglen” fraud in 1948. The murder of intellectuals like Bousebsi, Djaout, Bouzhobza, Alloula had increased the fear and terror among the people. Unfortunately, Rhéda Malek, the former Prime Minister promoted an eradication policy called “the trasfer od fear to the other side”, the number of victims of this unprecedented national tragedy is neighbouring 200 000 victims according the opposition and 100 000 according to president Bouteflika and 20 billions of dollars of damages. In this process, it resulted a mixture of hesitation and fear of the public opinion from change, besides, the ideological discretion had been reinforced as a typical characteristic of a moribund regime, the disease of the president is intelligently hidden, the clans struggle are occulted from the people. Nevertheless, nowadays, after 50 years from its independence, Algeria is facing its fate, the change is far to be a simple turn of the mind but a pure and concrete state. Yet, Algeria is on the wharf of history because it is hovering between revolutionary move and pacific change. That illustrates, if need be, a cruel dilemma and exasperating fear among the masses. The nightmarish scenario following the interruption of electoral process in 1992 is cleverly entertained by the nomenclature in place waving the danger of chaos. This well-produced play had relatively succeeded especially with the escalation of violence in the neighbouring Libya where Qaddafi troops and mercenaries transformed this country into «Disneyland of Arab world» like said François Soudan, proceeding at a sever shelling of opposition hotbed in Benghazi and civilians. All these negative factors had forced the dreams of “ Jasmine revolution” ans “Nile shout” off the Algerian minds yet imprinted on them. That is why , the overwhelming majority of citizens have been out in the stream of the transformation of the regime and are expressing hesitation to the initiative pioneered by the coordination of change led by Ali yahia Abdenour and Mustapha Bouchachi and linked with secular party (RCD), though the streets are still boiling under frustration, low standard of living, Hogra, authoritarianism of the authorities, lack of perspectives of work for young, and the new grave phenomenon of diploma holders unemployment, etc. It emerges clearly at the light of this new situation that the diverse reforms led by the authorities years before have been actually failing and have proved inefficient, moreover they are no more than aimless and flashing projects. The crawling virus of corruption (great motorway North-South, the Khalifa scandal, Sonatrach), the disintegration of the social solidarity (urban delinquency, children kidnapping, patron rapt and threats) and the disappearance of the cult of competence (illiterates in a key post) at the shadow of the propagation of the culture of rent and riot have crushed the union in society. These aesthetic reforms engaged in the educative sector, justice, university are no longer operative even though public opinion in some spheres is slightly involved in them. In fact, the recent declaration of Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia is making matters worse especially when he stated that Algeria didn’t suffer from political crisis. The Power is trying desperately to divert the international opinion by riding the Trojan horse of fear and Islamism danger to the regional stability. At the same time, it is shifting the cards of Islamism, terrorism, chaos and violence in order to convince the population that there is not other alternative than the status quo. Such authoritarian undertones have fumed automatically about the sad fate of Algerians. However, the crumbling level of university as well as the bad conditions in housing and the misappropriation of system (LMD) to the aspirations of the Algerian students have forced them out of their habitual silence. Therefore, their wrath has destabilized El Mouradia palace despite the huge security device prepared for the circumstance. Meanwhile, Hocine Ait Ahmed the historical leader of revolution and of (FFS) and Mehri, the former general secretary of (FLN) have suggested a broad and wide national debate concreted in broad-based awareness campaign. This latter had solemnly addressed a letter to President Bouteflika in 17 February and other message to the first responsible of television in order to proceed at radical reforms and open the doors of dialogue to all sensibilities aiming at pacific change. Today, the change issue is growing more and more among the elite preoccupations and it is at many respects a fundamental basis on which articulates any progress. People are in quest of respect and dignity. To truly analyse the phenomenon, in spite of the great momentum gained by the fatalism in the spirits, the hope to see Algeria flying away with its two wings is the most persistent dream of all its sons.
4- Passive revolution or pacific change?
It goes without saying that the authoritarian model of governance in Arab world in general and particularly in Algeria is vanishing and losing its scope, values and landmarks. Therefore, the right social achievement of post-dictatorial era should be basically focused on releasing the potential of creation and invention in the society grassroots. Any regime has to rely on the assent of its social basis in order to guarantee its survival. Thus, the social contract of the independent Algeria has to revolve around the confidence that the elite might consolidate by its real involvement and implication in the process of making decision. Our country actually is terribly cut off from its pounding heart “intelligentsia”, the brain-drain of these last years had emptied its energy. According to the recent revelations of El Watan 13 April, it is mentioned that more than 20000 students have been given the chance to pursue their studies in France in the last years when we know that Algeria needs national competences to manage the period post-terrorism and post- 11 September! Furthermore, these Arab revolutions which are shaking the thrones have normally to begin by shaking the minds, the change is a question of temper and mentality, behaviour and culture before being question of political system or regime. Arabs today, and it is a very bitter reality, are latecomers in all domains and fields (education, culture, politics, and technology). It is unthinkable; even a false strategy to escape problems without developing programs and projects little bit more clearly constructive and strategic than in the past. In that respect, it is remarked that our elite is too extremely late in terms of construction of alternatives, that is why Algerian regime had succeeded in fending off demands of democracy. Only the reinforcement of civil society and knowledge class can arrive safely in short and long term to consecrate democracy in the minds whereas the remainder of sectors and institutions are collapsing under the heavy weight of bribery, nepotism, corruption, tribalism, clientelism and Benaamism. Everything leads us to believe that the absence of the culture of accountability and effort in the framework of state institutions is the spectrum and turmoil of Algeria. The political consciousness should elude and avoid regionalism impulses like observed Ferhat Abbas in his book (the confiscated independence- L’Indépendance confisquée), our country seems to be sinking in the quagmire of pre-organic culture. That is why the varying forms and the worrying signs of authoritarianism have been merging with the culture of the rent, brooded in the economical field, and corruption regionalism, tribalism cultivated in the social one. As one of the first scholars to criticize industrial societies, Antonio Gramsci (1860-1937) made difference between the violent revolution which is aiming at breaking vehemently down the chains of totalitarianism and dictatorships and the passive revolt where the Power is taking for target its apparatus, proceeding by stages at reforms where the State as a global institution encompassing social system involve itself as a pivotal centre of canalization and change convergence. This latter is to my eyes, on the one hand, the model which conveys more the situation of Algeria an account of the huge risks that may bring out a disordered change and on the other hand, our country had already been imbued with dislocation, disintegration, and inertia especially in economy portrayed by analysts concerning the terrifying and destructive civil war. At long last, young are surrendering to despair, the suicide rate has been worryingly growing and associations are absent for allegedly lack of structures and means, at the shadow of delegitimization of parliament and nation council particularly when they had allowed a third mandate to the incumbent president. Algeria has a lot of work to do in order to not be behind the times and give a touch of originality to its exceptional stance. In the final analyse, if William Quandt wrote in the mid 90 that Algeria is between bullets and ballots, criticisms which were at that time greatly founded, today it is legitimate to affirm that Algeria is between the devil of status quo and the deep blue sea of change.
Kamal Guerroua
17 June 2011
