Algeria and Drama

Algeria has faced with many bloody uprisings since its independence in 1962. The biggest of these uprisings were the uprising of the Berber movement in 1980 and 2001 and the uprisings in 1989. Especially the riots in 1989 were the preview of the civil war that went on for 10 years.

In 1989, Algeria faced political and economic liberalization policies. This political liberalization paved the way for the new constitution and afterwards multi-party elections. The Algerians complained about the power of the Front Liberation Nationale (FLN), which had continued since 1962. Because unemployment, poverty and corruption were increasing day by day. The people saw FLN as responsible of these social problems. Therefore, people started looking for alternative political parties. Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) became prominent among these alternatives political parties.

As a result of the FIS winning the 1991 general elections and the army taking control with the military coup, a civil war began in Algeria. This civil war continued 10 years and ended in 2002.

However, despite the elapsed time, the tradition of protest in Algeria still continues. On December 26, 2018, Algeria  faced again with a protest. Protests erupted in Algeria after man dies in well. Angry over the death of a man who was trapped in a well for six days, protesters tried to storm the offices of a governor in northern Algeria before being pushed back by riot police. A number of Algerians had criticised the government over the pace with which they reacted to the incident, saying Mahdjoubi could have been rescued if civil defence units were deployed in time.

In my opinion, the main reason of this protest in Algeria is not the person who died. Unemployment, poverty and corruption, one of the most important reasons of the civil war, still continue in Algeria. 26.4 percent of under-30-year-olds are unemployed in Algeria. This situation causes very important problems. In addition, Algeria is a natural gas and oil-rich country, but the public could not benefit from these incomes and this increases the poverty in Algeria. Unfortunately, this situation is quite similar with the pre-civil war period.

Therefore, Algeria needs to find an urgent solution to the chronic unemployment, poverty and corruption problem. Without a solution of these problems, Algeria can face with a new civil war in future.