Algeria Clamps Down as Protests Build Versus Aging President
(Bloomberg) -- Algerian police detained a presidential contender Thursday and arrested journalists protesting ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's candidacy in April elections on the eve of what could be the biggest day of demonstrations yet.
Ghani Mahdi, a 48-year-old journalist and outspoken Bouteflika critic who's declared he's running, was guided out of a metro station by policemen, according to video uploaded to his campaign Facebook page. Mahdi was later detained, according to another posting.
In Algiers, policemen waded into the rally and bundled up to 40 journalists into waiting trucks. They were released Thursday night, one of the journalists, Mohand Redaoui, told Bloomberg by phone.
About 200 journalists had been chanting “No to a fifth term,” the signature slogan at protest rallies opposing another term in office for the wheelchair-bound 81-year-old Bouteflika. They also called for an end to restrictions that have prevented them reporting on the unrest.
A Term Too Many: Protesters Tell Algerian Leader It's Time to Go
The rising unrest has heaped pressure on the government of the OPEC member, which has been struggling to cope with a litany of grievances, such as high unemployment among a predominantly young population. Bouteflika, who was incapacitated by a stroke in 2013, still has support for bringing Algeria together following a decade long civil war in the 1990s, but the protesters say it's time he retire.
The North African nation, which avoided the violence and unrest that gripped Arab Spring neighbors, is bracing for nationwide rallies Friday, scheduled to be held after the weekly noon prayers. Previous demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but police have used tear gas in Algiers.
The government says Algerians have a right to protest. But the ruling coalition has shown no sign that it would listen to their demands, with Bouteflika submitting his candidacy papers this week.
To contact the reporters on this story: Salah Slimani in Cairo at sslimani2@bloomberg.net;Samer Khalil Al-Atrush in Cairo at skhalilalatr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Tarek El-Tablawy, Mark Williams
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
