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Algeria Army Chief Orders Clampdown on Protesters

Associated Press

   ALGIERS - Algeria's army chief has ordered aclampdown on those who head
   into the capital for weekly demonstrations.
   In a speech Wednesday at an army barracks in the south of the gas-rich
   nation, Gen. AhmedGaidSalah said members of the military,or
   gendarmes,should arrest protesters heading to Algiers for the
   demonstrations and seize their vehicles.
   GaidSalah's tough new stance camedays after a Dec.12 date was set for
   presidential elections,as he had demanded.
   In his speech that was published by the Defense Ministry,GaidSalah said
   that, for some people, coming into Algiers from other regions has
   become a ``pretext to justify dangerous behavior'' and a way to swell
   crowds.
   Protest marches held in Algiers and other cities since Feb. 22 forced
   then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office in April after two
   decades.GaidSalah also called for the president, whose administration
   was mired in corruption, to stand down.
   In the past, gendarmes, have often blocked roads into Algiers, without
   making arrests.
   However, there recently have been arrests at the Friday protests,
   drawing condemnation from opposition politicians and human rights
   advocates. A former communications minister, AbdelazizRahabi, writing
   Tuesday on his Facebook page, called the arrests a ``dangerous abuse''
   of power.

   'The gang'
   The army chief reiterated his claim that protesterswere being
   manipulated by networks of ``the gang,'' a reference to those who held
   powerful positions under Bouteflika. The ex-president's brother and two
   former intelligence chiefs have been jailed and are awaiting trial,
   starting Monday, on charges of plotting against the state.
   GaidSalah, who has emerged as the authority figure amid a power vacuum,
   has consistently referred to a plot in his speeches, and suggested a
   foreign hand was involved. He has never elaborated on his accusation.
   He said a better future built ``stone by stone'' lies ahead for the
   nation, an apparent reference to the December presidential vote.

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