Washington / Morocco Board News Service- "In addition to other problems, corruption has reached new hights and does interfere with economic development." in Algeria, said Bernard Bajolet, the French ambassador in Algeria (2006-2008), in a conversation, two years ago, with his US counterpart and friend, the United States Ambassador in Algeria, Robert Ford, with whom he worked years before in Baghdad, Iraq.
The cables released by wikileaks, that were Sent by the U.S. Ambassy in Algiers to the State Department lays out the views of not only the U.S. diplomats, but also that of Ambassador Bajolet, an expert on Algeria and who is currently the coordinator of the French secret services.
Both of them paint a grim picture of Algeria, the most populous country in the maghreb and one that aspires to be a regional economic powerhouse...
The cables draw a picture of Algeria as being particularly corrupt, no small feat in a neighborhood that is rife with corruption. (both Tunisia and Morocco were cited in various wikileaks cables with corruption in their respective leaderships)
Algeria's political system is different from Morocco, not only because it is a republic, but also because the power lies with both a civilian head of state, and with the Army, which relegates, at times, the civilian leadership to the background. This duality of power generates "a kind of paralysis," said French ambassador Bajolet. "The relationship between the Algerian security services and the country ‘s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, remains fragile," says the French ambassador.
Bouteflika told visiting General William Ward, head of AFRICOM, a year ago: "Now, the military obeys the civilians". Not only do they not obey, but they also resort to various plots against him. Earlier that year, the president and seven directors of Sonatrach, Algeria's oil giant, were dismissed after being investigated for corruption by the DRS, the military intelligence services. The US diplomats believe that "DRS conducted the investigation to send a message to Bouteflika that the top generals and their relatives should be be given a greater portion of the economic pie….". The publication in the newspaper El Khabar, in September 2007, of an article which involves the two brothers of Bouteflika in the corruption scandal of the “Khalifa bank” could not have been made "without the tacit encouragement and protection (...) of the military intelligence services (DRS)".
The cable goes on to say "the key figure in ensuring the control and the regime's survival" is general Toufik Mediene, head of the dreaded DRS. "He is aware of the problem" of corruption.
In a conversation with counterparts about corruption he "made a silent gesture towards the portrait of Bouteflika on the wall and indicated that the extent of the phenomenon comes from the top." General Mediene "recognizes that Bouteflika's health is not going well and also that of Algeria." But to try to change the course "there should be some kind of assurance that an alternative policy is feasible and that it will not destabilize the country."
Ambassador Ford drew the conclusion in December 2007 that "the Algerian regime seems more fragile than ever, plagued by a lack of vision, with an unprecedented level of corruption and background noise of divisions in the ranks of the military. " The following month, French Bajolet expressed the same opinion to Ford. "The French government is concerned that Algeria is moving gradually toward greater instability, but he sees no alternative to Bouteflika, who was then preparing to amend the constitution and run a third time for the presidency.
The cables draw a picture of Algeria as being particularly corrupt, no small feat in a neighborhood that is rife with corruption. (both Tunisia and Morocco were cited in various wikileaks cables with corruption in their respective leaderships)
Algeria's political system is different from Morocco, not only because it is a republic, but also because the power lies with both a civilian head of state, and with the Army, which relegates, at times, the civilian leadership to the background. This duality of power generates "a kind of paralysis," said French ambassador Bajolet. "The relationship between the Algerian security services and the country ‘s president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, remains fragile," says the French ambassador.
Bouteflika told visiting General William Ward, head of AFRICOM, a year ago: "Now, the military obeys the civilians". Not only do they not obey, but they also resort to various plots against him. Earlier that year, the president and seven directors of Sonatrach, Algeria's oil giant, were dismissed after being investigated for corruption by the DRS, the military intelligence services. The US diplomats believe that "DRS conducted the investigation to send a message to Bouteflika that the top generals and their relatives should be be given a greater portion of the economic pie….". The publication in the newspaper El Khabar, in September 2007, of an article which involves the two brothers of Bouteflika in the corruption scandal of the “Khalifa bank” could not have been made "without the tacit encouragement and protection (...) of the military intelligence services (DRS)".
The cable goes on to say "the key figure in ensuring the control and the regime's survival" is general Toufik Mediene, head of the dreaded DRS. "He is aware of the problem" of corruption.
In a conversation with counterparts about corruption he "made a silent gesture towards the portrait of Bouteflika on the wall and indicated that the extent of the phenomenon comes from the top." General Mediene "recognizes that Bouteflika's health is not going well and also that of Algeria." But to try to change the course "there should be some kind of assurance that an alternative policy is feasible and that it will not destabilize the country."
Ambassador Ford drew the conclusion in December 2007 that "the Algerian regime seems more fragile than ever, plagued by a lack of vision, with an unprecedented level of corruption and background noise of divisions in the ranks of the military. " The following month, French Bajolet expressed the same opinion to Ford. "The French government is concerned that Algeria is moving gradually toward greater instability, but he sees no alternative to Bouteflika, who was then preparing to amend the constitution and run a third time for the presidency.
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