Anti-Government Protesters Flood Streets, Jump on Police Vans
Protesters flooded the streets of Algeria for the 13th
straight Friday, climbing atop police vans that were blocking the main
demonstration site in the capital in a bold show of defiance.
Security forces earlier fired tear gas into the crowd in
Algiers to keep them out of the central post office plaza, but lifted their
barricades after protesters climbed onto the roofs of their vehicles.
Tens of thousands of people came out in Algiers and other
cities in the North African nation for a pro-democracy movement that started
Feb. 22, despite the daylong fasting required by the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan.
They reiterated demands that Algeria's interim leader leave
office and the country's July 4 presidential election be scrapped.
Long-time former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down
April 2, pressured by protests and the powerful army chief. The protests were
triggered by Bouteflika's plan to seek a fifth term after 20 years in office
despite a 2013 stroke after which he was rarely seen in public.
Protesters now want other top officials, including interim
President Abdelkader Bensalah, to leave office to ensure a new era for Algeria,
which has been run since independence from France in 1962 by a generation that
fought in the war.
"The mobilization must continue," said sociologist
Mohamed Henned. However, he added that there must be "political and
institutional (structures) for this citizens' movement" to ensure success
for the transitional phase they seek.
Army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who is also targeted by some
protesters, has insisted on the need to hold a presidential vote on July 4, the
date set by the interim leader, to respect the constitution.
