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Former Algerian hard boyz still dream of Islamic state
Algeria's national referendum aimed at ending more than a decade of conflict will help Islamists reach their goal of forming a purist Islamic republic, an influential former leading militant said on Monday.President Abdelaziz Bouteflika hopes Thursday's referendum on a charter that offers a partial amnesty to Islamist rebels in exchange for laying down arms will end violence that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and establish the country as a peaceful state -- neither fundamentalist Islamic nor secular. But Madani Mezrag, former leader of the armed wing of a now-defunct Islamic party, said the referendum would not fail to dash hopes for the eventual formation of a purist Islamic state. "Our goal as an Islamic movement is to set up an Islamic republic in Algeria. Unlike you would think, it is much more possible today than ever," Mezrag, who headed thousands of armed rebels fighting the authorities in the 1990s, told Reuters in an interview. Mezrag, 45, said the referendum would free Islamist rebels to fight for the cause democratically. Authorities expect hundreds of armed rebels hiding in the mountains to come down and surrender. Human rights groups criticise the so-called "charter for peace and national reconciliation" and say it will sweep under the carpet crimes committed by militants and state agents. But Mezrag said the referendum would bring peace. "We see the referendum on the charter as going in the right direction in bringing peace and stability to Algerians. "But it is just one of many steps that need to be taken," he said at the home of Mustapha Kartali, former feared rebel leader of the Larbaa region, also known as the "triangle of death". Mezrag said the image of Islamists among Algerians had not been tarnished by the violence that engulfed the oil-producing country and isolated it abroad. "The positive aspect of this war (of the 1990s) is that it allowed the Islamists to understand their limits ... and to talk to others even if they disagree with them," he said. Mezrag, who negotiated the surrender of his Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) in the late 1990s, estimates 800-1,300 rebels exist but only a few hundred are active. Most belong to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). Mezrag said the use of force by Islamists had proved unsuccessful and that democratic means should be used to obtain their goal of a conservative Islamic state. "The regime was responsible for this national tragedy and we will work day and night to change the system through democratic means," he said, adding that Iran's recent presidential election was proof that Islam and democracy could go hand-in-hand. Mezrag said some violence would continue after Sept. 29 but he expected the majority of GSPC members would surrender. He was in contact with rebels on surrenders, but declined to elaborate. But Kartali, who was a senior member of the feared Armed Islamic Group (GIA), warned: "But there are some dangerous and bad people who will be the cause of their own death." Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-09-27 |
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