The leader of Algeria's banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) has urged President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika to issue a general amnesty covering his ex-number two on the occasion of the country's national day. In a message late Monday from Doha, where he has been living for two years, Abassi Madani  called on Bouteflika to declare a comprehensive amnesty and "free prisoners, chiefly the honorable Sheikh Ali Belhadj, lift the state of emergency and ensure a just solution to the issue of those who went missing."
| I'd guess that the general amnesty would include the krazed killer korps... |
Madani proposed "a cease-fire to all armed [Algerians]" with a view to "restoring lost confidence and ensuring their safe return home." He hoped Algeria's national day, which is marked Tuesday, would usher in a "qualitative turning point" in the country's history, enabling its people to "live united as in the past," according to a copy of the message obtained by AFP.
| As in what past? Algerians have a tradition of cutting each others' throats when they can't get their way. It seems to be a national characteristic. |
Madani was freed from an Algerian prison in July 2003 after more than a decade. The 74-year-old was jailed by a military court in 1992 for undermining state security. The same year, legislative elections that his party was set to win were called off by the army. Two months later, the FIS was banned, which led to a violent insurgency in the 1990s, claiming at least 150,000 lives. Madani's call follows the massive approval of a charter for "peace and national reconciliation" by Algerians when Bouteflika put it to a referendum on September 29, according to official accounts. |