Nothing is stopping the Algerian Hirak movement despite threats from the Algerian army.
Rabat – Algerians have taken to the streets by the Grand Post in Algiers, the center of mass protests since February 22.
For the ninth Friday in a row, Algerian citizens are protesting, and dozens of activists are shouting slogans against the current government demanding radical change.
The protests have continued despite the resignation of many senior officials, including former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on April 3.
The protesters are also seeking the resignation of Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah, a loyalist to Bouteflika.
Algerians are shouting slogans such as, “The people want them all to leave” and “That is enough of this system.”
Despite warnings from the army and national police, who have used water cannons and tears gas to disperse protests throughout the two months of the popular movement, the protests are continuing.
The army chief, Gaid Salah, has been calling on the protesters to stop chanting “unrealistic” slogans, emphasizing that some foreign countries are taking an interest in the crisis in Algeria.
He added that time is “running out” to end the escalating crisis in the country before elections on July 4, asserting that “all options are open in the pursuit of overcoming the different difficulties” to end the crisis “as soon as possible.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the security forces’ response to the protests, commenting that the police have renewed their “crackdown on mass protests.”
HRW added that the crackdown “is an apparent attempt to curb the massive pro-democracy marches.”
Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director, said that “Algerians have continued to assert their right to peacefully assembly in recent weeks despite growing police efforts to crack down on them.”
She added hat the demonstrators “report being arrested, strip searched, handled roughly, and detained for hours.”
This week, a group of 10 protesters in Algeria condemned police for arresting them before they had even begun to protest last Saturday.
Four of the female protesters said that a woman police officer demanded they take off their clothes for a search at the police station.
