Rabat – As Algerian pro-democracy protesters flooded the streets once again, the government has moved to ban unauthorized demonstrations.
Thousands of Algerians flooded the streets demanding change on Friday, May 7, during the country’s 116th Friday protest of the pro-democracy movement.
The Algerian government has responded by reiterating the necessity of declaring “the names of those responsible for the organization of the march, the times of its beginning and its end, the route and slogans to be raised,” read a statement from the interior ministry, published through the Algerian-state media.
Some observers have raised concern over how such application of the law could seriously curtail the protester’s and political opposition’s freedoms. Others fear that the renewed crackdown is aimed at forcefully halting the years-long Hirak (“movement” in Arabic).
The Algerian government is justifying its actions on the basis that “the weekly marches are beginning to record serious slippage and drift in terms of indifference to the inconvenience caused to citizens and infringement of freedoms.” The Algiers’ government believes that the way in which the protests have been ongoing “is contrary to public order and the laws of the Republic.”
Read also: Algeria: Tebboune Accuses Hirak of ‘Terrorism’ as Pressure Mounts
“Failure to comply with these procedures constitutes an offense in the eyes of the law and the Constitution,” the ministry explains, underlining that such “[offense] denies the march of any legal character and implies treatment accordingly,” concluded the statement.
For their part, the Hirak movement has remained consistent in its approach, navigating mounting tensions between the people and the government, ongoing police violence, and government oppression masked as COVID-19 safety measures.
The Hirak has repeatedly made demands for democratic representation, improved living conditions, and the reining in of Algeria’s deep-rooted elite, commonly referred to as “the power.”
The citizen’s demands reflect the country’s declining living conditions, a government removed from the people’s needs, as well as the authorities’ heavy-handedness when dealing with journalists and those critical of the government.
The restrictions on protests and demonstrations come ahead of Algeria’s early legislative elections, slated to happen on June 12. The Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, promised that the elections would be fair and transparent.
