Algerian leader Bouteflika defies demands for his departure, but takes the place for Russia

An emerging Algerian opposition group, representing a mbad protest movement, has asked the resigning president to step down in less than six weeks.

But President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was keen to stick to his long-term schedule before leaving, sending a key official to Moscow to strengthen his support.

In a statement released Monday night by the official Algerian news agency, Bouteflika challenged hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding his immediate departure. His project includes a multi-month process to create a "national conference" to draft a new constitution, before holding a referendum and then presidential elections.

"The mission of this conference is of a delicate nature because it will take the decisive decisions necessary to make the leap forward that our people, and especially the young people, are demanding," said the statement issued on the occasion of the conference. commemoration of the country's war of 1954-1962. of the independence of France. "This qualitative step will be approved by a complete and in-depth review of the constitution."

The demonstrators still took to the streets on Tuesday, keeping their momentum in front of the big demonstrations planned for Friday after the prayers. On Monday, General Ahmed Gaed Salah, army chief of staff, hinted that the country's powerful armed forces were starting to become nervous and that they would eventually intervene.

But the new confederation of opposition activists has warned the army, considered one of the most powerful in Africa, should carry out its task "without Interfering in the political choices of the people ".

"It is urgent to radically change the existing system with new staff," said the group, the National Coordination for Change, which includes a prominent human rights activist, a former official, Islamists and other opposition leaders.

Their declaration called on Mr Bouteflika, his cabinet and his parliament to leave office on 27 April, the current term of office expires. They asked him to hand over power to a "collegiate presidency" composed of several national figures who would then appoint a transitional government.

At the same time, the regime seemed to be trying to strengthen its international support by sending new Deputy Prime Minister Ramtane Lamamra to Russia, which considers Algeria as its biggest African client.

Russia has supported authoritarian regimes facing popular unrest in Syria and Venezuela, calling Western demands for change. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, without providing any evidence, that foreign powers were trying to destabilize Algeria.

"We are witnessing attempts to undermine the situation and oppose categorically any interference in these processes," he said quoted by the news agency RIA Novosti.

Mr. 82-year-old Bouteflika, a disabled person in a wheelchair, has not spoken publicly since his weakened stroke in 2013. President since 1999 and figure of the elite Algerian politicians for decades, it is now addressing the public in statements suspected by many conceived by an entourage of parents, advisers and senior officials who struggle to retain their grip on power.

Since last month's protest against his fifth term, Bouteflika and his badociates have repeatedly sought ways to extend his term for another year. But many of the 42 million Algerians suspect this maneuver to buy time and wait for the protest movement. But the demonstrations seem to be carried away week after week, attracting heads of institutions and security officials.

Mr. Bouteflika has, over the years, added to the mistrust, promised over the years to bring about a change, but only after the lifting of public pressure. Algerians from all political and economic backgrounds have been unhappy for years about how the leaders of this oil and gas-rich country are managing the economy and public services.

A series of corruption scandals involving senior officials and international energy companies further tarnished the reputation of the elite, reinforcing the impression that an inextricable network of security officials and leaders of Companies loot the country.

Bouteflika's statement said his proposed national conference would allow Algerians tofreely discuss the social and economic future of the country ".

But his words sound hollow for many. His government has been trying for years to stifle freedom of expression and has shown little inclination to open the political space. Journalists and bloggers have been repeatedly prosecuted for insulting the president or state officials. A "state of emergency" that dates back to the 1990s civil war in the country is still in place and imposes restrictions on freedom of badembly in large cities.

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