By Mohammed Said
Rabat - Algerians will remember April 17, 2014, not by the Algerian presidential elections, but rather by the image of their re-elected President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, being pushed in a wheelchair to cast a vote for himself despite his extremely fragile state of health.
The 77-year-old president, who has been in office already for 15 years, is so adamant on dying in office that apparently no one, Algerian or otherwise, can stop him from fulfilling his life’s dream of ruling Algeria for life.
The election results are in, and the ailing president appears to have clinched a 4th term as President, much to everyone’s chagrin, especially the Algerian people who will be forced to live another half-decade with political lethargy and empty discussion.
The sad part in all this is that Ali Benflis, Bouteflika’s main presidential opponent, is no different from the Algerian president himself. Benflis is Bouteflika’s former prime ministrer, if not his idol. When asked if he would open the borders with Morocco if he won, Benflis gave a Bouteflika-type answer along the lines of, “yes I will open the borders on condition that the Moroccan authorities do exactly what I say.” Now would it not have been more clever to say something like, “yes I will do my best to open our borders,” and just set aside conditions for negotiation at a later date when he is actually sitting across the table from Prime Minister Benkirane or even king Mohammed VI?
The even sadder part is that Morocco will have to deal with this rotten power-monger whose sole purpose on the international scene is to see Morocco on its knees, even on election day, a day that is supposed to be for and about Algeria. The Algerian media for its part could not help but to highlight the latest Ban Ki-moon report on the Sahara.
The Algerian media was so thrilled with the UN Secretary General mentioning human rights in the Sahara that it willfully omitted any reference to the fact that has asked for this same mechanism to be implemented in Tindouf, Algeria.
The question that comes to mind is how long will Morocco have to deal with this neighbor next door, this relentless neighbor who has not hesitated from butchering his own people? A neighbor who will do anything and everything to stay in power. Yesterday’s election result is a solid proof that no one can stop this regime except the Algerian people themselves.
Until such an event takes place, Moroccans need to be aware at all times that we are at war with an evil power-monger who will not take a step back and will not have a change of heart. Let us not forget that the majority of Algerians with whom we share many similarities calls this system “Pouvoir Assassin.”
Lastly, the saddest thing of all is that world leaders will shower this “Pouvoir” and his wheelchair ridden president with congratulatory messages to the dismay of the helpless Algerian people who have no choice but to wait, wait, and wait for better days ahead.
Edited Elisabeth Myers
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Morocco World News’ editorial policy