Region

ALGIERS — An Algerian court sentenced two former prime ministers to long jail terms Tuesday in the first of a series of high-profile corruption trials launched after longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in the face of mass protests in April.

The verdicts came just two days before Algeria is due to elect a president to replace Bouteflika in a vote bitterly opposed by the country's nine-month-old protest movement, which sees it as a regime ploy to cling to power.

Former prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal, who were both close to the ousted president, were sentenced to 15 years and 12 years respectively.

It was the first time since Algeria's independence from France in 1962 that former prime ministers were put on trial.

The state prosecutor had sought 20-year prison sentences for the two ex-premiers.

In all, 19 defendants were tried on charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of office and granting undue privileges in the nascent vehicle assembly industry.

'Nepotism and favouritism' 

The Algerian automotive sector got its start in 2014, via partnerships between foreign groups and large Algerian corporations, many of which are owned by businessmen linked to Bouteflika's entourage.

One former industry minister, Abdeslam Bouchouareb, who is on the run abroad, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years. Two other former industry ministers, Mahdjoub Bedda and Youcef Yousfi, were handed 10-year terms.

Businessman Ali Haddad, founder and CEO of private construction firm ETRHB and former head of Algeria’s main employers’ organisation, was sentenced to seven years.

And three businessmen who own vehicle assembly plants — Ahmed Mazouz, Hassen Arbaoui and Mohamed Bairi — were sentenced to seven years, six years and three years respectively.

The prosecutor denounced a sector dominated by nepotism and favouritism, describing businessmen who “managed front companies while benefitting from undue tax, customs and land benefits”.

The automotive scandal cost the treasury more than 128 billion dinars (975 million euros), according to the official APS news agency.

Defence lawyers boycotted the trial, alleging the proceedings were “politicised” and impacted by a climate of “settling scores”.

The defendants protested their innocence and spent the trial shifting blame among themselves.

Before the court retired to deliberate, former prime minister Sellal broke down in tears and begged for leniency, saying, “I don’t have much time left to live.”

In closing remarks Sunday, the prosecutor said the trial sent the message that Algeria had changed this year and that “we are here to apply the will of the people”.

‘Children of the system’ 

But the high-profile prosecutions have done little to win over the protesters, who have continued to take to the streets since Bouteflika’s resignation, demanding the total dismantling of the military-dominated system that has ruled Algeria since independence.

Many fear the trials are little more than a high-level purge in a struggle between still-powerful regime insiders, rather than a genuine effort to reform the state.

The military high command, which has long wielded power from behind the scenes, has now been forced to take a visible, frontline role in government — but has rejected the demands of protesters and civil society for sweeping reforms. 

It has paid little attention to popular calls to replace the constitution that served to legitimise Bouteflika’s grip on power.

Instead, the army has pushed for a swift election to pick a replacement for Bouteflika, saying it is the only route to resolving the political crisis.

While no opinion polls have been published, observers expect high levels of abstention, in keeping with previous elections in a political system seen by voters as rigid and unaccountable.

The five candidates in the poll have run low-key campaigns.

All are considered “children of the system”, having either supported Bouteflika or participated in his government — two as ministers and two as prime ministers.

BAGHDAD — Iraq's south saw further protests and explosions, as demonstrations against the government and its Iranian sponsor that erupted on October 1 persist unabated, according to security sources.

The southern city of Amara was rocked overnight by four near-simultaneous explosions targeting premises of two pro-Iran armed factions, according to police. 

"Three sound grenades targeted two premises and the house of an Assaib Ahl Al Haq leader and an improvised explosive device targeted the house of an Ansar Allah commander," police said.

Asaib Ahl Al Haq is one of the most powerful groups in Iraq’s Hashed Al Shaabi security force, a network of armed groups integrated into the state, of which Ansar Allah is also a component.

Medical sources reported three wounded by the blasts.

Founded in 2014 to fight Daesh extremists who had seized swathes of northern Iraq and neighbouring Syria, the Hashed is made up of mostly Shiite factions, many of which have been backed by Iran.

According to security sources, the attacks were committed against the groups due to their loyalty to neighbouring Iran, whose influence continues to grow in Iraq, in particular via armed groups that it has long trained and financed.

These attacks come shortly after the recent bloodshed in several Iraqi cities, the latest seeing 24 people killed, including four police officers, on Friday evening in central Baghdad.

Both the state and the demonstrators accuse armed men of perpetrating the violence, the former claiming that it is not possible to identify those responsible, while the latter point to pro-Iran entities.

Since October 1, Iraq’s capital and its Shiite-majority south have been gripped by rallies against corruption, poor public services, a lack of jobs and Iran’s perceived political interference.

More than 450 people have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded during the unprecedented protest movement demanding an overhaul of the political system.

In the holy Shiite city of Karbala, protesters rallied at the police station to demand information within 24 hours on the death of Fahem Al Tai, a 53-year-old prominent civil society activist gunned down in a drive-by shooting on Sunday evening while returning home from protests.

Others blocked access to the courthouse to demand proceedings be launched against local leaders for corruption — a key priority of the protest movement in a country ranked the 12th most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International.

In Diwaniya, also in the south, protesters blocked the road to the Shanafiya oil refinery, according to police, demanding employment. 

Despite Iraq being OPEC’s second-largest crude producer, one in five of its people live in poverty and youth unemployment stands at one quarter of the population, the World Bank says.

Protesters from several cities in the south on Tuesday joined thousands of demonstrators gathered for more than two months in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, which is the epicentre of the demonstrations in the capital.

“We came to support our brothers in Baghdad,” said an activist in the movement from Nassiriya, Haydar Kazem.

RIYADH — Qatar's emir on Tuesday skipped a Gulf summit billed as a potential "reconciliation conference", but leaders' calls for integration provided more signs of a thaw between Doha and regional power Saudi Arabia.

In a sign of the changing mood, the Doha delegation received a warm welcome in Riyadh, with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and the Qatari prime minister exchanging smiles and pleasantries.

"The people of Qatar, welcome, to your second country," said the commentator on Saudi state television, in a friendly greeting.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017, translating into a blockade.

The four nations accused Doha of backing radical Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and seeking closer ties with Saudi arch rival Tehran — allegations Qatar vehemently denies.

The emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, sent Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani in his place to the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In his speech, King Salman did not address the Qatar dispute directly but called for Gulf unity in the face of threats including "aggressive acts" by Iran.

GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al Zayani also called on Gulf nations to remain "integrated and intertwined", stressing the need for "cohesion".

Hopes for reconciliation have been raised by indications of a detente between Qatar and its former allies, despite Doha's refusal to meet 13 key demands made by the Riyadh-led bloc, including shutting down Al Jazeera, downgrading ties with Iran and closing a Turkish military base on its territory.

Following Saudi King Salman's invitation to the emir, Qatar's foreign minister said there had been "some progress" in talks with Riyadh.

In a U-turn last month, three of the boycotting countries sent teams to a regional football tournament hosted by Qatar, leading to speculation of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough.

DUBAI — The Yemeni government and southern separatists have failed to meet a deadline to establish a power-sharing government, an ominous sign for hopes of a wider deal to end years of war.

Yemen's conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions to the brink of famine, erupted in 2014 when the government was forced out of the capital Sanaa by Iran-aligned Houthi, rebels, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention.

In August trouble re-erupted on a separate front, as southern secessionists seized control of the city of Aden, the internationally recognised government's temporary capital.

The UAE — a key part of the Saudi-led coalition helping fight the Houthis in Yemen's main conflict arena — trained and remains close to separatist troops, signalling rifts within the Gulf powers' intervention.

In a bid to end the "civil war within a war", Saudi Arabia brokered a power-sharing deal with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) under which the government would return to Aden.

The Riyadh Agreement signed on November 5 also stipulated the creation within 30 days of a new 24-member cabinet with equal representation for the southerners.

Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik returned to the city last month but the new Cabinet has yet to materialise, along with other key reforms including integrating secessionists into a central command structure.

'Very ambitious' 

"The timeline of the Riyadh Agreement was always very ambitious. It is no surprise to see deadlines slip," Elisabeth Kendall, Yemen expert and senior research fellow at Oxford University, told AFP. 

"The bigger question is: Are the promises simply being delayed, or are they ultimately not achievable?"

The two sides say they are committed to the Riyadh Agreement but have traded accusations over who is responsible for the failure to meet the deadline to form a new government.

STC spokesman Nizar Haitham said on Thursday that Yemen’s government was “deviating” from the agreement and mobilising its troops in the south, an accusation the government denied.

However, in recent days an STC official told AFP that work to implement the Riyadh Agreement was ongoing and that there has been “significant progress” in implementing military and security arrangements. 

“Starting next week, we’ll begin steps in implementing what was agreed on,” this source said in a written statement without elaborating.

According to government spokesman Rajih Badi, the secessionists are the ones failing to abide by the treaty. 

He said that government military movements in the south are in line with the Riyadh Agreement and in coordination with the Saudi coalition, which continues to lead the anti-Houthi camp comprised of both government and secessionist forces.

But although clashes in the south have largely subsided, the situation on the ground remains fragile, said Kendall. 

“This is a classic case of an agreement being easy to sign but near impossible to implement,” she said.

Other parts of the deal, including placing forces from both sides under the authority of the defence and interior ministries, have also not been fulfilled. 

Overwhelming disappointment 

The unrest in the south distracted the Saudi-led military coalition from its battle against the Houthi rebels.

The lack of concrete progress since the deal was signed comes as a blow to those hailing it as a stepping stone towards ending the wider conflict, described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

“The Riyadh Agreement erected a whole set of deadlines that, for starters, rely on very different Yemeni parties being wholly sincere in wanting and being able to share power in Aden,” Neil Partrick, a London-based Middle East analyst, told AFP. 

“It’s hugely ambitious just to hope to get a power-sharing deal to meaningfully hold up in Aden,” he continued.

“But to see this as a basis for the sharing of power throughout the south and for then taking on the Houthis in the north, is possibly not even that serious.”

Mohammed Bawzeer, an Aden resident, told AFP there was an overwhelming feeling of disappointment in the city. 

“Deadlines have passed, and there is no change on the ground,” he said. “We just see things getting worse and worse.”

ALGIERS — Algeria's contentious presidential election campaign is highlighting the deep gulf between young people at the heart of a street protest movement and an ageing elite they see as clinging to power.

The poll, set for Thursday, will see five candidates, all of them linked to the 82-year-old president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, compete for the top office.

But the protesters, whose mass mobilisation forced the ex-strongman to resign from his two-decade tenure in April, have rallied weekly to demand that sweeping reforms must come ahead of any vote.

"It's not a gap between the fossils in power and the youth, it's a yawning chasm," said Lyes, a 22-year-old geology student draped in his country's flag at a student march in Algiers.

While more than half of the North African country's population is under 30, Algeria's leaders are geriatric.

The army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah is 79 and interim president Abdelkader Bensalah is 78. The presidential candidates range in age from 56 to 75.

"The dinosaurs who have held power since independence made us disgusted with politics," said Lyes.

Young people only became interested in politics with the eruption of the "Hirak" protest movement in February, he said, noting that most of his peers are not even enrolled to vote.

Around him, his friends agreed. 

For nine months they have marched every Tuesday to demand change.

Each week they wave the national colours and flags calling for a free and democratic Algeria, while chanting against the “dinosaurs”.

The young protesters summarised their aspirations as wanting to live freely, receive a good education, find a stable job with a decent salary, have their voices heard, and enjoy entertainment opportunities beyond loitering in the street. 

Algeria’s leaders have created few jobs, stifled free speech, upheld conservative traditions and turned a blind eye to police oppression, the young protesters told AFP. 

“Before we were afraid to speak out but things have changed since Hirak,” said Hanya Assala Abdedaim, a 24-year-old student.

When the Hirak movement erupted onto the scene, 21-year-old Asma said she swapped nice shoes for sneakers so she could hit the streets to “put some of the old people who govern us in a museum of antiquities”.

‘Generational transition’ 

“The transition in Algeria isn’t only a political transition, it’s also a generational transition,” said Algerian sociologist Nacer Djabi.

But age is just one aspect of a deeper issue, said Yamina Rahou of the Centre for Research in Social and Cultural Anthropology in the city of Oran.

“It’s a political problem between a mainly young population that wants a modern state based on the rule of law, and those who appropriated the state to subjugate Algerians”, she said. 

Mohamed Lamine Harhad, another 22-year old student, said he did not have a problem with old people, just with old “ideas”, noting that all age groups are represented in the protest movement.

Among the hundreds of thousands who have demonstrated, for many young people abstention will be the only palatable choice in the election. 

Algeria “needs a new system based on democracy”, Harhad said. This would “encourage young people without ignoring old people with experience”.

This view was shared by Lamnaouar Hamamouche, a sociology student from Bejaia east of Algiers, who said “the gap is not defined by age but by visions”.

Lamnaouar said he feared the crisis could deepen as a result of the establishment consolidating its power through the elections, but believes that young people “will not give up”.

By Amal Belalloufi

BRUSSELS — Luxembourg's veteran foreign minister has written to the new head of European Union foreign policy to urge a debate on recognising Palestinian statehood.

In a note to Josep Borrell, who took office last week as Brussels' chief diplomat, Jean Asselborn said a discussion could support efforts to find a "two-state" solution to the Middle East conflict.

The letter, seen by AFP on Monday during an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, suggests that member states could debate recognition at a future similar get-together.

Any decision on establishing diplomatic relations with a new state would be taken by individual member states, but Asselborn wants to at least discuss it at EU level. 

"The European Union must continue to promote and support the consensus in favour of the two-state solution," Asselborn write to Borrell, who was Spain's foreign minister before moving to Brussels.

“One way to help save this solution would be to create a more equitable situation for both parties.”

“In this regard, I believe that it is time to start a debate within the European Union on the opportunity of a recognition of the State of Palestine by all its member states.”

Israel and its ally the United States oppose the recognition of Palestine as a state, arguing that this would prejudice efforts to find a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

But, to some European capitals, Washington has already put its finger on the scales by recognising the divided city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and by moving its embassy there.

In his letter, Asselborn complains that Israel’s building of settlements on occupied land also endangers the peace process and is a “flagrant violation” of international law.

“The recognition of Palestine as a state would neither be a favour, nor a blank cheque, but a simple recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to their own state,” he argued. 

“In no way would it be directed against Israel.”

There is sympathy for this position in Europe, but the EU has not taken a united position on Palestinian statehood, regarding it as an issue for member states.