Hirak (Algeria)

2019–2021 Algerian protests
Protesters on 22 February 2019 in Oran
Date
  • 16 February 2019[1] – 20 March 2020[2]
  • (1 year, 1 month and 4 days)
  • 5 October 2020 – 9 October 2020
  • (4 days)
  • 18 February 2021 – 30 April 2021[3]
(2 months, 1 week and 5 days)
Location
Caused by
Goals
Methods
Resulted in
  • Resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia
  • Resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
  • Resignation of Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui
  • Presidential election postponed to 12 December 2019
  • Army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah calls on the constitutional council to remove Bouteflika from office
  • 12 December 2019 presidential election boycotted by 92% (RCD)[8] or 60% (gov't figures)[9] of electors
  • Failure to remove 'le pouvoir'[10]
  • President Abdelmadjid Tebboune proposes new constitutional amendments to strengthen the judiciary and Parliament's roles.[11]
Parties

Anti-government protesters:


Organizations:

  • Civil Forum for Change (created 9 Mar 2019)[13]
  • Femmes algériennes pour un changement vers l'égalité (created 16 Mar 2019)[14]
  • Dynamiques de la société civile (created 15 Jun 2019)[15]
  • National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees[16]
  • Rachad

Political parties:

  • Forces of the Democratic Alternative (created 26 Jun 2019)[17]
    • Socialist Forces Front
    • Rally for Culture and Democracy
    • Workers' Party
    • Socialist Workers Party
    • Union for Change and Progress
    • Democratic and Social Movement
    • Party for Secularism and Democracy
  • Movement of Society for Peace
  • Union for Renaissance and Justice and Construction
    • Islamic Renaissance Movement
    • Justice and Development Front

Supported by:

Government of Algeria

  • The Presidency
  • Prime ministership
  • Ministry of Interior and Local Government
    • Police
  • Ministry of National Defence
    • General Staff Command
    • Directorate of Security Services

Political parties:

  • National Liberation Front
  • Democratic National Rally
  • Algerian Popular Movement
  • Rally for Hope for Algeria
  • Union for Renaissance and Justice and Construction
    • National Construction Movement

Others:

  • Arabists (since 2 Apr 2019)

Supported by:

  • Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean[20]
  • Pan-African Parliament[20]
  • China[21]
Lead figures

Non-centralized leadership

Government leaders:
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
(Former President)
Abdelkader Bensalah
(Former acting President)
Abdelmadjid Tebboune
(President)
Ahmed Gaid Salah #
(Former Chief of Staff)
Saïd Chengriha
(Chief of Staff)
Ahmed Ouyahia
(Former Prime Minister)
Abdelmalek Sellal
(Former Prime Minister and Bouteflika's campaign manager)
Noureddine Bedoui
(Former Prime Minister)
Sabri Boukadoum
(Former acting Prime Minister)
Abdelaziz Djerrad
(Prime Minister)
Mouad Bouchareb
(Former Assembly Speaker)
Slimane Chenine
(Assembly Speaker)
Tayeb Belaiz
(Former Head of Constitutional Council)
Belkacem Zeghmati
(Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals)
Salah Eddine Dahmoune
(Former Minister of Interior and Local Government)
Kamel Beldjoud
(Minister of Interior and Local Government)

Casualties
Injuries183 (112 police officers)[22]
Arrested+1,200[23][24][22][25]

The 2019–2021 Algerian protests, also called Revolution of Smiles[26][27] or Hirak (Arabic: الحِرَاك, romanized: al-Ḥirāk, lit.'The movement'[28]), began on 16 February 2019,[1][29] six days after Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth presidential term in a signed statement. These protests, without precedent since the Algerian Civil War, were peaceful and led the military to insist on Bouteflika's immediate resignation, which took place on 2 April 2019.[30] By early May, a significant number of power-brokers close to the deposed administration, including the former president's younger brother Saïd, had been arrested.[31][32]

The rising tensions within the Algerian regime can be traced back to the beginning of Bouteflika's rule which has been characterized by the state's monopoly on natural resources revenues used to finance the government's clientelist system and ensure its stability.[33] Major demonstrations took place in the largest urban centers of Algeria from February to December 2019. Due to their significant scale, the protests attracted international media coverage and provoked reactions from several heads of states and scholarly figures.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LeMonde_Kherrata_16Feb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Algerians forego weekly protest amid coronavirus". Reuters. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  3. ^ "Hirak supporters demonstrate in Algeria, reject elections". The Arab Weekly. 2021-05-01.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ElWatan_creation_Forces was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Algerians begin general strike against Bouteflika's rule". The Guardian. 2019-03-10. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  6. ^ "General strike in Algeria against Bensalah's ascension to presidency". Middle East Monitor. 2019-04-11. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  7. ^ "Population out in force for general strike in Algeria". IndustriALL Global Union. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference ElWatan_RCD_8pourcent was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference APS_official_results was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Algerian protests blunted without a shot fired in anger". Al Jazeera. 2020-01-30. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  11. ^ Guidara, Amin (2020-01-30). "Algérie: une révision cosmétique de la Constitution" [Algeria: a cosmetic revision of the Constitution]. La Croix. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  12. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference ECFR_algeria was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reporters_FCC_creation_9mars2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference LeWatan_creation_FACE_3mars was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference ElWatan_DSC_24aout_11nov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlgEco_pre_creation_CNLD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference LAvantGarde_creation_Forces was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlgiersHerald_EU_condemns_Algeria was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference EuroParl_condemns-Algeriaa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Echorouk_regional_organizations_condemn_EP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Reactions pour in over EP's resolution on freedoms in Algeria". Algeria Press Service. 2019-12-01. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  22. ^ a b "Größte Proteste gegen Bouteflika: 200 Verletzte und 200 Festnahmen in Algerien" [Biggest protests against Bouteflika: 200 injured and 200 arrests in Algeria]. ZDF (in German). 2019-03-09. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference ElWatan_CNLD_1200 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Proteste weiten sich aus: Hunderte Festnahmen in Algerien" [Protests are spreading: hundreds of arrests in Algeria]. n-tv (in German). 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Haaretz_400_arrests was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Adlène Meddi (2019-03-15). "Algérie, les 4 pièges à éviter pour la "révolution du sourire"" [Algeria, the 4 traps to avoid for the "smile revolution"]. Le Point (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  27. ^ Myriam Belkaïd (2019-03-19). "La révolution du sourire, Acte 1, scène 4" [The Smile Revolution, Act 1, Scene 4]. HuffPost Maghreb (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  28. ^ "26th Friday Protest Marches Reiterate Main Hirak Movement's Demands". Algeria Press Service. 2019-08-16. Archived from the original on 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlgPat_Kherrata_16Feb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carnegie_Tlemçani was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "Algeria: Said Bouteflika and two spy chiefs arrested". DW. 2019-05-04. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  32. ^ "Algeria Military Judge Orders Arrest of Bouteflika's Brother". Asharq Al-Awsat. 2019-05-05. Archived from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  33. ^ Rasmus Alenius Boserup; Luis Martinez, eds. (2016). Algeria Modern: From opacity to complexity. CERI/Sciences Po. London: Hurst. ISBN 978-1-84904-587-2.