|
Algeria
Berber Separatism
The Berbers, who constitute about one-fifth of the Algerian population,
have resisted foreign influences since ancient times. They fought
against the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Ottoman Turks, and the
French after their 1830 occupation of Algeria. In the fighting
between 1954 and 1962 against France, Berber men from the Kabylie
region participated in larger numbers than their share of the
population warranted.
Since independence the Berbers have maintained a strong ethnic
consciousness and a determination to preserve their distinctive
cultural identity and language. They have particularly objected
to efforts to force them to use Arabic; they regard these efforts
as a form of Arab imperialism. Except for a handful of individuals,
they have not been identified with the Islamist movement. In common
with most other Algerians, they are Sunni
(see Glossary) Muslims of the Maliki
(see Glossary) legal school. In 1980 Berber students, protesting
that their culture was being suppressed by the government's arabization
policies, launched mass demonstrations and a general strike. In
the wake of riots at Tizi Ouzou that resulted in a number of deaths
and injuries, the government agreed to the teaching of the Berber
language as opposed to classical Arabic at certain universities
and promised to respect Berber culture. Nevertheless, ten years
later, in 1990, the Berbers were again forced to rally in large
numbers to protest a new language law requiring total use of Arabic
by 1997.
The Berber party, the Front of Socialist Forces (Front des Forces
Socialistes--FFS), gained twenty-five of the 231 contested seats
in the first round of the legislative elections of December 1991,
all of these in the Kabylie region. The FFS leadership did not
approve of the military's cancellation of the second stage of
the elections. Although strongly rejecting the FIS's demand that
Islamic law be extended to all facets of life, the FFS expressed
confidence that it could prevail against Islamist pressure (see
Role
of Political Parties , ch. 4).
Data as of December 1993
|
