In a recent interview on the Algerian state radio Chaine 3, Fatima Oussedik, one of Algeria’s most respected sociologists, remarked that the people of Algeria had always respected the army as an institution even when they had disagreed with the manner in which its senior officers behaved. That remark not doubt surprised many foreign observers who like to argue that the Algerian army is “totally corrupt”, that it “owns the country” and that predation is its only modus operandi. Reducing Algeria and this key institution to a cliché explains why most observers have failed to understand why the army has kept is truncheons sheathed since the start of the huge demonstrations which are now into their third month.…  Seguir leyendo »