change of power in Algeria: After 20 years at the top of President Bouteflika came back visibly upset. The circumstances of his withdrawal raises questions.
Jens Borchers, ARD Studio in North-West Africa
The resignation letter bears the stamp of the presidential office. A handwritten signature is not seen – only the typewritten Name of Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
In the document it is declared in the name of the 82-year-old, seriously ill, state presidents, with immediate effect his resignation. The state news Agency APS has published the message first. And in Algeria, such as a wild fire.
hundreds of people flocked to the streets of the capital, Algiers, and celebrated the resignation.
in Front of the big post office in Algiers, the people are singing, cars are driving wildly honking through the streets. Bouteflika, who ruled Algeria for 20 years, is history. The had demanded hundreds of thousands of protesters in the past six weeks, again and again.
a Little later the state presented television, the Top story of the Evening with pictures. Viewers will see a visibly disoriented Bouteflika, allegedly recorded in the office of the constitutional Council, where he hands over his letter of resignation. He barely manages to reach out to a thin briefcase on the table.
Influenced by the Statement of army chief Salah?
Whether this resignation was, in fact, Bouteflika’s own decision, the knowledge at this time only to himself and his environment. Even before the resignation letter is made public, had published Algeria’s powerful army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah a communiqué. He claimed that Bouteflika had to be declared “forthwith” in accordance with article 102 of the Constitution, for health reasons, for amtsunfähig. Shortly thereafter, the resignation appeared to write.
But in the Statement of the Army chief is still more: The Algerian President’s office was dominated by a – and I quote – “gang”. This gang spread official statements on behalf of the sick Bouteflika.