Algeria and the Kabile Question
The situation around and in Algeria itself (officially - the Algerian People's Democratic Republic, ANDR) continues to slowly but surely escalate. Moreover, the Algerian authorities continue to demonstrate an independent policy that goes against the plans for the "modernization" of Africa and the Middle East.
Algeria refused to withdraw its ambassador from Syria, despite the decision of the League of Arab States (LAS) to suspend the membership of the Syrian state in this pan-Arab organization. This was announced by the official representative of the Algerian Foreign Ministry Ammar Bilani.
In addition, Algerians regularly show signs of rejection of the new Libyan authorities. An illustrative example was shown by fans of a friendly football match between the national team of Algeria and the team from Tunisia at the stadium in Blid. According to the Algerian daily El Nahar, viewers came with banners that glorified the deceased leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi. They featured slogans such as quotations from the speech of the famous fighter against the Italian colonization of Omar Mukhtar (leader of the armed struggle of the population of Cyrenaica against the Italian invaders in 1923-1931 years, the national hero of the Libyan people): "We will never surrender ... we will win or die." In addition, the memory of the deceased Colonel, who for many has already become a hero martyr in the fight against Western neo-colonialists and local "rats", was honored with a minute of silence.
Special attention in connection with the tacit opposition of the West and Algeria should be paid to Kabiliya (historical Algeria region). Since the spring of 2011, there has been a sharp surge in extremist activity. According to Algerian security forces, it was in Kabilia that most of the terrorist acts in the country took place over the past six months.
Reference. Kabila. This is the people of the Berber group (the indigenous people of North Africa). Berbers occupy the territory of northern Africa from Egypt in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to Sudan in the south. In addition to Kabils (Algeria), this group includes Amazirgis and Shillos (Morocco), the Berbers of the Sahara, including Tuareg (Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan Egypt) and other ethnic groups. Kabils speak Kabyle, which belongs to the northern branch of the Berber-Libyan languages. Their writing is based on the Latin script. Arabic and French are also common among the boaters. Most Kabils are Sunni Muslims. In Algeria, they live in the region of Kabilia (in the mountains of the Great and Small Kabiliya), east of the capital of the country. Approximately 3 million cabbies live in the Algerian state (2007 data of the year), in France there are about 700 thousand people, their total number is estimated at 4-6 million people.
The Kabyle people are the most numerous representatives of the Algerian Berbers. Tuareg and Shaviyya also live in Algeria, in total they range from 4,3 million (according to official sources) to 9 million people (information from Berber organizations). Officially, the Berbers (they are also called Amazigh) constitute the largest national minority of Algeria - 16%. Given the fact that the official policy of the authorities was aimed at a gradual arabization of the population, the number of Berbers may be higher than the official figure.
According to the Berber organizations (the Kabil movement for political and cultural rights, the Kabils make up the majority in such parties as the Unification for Culture and Democracy, the Front of Socialist Forces, etc.), the Algerian authorities deliberately underestimate their numbers. Therefore, in reality, the share of the Berber population among the Algerian population is not 16%, but 25-30%. Although in any case, the Berbers make up a considerable share of the 35-million population of the AEDR (data of the year 2009). The situation around Kabils (Berbers) in some respects resembles the problem of the Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. A large nation of approximately 23 million people currently does not have its own state.
Now the “Kabyle problem” is increasingly becoming a “headache” for Algeria. The militants of the Kabil formations, taking advantage of convenient terrain (as well as the Kurds), began to make daring attacks on government officials and law enforcement services. Most often, they manage to escape punishment, using the knowledge of inaccessible terrain, and if the local population does not support them, then they are at least neutral. The “Kabil threat” came as a surprise to Algeria, it already has enough problems with the Islamist underground, the situation on the border with Libya and Mali, the problem of the Libyan weapons, which fell to the Islamist detachments from the looted arsenals.
It should be noted that during the civil war in Algeria (1991 — 2002), the aspiration of Kabili to democratic changes and the creation of cultural autonomy led them to conflict not only with radical Islamic forces, but also with the official authorities. The most famous act of this confrontation was the murder of the outstanding Kabyle singer Luna Matub in 1998 year. Like a number of other Berber singers, poets and writers, he demanded official recognition of the culture and language of the people at numerous concerts, rallies and in interviews.
In the spring of 2001, the authorities suppressed the “Kabil spring”, when thousands of Kabils again held a large-scale protest against systematic Arabization and the non-recognition of their people as the indigenous ethnic group and the original essence of Algeria. Kabila met a powerful rebuff to the security services of Algeria, killing dozens of Berbers.
10 April 2002, as a result of constant public protests, the language of the Berbers received the status of the national language ANDR. But the requirement of the Berber organizations to introduce it as the second state language of Algeria, along with the Arabic language, was rejected. In recent years, the Algerian authorities have repeatedly stressed that the Berber language "can never become the official language" of the state. Many Kabili and Berbers, in general, believe that they were victims of ethnic genocide - the deliberate destruction of their ancient language and culture. Indeed, the Algerian authorities systematically suppress any initiative to preserve Amazigh languages not controlled by the state. Thus, by judicial decision, the authorities banned the meeting of the 5-th World Amazigh Congress (Conseil Mondial Amazigh) in July 2008 on the territory of Kabylie. In early August, 2009 was arrested by the President of the World Amazigh Congress and 8 of leading representatives of international Berber organizations in the administrative center of Kabylie Tizi-Uza.
The 3 protest rally of thousands of students in the city of Bejaya in January 2009, as well as rallies in Tizi-Ouse on the occasion of the celebration of the Berber New Year in January, 2010 ended with clashes with the police. The Berbers wanted an official recognition of the Berber New Year holiday. The organization for the autonomy of Cabilia (Mouvement pour l'Autonomie de la Kabylie, IAC), which, among its other demands, constantly puts forward a clause on the recognition of Amazigh language and cultural rights, regularly met with obstacles in organizing public events in Kabylie. The movement was declared "pro-Israeli." The Algerian authorities are categorically opposed to granting autonomy to Kabils, believing that it is separatism that leads to the collapse of the country.
Now
Additionally, it is necessary to take into account the external factor of activation of the "Kabil issue" - The Berber-Amazigh movement in Libya, who opposed Gaddafi and were supported by France. In addition, Algerian boarders have strong support in France, where the powerful Berber community lives. French special services have good connections there.
Kabil slogans are becoming more aggressive, so when in the city of Azazga in 100 km east of the Algerian capital, Kabil was killed (according to the position of the authorities, it was an “Islamic insurgent”), thousands of people took to the streets, including: Justice and truth! ”,“ The authorities are murderers ”. The parties that support the Berber movement (Unification for Culture and Democracy, Front of Socialist Forces) reported that they no longer intend to engage in dialogue with the authorities and “submit to arbitrariness and domination”. They require real changes in the fate of the Alberian Berbers.
More 1 June in the French capital, activists of the Movement for Kabili created the Provisional Government of Kabylia (MIC), led by the leader of the Movement Ferhat Mhenni. The movement was created ten years ago and constantly emphasized the peaceful nature of its activities, requiring only cultural autonomy. But now the situation has changed - the authorities have not made any progress towards solving the problem. Ignoring the Kabil issue by the Algerian authorities, as it has been in recent decades, can lead to the most negative consequences, including the collapse of a single state and the isolation of Kabylia.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the Kabilian (and, more broadly, the Berber) problem is actively exploited in its interests by Paris, which provides support to the separatists and autonomists from Algeria. Other Western powers, who are not interested in having a strong independent state in North Africa, are working in the same direction.
A bit of Berber history
The Berbers are the indigenous people of North Africa who inhabited this vast expanse before the invasion of the Arabs. Moreover, part of the Berber population was arabized to such an extent that it considers itself Arabs.
The Berbers had several of their states, in particular, the Marinid state (the Berber dynasty of the rulers of Morocco, rules until 1465), the Zayanid state (Algeria) and the Hafsid state (Tunisia). Most of them existed until the 16th century, when they were conquered by the Turks. The last Berber state, the Confederate Republic of Reef, was created in 1921 after the victory over Anvala over the forces of the Moroccan Sultan and the Spanish colonialists in Northern Morocco. But the republic did not exist for long.
During the Reef War 1921-1926, the Berber army confronted the Spanish-French army, was defeated. Since ancient times, the tribes of the Reef region have been famous for their military skills combined with marksmanship, excellent organization of camouflage on the ground and ambushes, high morale and bravery. Therefore, under the command of Abd al-Qarim (he showed military talent as the leader of the uprising and the political talent of the tribal organizer), they were able to fight for so long with the colonial army that reached 300. The army of the Rifa Republic initially comprised just 3 thous. Fighters, then increased at the expense of tribal militias — the maximum number up to 80 thou. The elite were 6-7 thou. Soldiers, subordinated personally to al-Kerim.
Colonialists, who fought under the command of Henri Philippe Petain, actively used chemical weapons (yperite bombs). The Berbers fought desperately and caused great damage to the enemy. So, at the end of the war, al-Kerim made a completely hopeless attempt - an attack on the city of Tetouan (the capital of Spanish Morocco). The Berbers managed to approach the city and in the battle inflict noticeable losses on the forces of the Spanish Legion (it was the most efficient unit in the Spanish army), but this success could not change the course of the war. The inequality of forces and arms of the parties affected. As a result, the Reef Republic was divided between Spain and France.
France, which began the conquest of Algeria in 1830 (it was officially declared French in 1848), and Tunisia was subordinate to 1881, pursued a policy of cultural integration of the Berber population. Berbers were given the opportunity to study in their own language in special French schools for Amazigh. The idea of Euro-Berber identity was introduced through these schools (before the adoption of Islam, many Amazighs were Christians, and racially they were Caucasians), French culture was introduced. Thus, Paris opposed the Berbers and Arabs to have in the face of the Berbers reliable allies in case of Arab uprisings.
After the "liberation" of the colonialists, that is, with the transfer of power from the French to the Arabs, in the countries of North Africa a hard course was prevailing on the Arabization of all national minorities. As a result, the majority of Jews and Franco-Algerians fled from Algeria, similar processes took place in other countries.
It is clear that the Berber factor in North Africa and the “Kabyle question” in Algeria will still show themselves. And in the very near future.
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