The Death of Ali Belhadj

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February 26, 1990
TIME Magazine

Ali Belhadj, the radical deputy leader of Algeria's Islamic Salvation Front, had been assassinated.

In the attack in Algiers, for which Algerian Renewal Front has claimed responsibility, the salafi radical was shot twice during a speech in the Kasbah quarter before being declared dead on arrival in the National University Hospital.

FIS party leader, Abbassi Madani, has called for a thorough investigation by the national government, arguing that the attack is an assault on the transition to multiparty democracy. (Madani is a moderate, a former professor and fought against the French in the War of Independence.) The FIS is currently leading the polls in preparation for next year's general election. However, the loss of Belhadj means that the party has lost its best connection to the lower-class youth, who were expected to make up a key element of the FIS constituency. It is uncertain how the death of the deputy leader will effect the party's ability to contest the poll.

President Chadli Bendjedid pledged to investigate the attack. Defence Minister, General Khaled Nezzar, has denied any military involvement.

 

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The assassination of Ali Belhadj undermined the electoral juggernaut of Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), with Abbassi Madani finding himself antagonised from the more radical base of the party without his deputy. In the local and provincial elections in June 1990, the Islamic Salvation Front failed to achieve the majority for which it had hoped, though it became the largest party, easily trouncing the incumbent National Liberation Front. Belhadj's position as deputy had been taken over by petrochemical engineer, Abdelkader Hachani.

Nonetheless, Madani's ongoing commitment to a functional multi-party democracy made his more militarist supporters doubt his commitment to their envisioned Islamic republic. In late June, the Islamic Liberation Army broke away from the party, with about one in ten party members quitting to join the resistance in the mountains as guerrillas.

President Chadli Bendjeded, who had already dealt with the Black October revolt in 1988, immediately entered negotiations with the FIS leadership to prevent the further collapse of his reform process. The two reached an agreement, in which the FIS agreed to submit any change to the constitution to a democratic process in return for permission to contest access to the National Parliament after the end of the new emergency. The FIS was also forced to renounce the guerrillas. Though there was undoubtedly personal sympathies from party members for their cause, there is no evidence that the FIS structure or leadership in any way contributed to the 1990-91 resistance.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Edward Djerejian, met with President Bendjeded in July, 1990, offering US logistical and weapons support for the Algerian government. The French government also provided financial aid. In the years that followed, both governments were condemned by the international community for their support of the incumbent government. Human rights organisations condemned the Algerian military for torture, illegal detention and abuse of civil rights. However, with the support of the two powers, the Algerian government crushed the last rebel stronghold in September, 1991.

By the end of the war, the Islamic Salvation Front had lost much of its momentum. Even more of their party membership had defected, associating themselves with the Tunisian movement, Ennahda. However, the sudden legitimacy of the Socialist Forces Front also undermined the government. It was perhaps therefore inevitable that the first Algerian democratic failed to produce a majority for any single party.

The three major parties to emerge from the 26 December 1991 election and subsequent rounds for the 380-seat assembly were as follows:

Islamic Salvation Front: 190 seats
National Liberation Front: 94 seats
Socialist Forces Front: 30 seats

Other small parties included the Berber-based Rally for Culture and Democracy, Ennahda and the Social Democrat Party.

The election meant that the Islamic Salvation Front could not form a government without the support of minor parties and without negotiating with the armed forces. After talks with General Khaled Nezzar and the pro-Army Party of Algerian Renewal, Abbassi Madani became Prime Minister of Algeria.