Far more serious from the regime's point of view is the unrest
that broke out again this week among many of the regime's armed auxiliaries.
On Monday (9 July), some 40,000 police auxiliaries, known as
Communal Guards, tried to march on the capital from Blida to demand pay rises
and the same benefits as the troops and other security forces. They marched 48km
in the heat before reaching Birkhadem on the outskirts of Algiers where they
were stopped by hundreds of police. Extensive fighting took place between the
protesting Guards and the police, with some 50-60 people injured. The wide press
coverage of the fighting, showing pictures of armed police battling community
guards, has shocked Algerians.
The Communal Guards were set up in 1994 to bolster local police
in villages across the country where authorities were locked in a deadly
confrontation with armed Islamist groups. This auxiliary corps numbers 93,000
men, who are demanding the same benefits as policemen and troops. Specifically,
they want pay rises, round-the-clock health insurance to replace the current
eight-hour coverage they get while working, and retirement after 15 years of
active duty.
They are also demanding the option of joining the ranks of the
police or the gendarmerie, a French-styled paramilitary police unit.
In March 2011, some 10,000 Communal Guards flooded the streets
of Algiers with similar demands, in defiance of a ban on demonstrations.
According to our sources, the Communal Guards have now been
joined in their demands by another group of auxiliaries, the 'Patriots'. We are
uncertain of their numbers.
In addition, we are hearing that similar concerns and possible
unrest may be spreading among the 100,000 or so ex-military servicemen (those no
longer in service, but regarded as reservists) who are also becoming concerned
by their own lack of rights and the action being taken by the Communal Guards.
If all three of the country's auxiliary-cum-reservist units
bring their protests together, as this week's events might suggest, the
implications for the regime could be extremely serious.
For more news and expert analysis about Algeria, please see Algeria Focus and Algeria Politics & Security.
© 2012 Menas Associates
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