Auteur: D .D
Date: 2001-08-24 21:54:22
Tens of thousands of ethnic Berbers marched Monday through the historic Soummam Valley on the anniversary of a key date in the Algerian war of independence as official delegations stayed away.
The August 20 anniversary of a key strategic meeting of the National Liberation Front (FLN) held in the valley in 1956 -- as well as that of a major offensive against the French in 1955 -- is celebrated every year with great fanfare by the authorities.
But this year the Berbers, who launched an anti-government uprising in April following the shooting death of a youth in police custody, said they would block all access to official delegations, and none were seen in the area.
Nor were any security forces deployed in the area near Bejaia, the main city in the Berbers' northeastern Kabylie homeland.
The organizers said at the weekend that the march would aim to "reappropriate historic dates by the Algerian people."
The marchers, waving black flags as a symbol of mourning, walked some 10 kilometers (six miles) from the town of Akbou, near Bejaia, to Ouzellaguen in stifling heat, accepting water from villagers along the way.
The protest, which ended without incident, was called by village leaders and tribal elders of Kabylie who are at the vanguard of the Berber uprising, fueled by longstanding resentment over perceived discrimination.
Riots swept across Kabylie from April through June, when dozens of people died as gendarmes cracked down on the unrest.
Monday's marchers shouted slogans such as "killer government" and "no forgiveness" and called for vengeance for the deaths in the rioting.
The miscontent struck a chord with mainstream Algerians fed up over unemployment and declining living standards, sparking unrest elsewhere in the country, which is already ravaged by a long-running civil war.
One of several key demands of the Berbers, who along with other indigenous people make up about a third of Algeria's population, is the departure of gendarmes from Kabylie, a move the authorities have categorically ruled out.
A government-ordered investigation has accused the gendarmes, in a preliminary report, of perpetrating gratuitous violence against the Berbers. The investigation is to resume on Saturday.
Demonstrations have been banned in Algiers since up to a million people took part in a protest in the capital on June 14 that degenerated into riots and left six people dead.
Attempts to hold protests in the capital were heavily suppressed on July 5 and August 8, with security forces blocking all access routes to Algiers.
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