Algerian Hirak continues weekly demonstrations despite coronavirus

Thousands of people demonstrated today on the streets of Algiers against the regime for the 56th consecutive week of the ‘Hirak’ protest movement, which has been stirring Algeria for more than a year, despite restrictions motivated by the threat of the coronavirus.

Theweigh less numerous than in previous weeks but with the same determination, the Algerian demonstrators gathered around the slogan “The coronavirus , not the scares,” he said the news agency AFP .

In one of the posters erected in the protest it read “56th Friday. The coronavirus will not stop the people from continuing the peaceful revolution until the liberation of Algeria”.

However, several militants are asking the question, particularly on social media, about an interruption of this protracted movement of rebellion.

“Our ‘ Hirak ‘ is solid, it is not a ‘truce’ to protect itself from the virus that will threaten to make it disappear. Let us be responsible and take our precautions,” said an internet user , also quoted by AFP .

Algeria, where 26 cases of infection have already been detected , on Thursday recorded the first two deaths attributed to Covid -19.

On Tuesday the authorities decided to cancel all political, cultural and sporting events to prevent the spread of the disease, but the activists , militants and popular marched again today in the center of Algiers under strong VIGILA INSTANCE police, with all agents armed with protective masks .

“We are not immune to contagion but that will not prevent us from continuing our fight. I have a mask to protect myself,” a doctor at a public hospital told AFP .

Today ‘ Hirak ‘ parades also brought together thousands of people in other parts of the country, such as in Oran and Mostaganem (northwest), indicated several social networks.

The protests again demanded the release of dozens of prisoners for the crime of opinion, already convicted or awaiting trial.

On Wednesday, an Algerian court sentenced Karim Tabbou , a leading figure of the ‘ Hirak ‘, to one year in prison, with six months in jail effective , to be accused of “attacking national unity”.

Hadj Ghermoul , another voice of the defense, also went on trial on Wednesday for a Mascara court (northwest) and the prosecutor requested 18 months imprisonment effective for broadcasting videos “that violate the national interest,” according to referred to the Committee National Convention for the Release of Detainees ( CNLD ).

After forcing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign in April 2019, the ‘ Hirak ‘ demands an end to the “system” that has governed Algeria since independence in 1962, with strong influence from the military hierarchy.

The ‘ Hirak ‘ marches usually take place every Friday – and on Tuesdays for students – but calls for demonstrations have also recently appeared on Saturday.

Last Saturday an attempted demonstration was violently dispersed by the police in Algiers, which also arrested several leaders of the movement.