Algeria seeks youth support as Tebboune, 78, seeks reelection

A youth point towards the ports in Algiers, Algeria, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP)
A youth point towards the ports in Algiers, Algeria, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 02 August 2024
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Algeria seeks youth support as Tebboune, 78, seeks reelection

A youth point towards the ports in Algiers, Algeria, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP)
  • There is a big gap between the new generation and the existing political structures, says journalism professor

ALGIERS: A few years after taking to the streets with hundreds of thousands of other Algerians, Kaci Taher says he feels so disengaged that he will not even vote in the country’s presidential elections next month.

The 28-year-old from Kabylia is precisely the kind of voter that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has targeted as he vies for a second term in office, describing himself as a “candidate of youth” in his campaign announcement last month.
Most of the young people who make up more than half of the population in Algeria are so disenchanted that, like Taher, they may not vote in next month’s presidential election.

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Voter turnout has long been low in Algeria, particularly among people under 30, who make up 51 percent of the population, according to the National Statistics Bureau.

Though he is almost certain to win, a low turnout could doubt the legitimacy of Tebboune’s victory.
“Voting has no meaning in Algeria like in the big democracies,” he said.
“Where I come from, the results and quotas are fixed in advance in the back room of the government, so what’s the point of taking part in the electoral farce?”
Taher said he is politically suffocating and has little confidence in elections securing the type of democratic outcome that people demanded in 2019.
In that year, massive street protests throughout the country known as the Hirak led to the ouster of octogenarian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades leading Algeria, Africa’s largest nation by area and a key security partner for Western nations.
Like many young people in Algeria, Taher struggles with unemployment, boredom, and malaise.
Voter turnout has long been low in Algeria, particularly among people under 30, who comprise 51 percent of the population, according to the country’s National Statistics Bureau.
Though little data exists on why people in Algeria abstain from voting, experts say that the aging political elite — including politicians who wrested independence from France more than 60 years ago — are not reaching young people.
“There is a big gap between the new generation and the existing political structures — political parties and institutions,” said Redouane Boudjema, a professor at the Algiers Institute of Journalism who has researched youth and social movements.
“Young people no longer identify with the political elites who occupy the public arena.”
Hirak activists like Taher were disappointed when authorities called for quick elections amid protests in 2019. The timeline, demonstrators said, offered little opportunity to reach a consensus on deep reforms, allowing then-74-year-old Tebboune, seen as close to the military, to win in a low-turnout race.
Journalists have faced prosecution throughout his tenure, and the economic challenges afflicting many of the country’s 45 million people have persisted.
The government has juggled competing priorities, trying to combat inflation while maintaining state spending, subsidies, and price controls that keep people afloat.
Tebboune continues to refer to the Hirak movement in speeches in which he overtures disaffected Algerian youth, claiming their voices have been heard and changes implemented.
Now 78, Tebboune is among dozens of leaders far older than most voters scheduled to cast ballots in more than 50 countries this year. In addition to leaders like 81-year-old US President Joe Biden, the discrepancy is particularly pronounced in Africa, the world’s youngest continent home to 11 of the world’s 20 oldest heads of state.
This year’s analysis from the Pew Research Center concluded that countries classified as “not free,” like Algeria, tend to have older leaders.
Tebboune’s changes include the establishment of a national youth council to advise the government to better integrate young people into politics, an electoral law requiring parties to put forth younger candidates, and interest-free loans for tech start-ups.
“Algeria belongs to everyone, and young people must live its present, build its future, get involved in the political process, and leave their mark,” Mustapha Hidaoui, the youth council president, said last month.
But despite an earnest effort from Tebboune and other government officials, the question of whether young people will be persuaded to vote in the election remains to be seen.
If not, there are fears about increasing Algerians voting with their feet.
More than 100 makeshift boats have traversed the Mediterranean Sea from Algeria to southern Spain’s coast this year, according to Francisco Jose Clemente Martin, an active member of the International Center for Migrant Identification.
“Algeria’s over. We’re leaving it to you. Adios!” a group of young Algerians packed into a crowded boat say in a video that has gone viral on social media.

 


Syrians stroll through Assad’s palaces, take furniture and ornaments

Syrians stroll through Assad’s palaces, take furniture and ornaments
Updated 14 sec ago
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Syrians stroll through Assad’s palaces, take furniture and ornaments

Syrians stroll through Assad’s palaces, take furniture and ornaments
DAMASCUS: Syrians strolled through the palaces of President Bashar Assad on Sunday following his sudden ouster, wandering from room to room, posing for photographs, and with some taking away items of furniture or ornaments.
Video obtained by Reuters showed people entering the Al-Rawda Presidential Palace, as children ran through the grand, formal rooms and men slid a large trunk across the ornate patterned floor.
Several men marched out of the building carrying chairs over their shoulders. In a storeroom, cupboards had been ransacked and objects strewn across the floor.
Video of another palace, the older-style MuHajjreen Palace, verified by Reuters, showed groups of men and women walking across a white marble floor and through sets of tall wooden doors. A man carried a vase in his hand, and a large cabinet stood empty with its doors ajar. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
The scenes were reminiscent of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in Iraq two decades ago. Then, Iraqis saw the extravagant luxury of his palaces where the bathrooms were famously fitted with gold taps.
Syrian militants seized control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing Assad to flee and ending his family’s decades of rule after more than 13 years of civil war in a seismic moment for the Middle East.
Another video verified by Reuters showed rebels firing celebratory shots at the entrance gate to the New Shaab Palace (Peoples’ Palace), a vast complex on the western edge of Damascus that sits atop Mount Mazzeh.
“The army of Islam (the militants) is in the presidential palace. God is great, we have seized control of it,” said one of the militants. The group then filmed their walk through the deserted grounds and the stark, monumentalist architecture of the palace.
Assad, who had not spoken in public since the sudden militant advance a week ago, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as militants said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.
Russia, one of Assad’s closest allies, confirmed that Assad had left Syria but did not say where he was, including whether Moscow had given him refuge.

GCC secretary-general says Arab Gulf is ‘bridge for peace’ amid US-China competition 

GCC secretary-general says Arab Gulf is ‘bridge for peace’ amid US-China competition 
Updated 46 min 23 sec ago
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GCC secretary-general says Arab Gulf is ‘bridge for peace’ amid US-China competition 

GCC secretary-general says Arab Gulf is ‘bridge for peace’ amid US-China competition 
  • Al-Budaiwi says Gulf countries believe in multilateralism and partnerships with the US and China 
  • ‘GCC remains a bridge for peace and cooperation in the region,’ he adds

Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, said that Arab Gulf countries are committed to the promotion of dialogue and diplomacy in the region despite fierce competition between China and the US. 

Al-Budaiwi emphasized that the GCC remains a bridge for peace and cooperation in the region. 

His remarks came during the 22nd edition of the Doha Forum in Qatar on Sunday in a session about increased China-US rivalry and the future of security cooperation in the Middle East, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Al-Budaiwi confirmed that GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, believe in multilateralism, cooperation, and balanced partnerships with the US, China and other global powers “to ensure a secure and prosperous future for the region and beyond.” 

He said the GCC countries enjoy close relations with the US but also signed partnerships with China in various fields, including free trade agreements.  

The GCC’s vision and role in achieving regional security will benefit from cooperation with China and the US, according to Al-Budaiwi, to tackle pressing issues such as climate change, technological innovation, and economic diversification in the Gulf region.


Armed group in Syria steals cars from Italy ambassador’s residence: foreign minister

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. (File/AFP)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. (File/AFP)
Updated 08 December 2024
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Armed group in Syria steals cars from Italy ambassador’s residence: foreign minister

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. (File/AFP)
  • “Neither the ambassador or the (Italian) police who were at the residence were touched,” said Tajani

ROME: Italy’s foreign minister said Sunday an “armed group” had entered the garden of the Italian ambassador in Damascus and stolen three cars, after militants said they had seized the city.
“This morning an armed group entered the garden of the residence of Italy’s ambassador... they took away three automobiles,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told journalists following a foreign ministry crisis meeting on the Syria situation.
“They were in the garden for a little while, obviously they wanted to check if there were soldiers of Assad there... but neither the ambassador or the (Italian) police who were at the residence were touched,” said Tajani.
He said the ambassador was “safe” and working remotely in a different location.
“The situation is completely under control in a complicated situation of great jubilation, but jubilation in Syria is manifested by shooting in the air, so still complicated,” said Tajani.
Early Sunday, militants announced they had entered Damascus after a lightning offensive against the forces of President Bashar Assad.


Kingdom in contact with all Syria stakeholders, says Saudi official 

Kingdom in contact with all Syria stakeholders, says Saudi official 
Updated 08 December 2024
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Kingdom in contact with all Syria stakeholders, says Saudi official 

Kingdom in contact with all Syria stakeholders, says Saudi official 
  • 'Current situation direct consequence of Syrian govt’s lack of engagement in the political process'

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has been communicating with all regional actors on Syria and is determined to do what is possible to avoid chaos following the ouster of President Bashar Assad, a Saudi official said on Sunday.

“We are in constant communication with Turkiye and every stakeholder involved,” the official told Reuters, adding that the Kingdom was not aware of Assad’s whereabouts.

His failure to re-engage several regional actors and the opposition was to blame for his downfall, the official said.

“The Turkish government attempted to engage and coordinate with the Syrian government, but these overtures were met with refusal,” he said.

“The current situation is a direct consequence of the Syrian government’s lack of engagement in the political process. This outcome reflects the inevitable result of such intransigence.”

Assad went to Saudi Arabia in 2023 to attend an Arab League summit, after a 12-year suspension.

“The hope was that this move would influence the Syrian government to engage more constructively with the opposition and the various stakeholders within Syria and in the region, rather than allowing the existing stalemate and fragile peace to be taken for granted,” the official said.

“We emphasized that the situation should not be underestimated, as it remained precarious. Unfortunately, this message did not result in any meaningful action from the Syrian side.”

The official said events in Syria showed some positive aspects that he hoped would continue.

“Notably, the transition has occurred without bloodshed, which is encouraging. Additionally, we appreciate the statements from various stakeholders emphasizing the importance of protecting state institutions, the sovereignty of Syria, and the rights of minority groups,” he said.

“We hope to see these positive trends continue and are committed to doing everything we can to maintain this momentum.”


Egypt calls for consensus, reconstruction in Syria after Assad’s fall

People gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian government, in Manbij, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP)
People gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian government, in Manbij, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP)
Updated 08 December 2024
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Egypt calls for consensus, reconstruction in Syria after Assad’s fall

People gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian government, in Manbij, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP)
  • Egypt urged all Syrian parties “to unify objectives and priorities and initiate a comprehensive and inclusive political process”

CAIRO: Egypt on Sunday urged for national consensus and reconstruction in Syria, hours after the ousting of President Bashar Assad by militants who seized control of the capital Damascus.
In a statement by the foreign ministry, Egypt urged all Syrian parties “to unify objectives and priorities and initiate a comprehensive and inclusive political process that lays the groundwork for a new phase of consensus and internal peace.”
It said Egypt is committed to working with regional and international partners to help the Syrian people, facilitate reconstruction efforts and support the safe return of refugees to their homeland.
Militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and allied factions began a lightning offensive on November 27, seizing swathes of the country from government hands and entering Damascus early Sunday.
The Egyptian foreign ministry, in the statement, said that it affirms “its stand alongside the Syrian state and people and supports them in preserving Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.”
On Thursday, when militant forces were still advancing toward the capital Damascus, Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty expressed concern over the developments in Syria in a phone call with Syrian foreign minister Bassem Sabbagh.
He affirmed “Egypt’s position in support of the Syrian state and its national institutions.”