RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

On April 18, Massinissa Guermah, a 19-year-old Amazigh high school student, died in the custody of security forces of gunshot wounds received from an AK-47 semi-automatic weapon. In a report of the Issaad commission appointed by the Government which investigated the incident, security force witnesses testified that the weapon had fired inadvertently when it slipped from a gendarme's hand while the safety mechanism was unlocked. According to an Amnesty International report, this version has been challenged by a witness who claimed that he heard Guermah plead his innocence to gendarmes before the shots were fired. During the April 22-28 demonstrations and riots that ensued in the Kabylie region following Guermah's death, security forces used excessive force, killing at least 45 rioters and demonstrators and injuring many hundreds more. While putting down the riots, security forces used live (not rubber) rounds on the crowd, shooting some persons in the back (see Sections 1.c, 1.d, 2.b, and 5). Press reports have estimated that as many as 80 rioters may have died at the hands of security forces during the riots that continued into the summer. Ten days after Guermah's death, the local gendarmerie issued a statement claiming that the official responsible for the death of Guermah had been court-martialed. The Government appointed two separate commissions to investigate Guermah's death and the violence that followed it. One was composed of members of the National Assembly. The report of the other commission, headed by respected Amazigh jurist Mohand Issaad, found that the security forces version of the death was "not satisfactory," blamed gendarmerie units for using excessive force in putting down the demonstrations, and found that the units did so without orders. The report, which criticized a lack of security-force cooperation that hampered the Commission's ability to gather information, was released to the press by the President and received significant media coverage. The National Assembly commission had not issued a report by year's end.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Government used excessive force in some instances to put down demonstrations and riots throughout the year in the largely Amazigh Kabylie region. Outdoor demonstrations in the Kabylie region turned violent from April 22 to 28, following the death in security forces' custody of a 19-year-old Amazigh high school student (see Section 1.a.). Security forces used live ammunition against demonstrators, including against youths throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. According to the Ministry of the Interior, security forces killed 45 protesters and injured 491 between April 22 and April 28. Some of those killed or injured had been shot in the back. Amnesty International reported that press reports indicated that as many as 80 persons were killed through mid-year. In addition the Government detained a large number of persons for short periods in connection with the violence. Amnesty International reported that security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused a number of them (see Section 1.d.). Although the Government allowed several subsequent demonstrations to take place, it used force to disrupt several other demonstrations that were held throughout the spring and summer (see Section 2.b.).

The Government appointed two separate commissions to look into the Kabylie events. One commission, headed by respected Amazigh jurist Mohand Issaad, issued its final report on December 29. The Issaad report concluded that gendarmerie units had used excessive force in putting down the April 22 to 28 demonstrations, but that they had done so without official orders. The report was released to the press and received significant media coverage.

d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Government detained and soon thereafter released hundreds of persons in connection with the demonstrations and riots that took place in the Kabylie region in the spring and summer. Amnesty International reported that the police tortured or otherwise abused persons in custody (see Section 1.a).

g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law

In response to rioting in April in the Kabylie region, gendarme units used excessive force. Rioters were shot with lethal (not rubber) rounds, often in the back. A report issued by the Issaad Commission, appointed by the Government to investigate the violence, found that the gendarmes acted without orders. The Government claimed that the gendarmes who fired the shots were disciplined.

In April in the Kabylie mountain region Berbers held outdoor demonstrations commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Berber Spring of 1980, when Berbers protested the imposition of Arabization on Berber culture. After the death of a 19-year-old Amazigh high school student in security-force custody, confrontations became violent between demonstrators, including stone- and Molotov cocktail-throwing youth, and Government security forces. Many demonstrators burned and looted government buildings, political party offices, and public and private property. These riots were suppressed, often with excessive force including live fire in some instances, killing more than 50 persons and injuring many hundreds more. Two official commissions were appointed to investigate events during the year; one commission issued its final report in December; the other had not issued a report by year's end (see Sections 1.a, 1.c., 1.d., and 5).

After the April violence, the Government permitted some demonstrations (most of them unsanctioned) to take place. On May 3, the largest political demonstration to take place in Algiers since 1998 concluded peacefully. The event protested government actions in quelling unrest in the Kabylie region. On May 7, a "March of Mourning" of more than 10,000 persons was held in Bejaia without government interference. The organizers of the two separate marches that joined did not seek government permission. However, before the event Minster of Interior Noureddine Zerhouni publicly announced that the Government would "tolerate" the marches. On May 10, a march of 8,000 to 10,000 persons in support of the Kabylie Berbers took place in Algiers without government permission; the Government did not interfere with the march. On May 21, tens of thousands of Kabylie residents demonstrated at Tizi Ouzou with only minimal interference from security forces. Protesters demanded that the Government withdraw the gendarmerie from Kabylie, recognize Amazigh as a co-equal national language with Arabic, indemnify victims of recent disturbances, and postpone national school exams so Berber students would not be disadvantaged for participating in the demonstrations.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Nonetheless, the Government at times used force to disperse demonstrations that became violent. On May 31, as many as 20,000 demonstrators marched in Algiers with the tacit approval of the Government. Security forces used tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstrations when 600 to 700 protestors became violent, throwing stones at police. On June 14, the Government dispersed with tear gas and water cannons a march of more than 250,000 protesters after small groups of marchers became violent and burned and later destroyed property and looted a police station, a bus depot, and stores and businesses. In reaction the Government announced a ban on demonstrations in the capital.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The Amazighs, an ethnic Berber minority of about 9 million centered in the Kabylie region, participate freely and actively in the political process. From April through the remainder of the year, Amazighs held a series of demonstrations, some violent; security forces in some instances put down violent demonstrations with excessive force (see Sections 1.a., 1.c., 1.d., and 2.b.).

Two major opposition parties originated in the Amazigh-populated region of the country: The Socialist Forces Front and the Rally for Culture and Democracy. These two parties represent Amazigh political and cultural concerns in the Parliament and the media. The two Amazigh-based parties were required to conform with the 1997 changes to the Electoral Law that stipulate that political parties must have at least 25 founders from across the country.

The Tuaregs, a people of Amazigh origin, do not play an important role in politics, due to their small numbers, estimated in the tens of thousands, and their nomadic existence.

Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The Amazighs are an ethnic minority centered in the Kabylie region. Amazigh nationalists have sought to maintain their own cultural and linguistic identity in the face of the Government's continued Arabization program. The law requires that Arabic be the official language and requires, under penalty of fines, that all official government business be conducted in Arabic. The law may be interpreted to require that Arabic be used for all broadcasts on national television and radios, for dubbing or subtitling all nonArabic films, for medical prescriptions, and for medical equipment. However, in practice one of the two Government television stations has a regular news program in Amazigh, and one of the Government radio stations broadcasts entirely in that language. As part of the national charter signed in 1996, the Government and several major political parties agreed that the Amazigh culture and language were major political components of the country's identity. In September 1999, President Bouteflika stated that the Amazigh language would never be an official language; during the year he stated that the enhancement of the status of the Amazigh language would require a constitutional amendment. However, on October 3, Prime Minister Benflis reportedly agreed to recognize the Amazigh language as a national language. There are professorships in Amazigh culture at the University of Tizi Ouzou. Amazighs hold influential positions in government, the army, business, and journalism.

From April throughout the remainder of the year, Amazighs held a series of demonstrations, some violent; security forces in some instances put down violent demonstrations with excessive force (see Sections 1.a., 1.c., 1.d., and 2.b.).

The Tuaregs, a people of Amazigh origin, live an isolated, nomadic existence and are relatively few in numbers.

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