Perilous
Times
Hundreds at anti-govt rally in Algerian capital
The Associated Press
Saturday, February 26, 2011; 8:40 AM
PARIS -- Hundreds of demonstrators are protesting in Algeria's
capital to demand the ouster of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika -
but police are out in far larger numbers to counter the
protesters.
The protest on central Martyrs Square comes two days after the
government ended a 19-year state of emergency born of Algeria's
bloody Islamic insurgency. The move aimed to ease tensions after
weeks of anti-government strikes and protests.
President Barack Obama praised that move as a step toward
responding to public concerns.
The demonstration Saturday, led by a political opposition party,
was far smaller than protests that have brought down autocrats in
fellow North African countries of Tunisia or Egypt.
Algeria's Interior Minister says protest marches in the capital of
Algiers are still banned.