Algerians mix protest with football as cup final looms

Algiers (AFP) – Protesters took to the streets of Algiers Friday for a rally boosted by anticipation as their team prepares to battle Senegal in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Demonstrators, many of them wearing the national football team’s kit, poured onto the streets following weekly midday prayers, despite a heavy security presence.

The protests have been held every week since flaring in February over veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office.

Bouteflika’s departure on April 2 failed to stem the protest movement, which has continued to demand the departure of key regime figures and an overhaul of the North African country’s political system.

Retired protester Amar, 71, held up a sign reading “today we will party twice. We’ll win the cup and topple the gang!” — referring to Bouteflika-era officials still in office.

“This morning we have a match against the ‘gang’ and in the evening against Senegal,” he said. “God willing, we’ll win both matches.”

An uninterrupted row of police vehicles lined a major avenue in Algiers, severely reducing the space for protest marches, but AFP journalists at the site did not witness any arrests, unlike at previous marches.

As kickoff loomed in Cairo for Algeria’s bid to lift the African Cup for the first time in 29 years, free public buses waited to ferry fans to the capital’s July 5 Stadium, where the final is to be shown on a big screen. 

Algerian authorities have also organised an “air bridge” to deliver some 4,500 supporters to the Egyptian capital for the match.

But the move sparked cynicism among protesters.

“The national team gives us a lot of joy and pride, but we can’t forget the most important thing: the departure of all (senior Bouteflika-era) officials,” said Amina, a civil servant.

“Many are already in prison, and so they should be — they stole the money of the people.”

A series of prominent politicians and businessmen linked to Bouteflika have been detained or questioned over alleged graft since the ailing president stepped down.

Former cabinet minister Amar Ghoul was placed in preventive detention on Monday, state media reported.

The official APS news agency said he was being investigated over cases involving powerful businessmen Ali Haddad, CEO of Algeria’s top construction company, and Mahieddine Tahkout, whose group leads much of the university and urban transport sector.

Facing accusations of benefitting from their connections to Bouteflika to win large public contracts, Haddad and Tahkout have already been imprisoned. 

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