Replies to post #154 on Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Algeria was apparently won by the fundamentalist FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) party in elections and the victory was taken from them.

More than 100,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died in Algeria's civil war, which began in 1992 following the military's nullification of a national election won by the Islamic Salvation Party.

I don’t know… it looks like Algeria was stolen from the Islamic Salvation Party who won the election, no surprise here, Algeria is a significant oil and gas producer and exporter. Algeria also is a member of OPEC.

It seems the aim of the Salafist Group is not to overthrow the Algerian government but to restore it to its rightful heirs, Islam.

The Salafist Jihad has spilled over into Morocco and now maybe Spain who is suspected of attempting to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea and probably others. -Am

After a century of rule by France, Algeria became independent in 1962. The surprising first round success of the fundamentalist FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) party in the December 1991 balloting caused the army to intervene, crack down on the FIS, and postpone the subsequent elections. The fundamentalist response has resulted in a continuous low-grade civil conflict with the secular state apparatus, which nonetheless has allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties. The FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000 and many armed militants of other groups surrendered under an amnesty program designed to promote national reconciliation. Nevertheless, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and carrying out isolated attacks on villages and other types of terrorist attacks. Other concerns include Berber unrest, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, and the need to diversify the petroleum-based economy.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ag.html



Algeria is important to world energy markets because it is a significant oil and gas producer and exporter. Algeria also is a member of OPEC and an important, growing energy source for Europe.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/algeria.html