A voyage to the heart of the Algerian Army.

Twenty years after the interruption of the electoral process, the generation in charge of the staff and the current balance of power within the government have changed the situation..It was twenty years ago on the 11 January 1992 that the army  intervened in the electoral process to prevent the islamic FIS party from coming to power. The army obtained the resignation of President Chadli Bendjedid after obtaining from him the dissolution of Parliament. Today we see islamist parties that are due to take part in elections in May 2012. It is now less probable that the military will opt for an intervention, the times have changed.

"The character of the  multiparty Republican State is sanctified by the revision of the Constitution of november 2008," a major general assures Jeune Afrique, "this was not the case in 1992. Another important difference compared to the episode of Islamic Salvation Font (FIS), the institutional edifice now includes a Senate that would offset an Assembly taken over by Islamists. "In Algeria, the army remains a pillar of the regime, vigilant and attentive.

After being accused of being putchists, to have taken a heavy hand against the demonstrators in October 1988 and in the fight against jihadism, of being behind the mass killings of villagers in the decade- these are black crimes which to day would be likely to lead to an indicment in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Despite all this, the Algerian Army was able to maintain its cohesion.

Any no time did the chain of command break. The officers joined forces. Moreover despite being boycotted by the regional military organizations and under embargo in the 1990s, this all powerful army is respectable again. Its expertise in the fight against terrorism is praised on all sides. Its chief of staff is received in Washington, Brussels or Paris. A veritable consecration, as the country enters a crucial election year in a context marked by the Arab Spring  revolutions. Moreover, the army has had a great success early this year.

The elimination, on 2 January of Mohamed el-Kechkhach, number two of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Kabilyie is a serious blow to the main ennemy: armed Islamist fanatics. He was sought after for years, the sponsor of the latest suicide bombings that struck this region in July 2010 and August 2011 (his real name Mohand Ouramdane) was one of the priority targets of the special forces of the  Peoples' National Army (PNA).

They are the elite troops, paratroopers, who led the ambush against the man who made a specialty of  the abduction of the great merchants and local notables and  released  them only after payment of large ransoms. The operation was carried out smoothly, but the success of the enterprise did not cause any triumphalist press release.

"In fact, our actual performance is overlooked such as maintaining the cohesion of the institution, our success in modernisation and rejuvenating the army. We took much pride in saving the republic, in 1992, as the prospect of meeting an old national fantasy: to produce, in a few months the first vehicle in Algeria. " The major general comments.

The People's  National Army (PNA) with 147.000 men and 150.000 reserves, its 3.000 tanks its 163 aircraft and its budget of 5.6 billion in 2010-is not only an independent  and decisive political actor in Algeria, but  it is also a leading trader with a powerful industrial sector. This is the case with logistics base in Beni Mered, near Bilda (50 km west of Algiers), the headquarters of the 1st Military Region. In partnership with German automaker Daimler, the first production complex  for off-road vehicles will be  inaugurated shortly in the region of Tiaret, the PNA  is involved in  scientific research by partnering with leading research centers and national laboratories.

The most popular areas  range from nuclear space, to aeronautics and nanotechnology. Recruited from the industry for excellence, this miltary elite is formed in high-level structures and teachers known for their reliability.

 The centres of excellence include the Military Inter Arms Academy (Amia) located  in Cherchell (70 km west of Algiers): Tamentafoust School of War, in the western suburbs of Algiers, which provides officers for the staff: and the Ecole Militaire Polytechnique  at Bordj el-Bahri, a  resort east of the capital.

These schools also provide training for foreign cadets mainly from Africa (Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Mozambique and Angola) and  the Arab  world (Palestinian and Syrian).  As the current chief of staff, General Salah Ahmed Gaid, celebrates his 80th anniversary, the generals who are the backbone of command, the leaders of the six military regions and the heads of the units are in their fifties, born in a  post conflict and  post independence generation, not involved in the conflicts and disputes of the past. Unlike their predecessors  their training is not only Soviet or Russian. Multilingual and open to international cooperation, their contribution to the changes in the PNA is undeniable.

The most popular specialist subjects range from nuclear space, to aeronautics and nanotechnology. Recruited from the industry for  their excellence, its elite is taught by high-level experts and teachers known for their reliability.

This includes for instance: the Military Inter Arms Academy (Amia) located  in Cherchell (70 km west of Algiers): Tamentafoust School of War, in the western suburbs of Algiers, which provide the officers for  staff: and the Ecole Militaire Polytechnique Bordj el-Bahri, a  resort east of the capital. These schools also provide training for  foreign cadets  essentially Africans (Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Mozambique and Angola) and Arab (Palestinian and Syrian). 

The current chief of staff, General Salah Ahmed Gaid, is celebrating his 80th anniversary, but the generals who are the backbone of command, the leaders of the six military regions and the heads of the units are in their fifties born in a  post conflict independence generation not involved in the conflicts and disputes of the past. Unlike their predecessors  their training is not only Soviet or Russian. They are  multilingual and open to international cooperation, their contribution to the changes in the PNA is undeniable.

For ideological reasons, the military has long been dependent on its sole supplier, the Soviet Union, then Russia and Ukraine, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But gradually, the military  have developed multiple contacts  with their foreign  counterparts and diversified the sources of weapons the  purchase. Contrary to speculation, the PNA has excellent relations with the  French Army, Jeune Afrique remarks.

In addition to West Point United States, its officers also follow courses in the most prestigious military academies such as Saint-Cyr and the Ecole de Guerre in Paris.

In the same dynamic cooperation effort  Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger were able to agree, after a long diplomatic process, the creation of the State Committee - Joint Operational Headquarters (CRIC) in French, CEMOC at Tamenrasset on  April 21 2010. It was not easy , but it was done. The installation of this structure has yet to stem the drug trade in the Sahara, or avoid the proliferation of Western hostage taking by AQIM in the region, or prevent the spread of the Libyan arsenal, let alone slow the flow of armed 4 X 4s with  heavily armed gangs .

Nevertheless, the CRIC is a first for the PNA since its participation in the war of  Yom Kipur in 1973. It is indeed the first time it has engaged in an operation coordinated with three foreign armies "We believe in this mechanism" says a major general, "it provides regional risk  management of AQIM and  it avoids the spectre of a Western military intervention, which would be the worst case scenario. On the operational side, two mechanised infantry battalions are prepositioned in Bordj Badji Mokhtar ( the Mali  border) and in Guezzam ( the Niger border). These two command posts will also have advanced air assets, two attack helicopters and two others for the transport of troops and a reconnaissance aircraft with an infrared camera transmitting images in real time.

 
For ideological reasons, the military has long been dependent on its sole supplier, the Soviet Union, then Russia and Ukraine,after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But gradually, the military diversified the sources of their purchase of weapons. Contrary to reports the PNA has excellent relations with the  French Amy.

In addition to West Point in the  United States, its officers also follow courses in the most prestigious military academies such as Saint-Cyr and the Ecole de Guerre in Paris.

 Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger were able to agree, after a long diplomatic process, the creation of the State Committee for Joint Operational Headquarters (CRIC, in French, CEMOC)  at Tamenrasset April 21 2010. It was not obvious, but it was done. The installation of this structure has not yet  stemed the drug trade in the Sahara, or avoided the proliferation of Western hostage-taking by  AQIM in the region, nor prevent the spread of the Libyan arsenal, let alone slowed the flood of convoys of 4 X 4  ex Gadaffi fighters armed to the teeth.

Nevertheless, the CRIC is a first for the PNA since its participation in the war of Yom Kipur in 1973. It is indeed the first time it is engaged in an operation coordinated with three foreign armies "We believe this mechanism " said a major general, "it provides regional risk  management of  AQIM and avoids the specter of a Western military intervention, which would be the worst case scenario."

On the operational side, two  mechanised infantry battalions are  positioned in Bordj Badji Mokhtar (the Malian border) and in Guezzam ( the Niger border). These two command posts will also have advanced air assets, two attack helicopters and two others for the transport of troops and a reconnaissance aircraft with an infrared camera transmitting images in real time.

Domestically, compared with the assertions of its detractors, the Algerian army has rather a good image among the public, Jeune Afrique says. It considers the Army one of the strongest institutions of the Republic.  It not only  has firepower, hundreds of tanks and dozens of fighter-bombers. It is primarily their status as heir of the National Liberation Army (NLA), the military wing of the separatist National Liberation Front (FLN). Since then, the numbers have changed but the prestige of the liberator remains.

In 1962 the company did not exceed the 30,000 men  and a few  hundred officers, most of them deserters from the French army (DAF) came late to the fight. The DAF's most famous officer was Colonel Abdelkader Chabou (Secretary General, Ministry of Defense under Boumediene, who died in a plane crash in 1971. He  was the architect of the establishment of  young officers like Lieutenant Khaled Nezzar, Larbi Belkheir, Mohamed Lamari or  Second  Lieutenant Mohamed Médiène, aliasTewfik. So many people  played a key role in the evolution of the  Algerian Army.

However, they made ​​a concession: the length of conscription was reduced in 2006, from  two years to eighteen months. The dream of most graduates is to be allowed into the recruitment competition of the PNA. This entitles them to numerous including a monthly salary instead of the quarterly grant paid to students, a promising career with job stability and, above all, the assurance of a home at the end of the school  course. However, if the army feeds its men ("life is hard, but the bowl is safe" (as the saying goes), it does not guarantee prosperity.

In 2003, exasperated by the rumors about the fortune accumulated by the General Chief of Staff Mohamed Lamari showed his pay slip to the cameras of the Algerian television, a little more than 160,000 dinars (1,600 euros), the 'equivalent of the salary of an Air Algerie piolt. " Contrary to popular belief, all the generals are not rich, and our poor army officers ... "

After some hesitation, he continued: "They are a part of the middle class, with the same income as a specialist or a doctor in a  public enterprise."

 As for the code of conduct of  the institution, if it follows a strict observance of the hierarchy and a cult of the nation. The PNA has a special feature: the conclave.  It was a kind  of central committee, grouped around the Minister of Defense (usually the head of state) and the Chief of Staff of the Department's central directors and heads of six military regions. They met when circumstances required, and its decisions, usually consensual, were final. This was a conclave that chose Chadli Bendjedid to succeed Houari Boumediene, in 1979, it was the same body that decided thirteen years later,  decided that Chadli Bendjedid had to resign. It was a  a conclave that decided the interruption the electoral process in 1992. Gradually replaced by the High Council of National Security, it is now obsolete. A sign of the times.

If the military has demonstrated an unwavering loyalty to towards the presidential institution (the episode of Ben Bella was overthrown in 1965 does not come into play, as the latter  came under the control of Boumediene), its relations with Abdelaziz Bouteflika are more mixed. The army objected intially to the process of reconcilation that Bouteflika initiated with the release of terrorists who had repented into the community, but as an officer reflects it proves that the army no longer desired to mount a coup if it did it would have turned on President Bouteflika, but this did not happen and the officer assures Jeune Afrique that an islamist government will not see the army leaving its barracks to take over the civil power. The examples of the Tunisian army which refused to fire on demonstrators during the Jasmine revolution and the Egyptian army which was prepared to see the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak have given the Algerian army food for thought.