JPRS ID: 8733 NEAR EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORT

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• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000200010002-6
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JPRS 1-18733 -
- 26 October 1979
r-
Near East/North Africa Report
~ (FOUO 4 i/79) '
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JPR5 L/8733
26 October 1979
NEAR EAST/NORTH AFRICa REPORT
(FOUO 41/7g)
CONTEN7S
AI,GERIA
Cormnentary Sees Bendjedid's Political Style Taking Shape
(MARCHES TROPICAUX ET MEDITER.R,ANEENS, 7 Sep 79)
Ben Bella's House Arrest in M'si]_a Described
.(Harv.d Barrada; JEUNE AFRIQUE, 3 Oct 79)
Reasons for Cleanup Campaign I7iscussed
(THE MIDAI,E EAST, Oct 79)
In New Plan,IInphasis Will Be Given to Consumer Goods
(Howard Schissel; THE MIDIII,E EAST, Oct 79)
_ I,EBANON
- Kamal Jumblatt's Role in Unifying I,eft Noted
_ (AL-WATAN AL-'ARABI, 6-12 Sep 79) ..��o����~......�...
Problems Facing Cohesion of Domestic I,eft ExFlored
' (AI,-WATAN AZ-'ARABI, 6-12 Sep 79)
Solidarity Between Palestinians, Domestic Left Examined
(AL-TdATAN AZ-'ARABI, 6-12 Sep 79) s.o
MAURITAN3A
- Councii of Ministers Introducts New Tax Measures
- (MARCHES TROPICAUX ET MEDITERRANEENS, 7 Sep 79) .~e...
: Well Urilling Program Set Up
(MARCHES iROPICAUX ET MEDITE''.RANEIINS, 7 Sep 79)
PAGE
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9
12
14
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- a - [IyI NE & A- 121 FOUOJ
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CONTENTS (Continued)
Page
TUNISIA
.
- Economic Growth Continuing
(MARCHES TROPICAUX ET MEDITERRAIIEENS,
21 Sep
79)
33
Tunisian Develo Ment Project Participation
- (MARCHES TROPICAUX ET MEDITERR,ANEENS,
21 Sep
79)
37
,
Education, Growth, Jobs Reviewed
, (MARCHES TROPICAUX ET MEDITERRANEENS,
21 Sep
79)
38
Brief s
Cooperation With USSR
43
WESTEftN SAIiARA
- Conditions in Dakhla Under Mauritanian Rule
Noted
(CANIBIO 162 16-29 Sep 79)

44
Sahaxan Issue I,ikely To Be Decided on.Battle
field
(THE MIDDI,E EAST, Oct 79)

48
Briefs
' Sahara Problem
51
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ALGERIA
COIrMENTARY SEES BENDJEDID'S POLITICAL STYLE TAKTNG SHAPE
Paris MARCHES TROPICAUX ET MEDITERRANEENS in French 7 Sep 79 pp 2425, 2426
- [Text] Western public opinion sees the Algerian Government characterized -
by the futurE it holds in store for Mr Ahmed ben Bella. With the accession
= of Mr Chadli Bendjedid to the presidency, the governmental tendency veered
- toward clemency; but the immediate and total liberation of Mr Ben Bella -
- would have exasperated the "hardliner clan" and rendered the task of the
authorities difficult; anci, be that as it may, President Ctiadli Bendjedid is an extremely cautious man, opposed to sensationalism and inclined to
temporize. The decision taken early in July in regard to Mr Ben Bella is
_ true to the style of Algeria's new head of state: the:too outspoken inde-
- pendence hero's conditions of house arrest were lightened, but at tYte same
time he was moved to an obscure locale in a distant governorate, where he
is pexm;.tted to receive Algerian visitors but not foreignera, and is not -
free to talk to the press.
The Algerian authorities apgear to have initially considered this as merely -
a first step, whereafter if the former president remained discreet and avoid-
ed arouaing too many reactions in the country and abroad a second step
could soon follow. It is not certain, however, that these liberal inten-
tions still exist. In fact, Mr Ben Bella, after responding from his resi-
- der.ice in M'stla, as he thought he could, to questions from an outlying radio
station, no longer receives direct telephone calls, and his mail is now
be:ing censored. On the other Iiand, his wife was contacted toward the end -
of July by the ASSOCIATED PRESS correspondent in.Algiers, Mrs Martine �
Rossard, whose dispatch was circulated throughout the international press.
These family confidences reveal that Mr Ben Bella is highly critical of the
regime's leaders and of pulicies followed since his eviction: He denounces
as do many Algerians, the bureaucratization of agr.tculture,the absurdities
committed in the name of industrialization, tY;e hoti.sing crisis, the corrup-
tion. He regrets that A].geria no longer supports substantively the libera-
_ tion movements in southern Africa. He is deeply hostile toward Islamic
cundamentalists; and should he return to the political scene--a possibility
he does not exclude--it would be neithPr in associatiun with them nor with
Mr Fernat Abbas nor Mr Ben Khedda, nor with':the~current governing team...
These statements, indirectly made though they were, are hardly lilcely to
- � encourage the govermnent to again relax the rPStrictions under which the
former przsident is current:Ly being held.
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Complex Organization and Political Activity, but Extensive Infermation
From a governace viewpo9.nt, the same measured and cautious styl.e that chaxac- -
terizes the "solution" to thE Ben Bel"La case is evident in the delineation r
and functioning of the institut3on, which are being reshaped with a great _
deal of tact. The presidential system continues; neither the line of ac- _
tion being followed by the new head of state nor the partial constituCional
revision voted on 30 June have in any way changed its nature. But numerous
details and a certain manner of proceeding have now changed. _
' With regard to ?.aws, the leaders and.representatives of the Algerian people
- acted immediately to avoid being again taken by surprise in the event of
a future "unavailability" Qf the president; the steps to be taken in such
an eventuality are now set forth in detail (nexi Article 117). The presi-
dential term of office has been reduce3 from 6 Lo 5 years, so that it now
coincides with the scheduled coagresses of the FLN [National Liberation
Front], of which the head of state is also the secretary general.
Not only one but several vice presidents may now be appointed by the head
- of state. Thus, a balance amomg diverse political trends, should this
ever become necessary, could be more eaRily attained. But since'the present
government seems to have achieved a satisfactory bl.end of political views,
the appointment of several vice presidents is not likely to come about in
the very near future.
On the other hand, the designation of a prime minister, heretofore optianal,
is now obligatory. President Boumedienne never availed him of this option
- to name a second; President Bendjedid, however, upon the recommendations of
the FLN congress, immediately agpointed a haad of government in the pprson
of Mr Mohamed Abdelghani, who was already minister of interior and now holds
both offices.
It is still, as he says, the head of state who in fact presides over the _
_ weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers. Tut now the prime minister
_ presides over "interministerial councils" of varying composition, called
according to circumstances and as may be directed by the Counc3l of Minis-
,ters, for detailed treatment of cert:-in complex governmental matters. -
Three such intermtrcisterial councils were held on 17 and 18 July, dedicated
respectively to tourism, education (situation of the teacher corps, teacher
training, staffing and administration of school establishments), and occu-
pational and technical training. The latter council was ir~tegrated by nine
- ministers and six secretari2s general of other ministries.
The meetings and proceedings of the Council of Ministers and of the inter-
ministerial councils are .reported in explicit communiques which are given _
wide publicity by the press and radio stations. The mavements and activi-
ties of the ministers and the sQssians of the People's National Assembly _
El
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~ are reported in a more detailed manner. The activities and speeches of the
- president are of course the objects of particularly extensive media coverage
and commentaries. But the latter an d the meetings of mass r,~rganizations no
= longer represent, as they did i.n the past, the full extent of information
being made available to the public on Algerian political life,
The People's Natiocial Assebmly makes it a point of honor to not ftinction as
a mere rubber stamping bureau. For example, acting upon a government pro-
posal that, in cases where a deputy's seat remained vacant, electiens be
held within 1 year, ttie Assembly dec--ded that this period was too long and
amended it to 6 months before enacting it intc law on 2 July.
- In accordance with Article 125 of the constitution, on the other hand,, the
FLN Political Bureau created, on 20 June, a"Security Supreme Council" to
advise the head of state on security matters. This Supreme Council, under
the chairmanship of the head of state, includes the president of the People's
National Assembly, the party coordinator, the prime minister, and tne minis-
ters of Loreign affairs, defense and interior.
- Mr Chadli Bendjedid, president af the republic, currently ho!ds, as is icnown,
the Defense Ministry portfolio as well. Observers judge that in _r.his m:inner
he retains all the necessary means of ensuring, i� need be, that an; eventual
decision of his will prevail. Infoi-ination from unofficial sources also
_ attaches significance to the military meetings called by and presided over
by hir Chadli Bendjedid. Fur instance, on 10 July he conferred with;.the in-
spector general of the People's National Army, withthe secretary ge:ieral and
� the central dire'otors of the National Defense Ministry, and with the military
- regional chiefs. On 26 .;uly, the president personally pinned the insignias
of their new grades on seven recently promoted colonels: Kasdi Merbah,
secretary general of the Naticnal Defense Ministry and me-inber of the FLN
Political Bureau; Mahammed Alleg, director of the Army Political Commissariat;
- Moustafa Chelloufi, commandant of the Natioual Gc-c.aarn:erie; the commandants
of the lst, 2d and 3d Military Regions and the coicmandar_t of the Greater
. Algiers Military Sector--the latter six all being nPm'~---rs of the FLN Central
Committee. Numerous promotions to the grades of lieutenant colonel and
_ major were also announced, to the great satisfaction of the army, which had
been severely deprived of promotions under President Boumediene's regime.
Distinctions Among Bodies and Institutions, but Mobility of Staffing and
Multiplicity of Assignments
According to Algerian Revolutionary Government Principles, sharg distinc-
tions are drawn between the func*_ions of ti;p FLN in narional affairs and
those of the government and of the Assembly. The formulation of concepts,
of decisions on their more fundamental aspects, and of the guidelinas for
their implementation are all vested in the party; their enabling .legisla-
tion is the function of the assemhlv; the tasks of organization and imple-
mentation are the function of the incui,:bent ministers, making use of and
supervising the administrative apparatus.
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= But in the same way tha.t the top military brass are also well situated with-
in the FLN hierarchy, as we have just seen, many of the upper echelon govern�- -
ment officials also hold upper echelon positions in the FLPI--its Political -
Bureau or Central Conunittee--and thus take part in the various orders of
activity.
, At the summit, moreover, the head of state is also the secretary general of
- the FLN. The FLN Political Bureau will meet on 13 June, fer example, under
_ his chairmanship, specificaliy to discuss the functions and procedures of
~ the commissions under the Central Committee, as well as the creation of a
commission within the party to formulate, under the chairmanship of Mr
- Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi, minister counsellor to the president, a general popu- -
lation reg4stration plan for submittal to the People's National Assembly.
The press and radio broadcasts are keeping the citizens informed on these
complex activities. _
Impnrtant missions abroad are being entrusted not solely, as heretofore, -
to ministers but alsc to upper echelon leaders of the FLN, a practice that ~
-is no dcubt aimed at broadening the functions of the party. Thus, at the
beginning of July, Mr Sliman Hoffman, member of the Central Committee and _
head;of its International Relations Comnission, toured Africa in an officiaZ `
- capae:ity to transmit messages from President Bendjedid to the heads of
state!of Sao Tome, Zambia, Tanzania9 Mozambique, Swaziland and Uganda.
And similarly, beginning on 16 August, Mr Mohamed Salah Yahiaoui, Political
Bureau member and FLN coordinator, visited Aden, Baghdad, Lattaquie (Syria)
- and Tripoli. These visits, which lasted a total of 48 hours, enabled him -
to not only transmit the messages entrusted to him to the summits but also
to make other contac.ts: withthe army in Libya and with the Ba'th in Yemen,
Syria and.Iraq. The Palestinian problem, attitudes toward Egypt and Morocco,
developments in the Western Saharan situation, preparations for the non- -
alined si.immit meeting in Havana, were all discussed; and Mr Yahiaoui,
erstwhile opponent of Colonel Bendjedid in the presidential election, was
thus entrusted with a mission o� the highest order of importance. _
In contrast with tne heretofore customary frugality of news concerning the
movements of bearers of presidential messages, the Algerian news media
are devoting lengthy coverage to Mr Yahiaoui's mission and to his homecoming
reception by Mr Chadli Bendjedid. Particular emphasis was placed on Mr
_ Yahiaoui's statements to the Iraq:i press in regar.d to the "conspiracy
against the Arab Nation" which, within "a very vast plan," also strikes,
at the same time, at the Maghreb and the East. On that occasion, the high
tilgerian c:missary recalled the existing commitments to Algeria's "brothers
of the Machrek," despite the difficulties being encountered in the Maghreb.
4
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_ The Algerian press also reported his etatements made upon his arrival in
- Algiers: "To implement t:his plsn, iniperialism has mobilized the Egyptian
regime in the Machrek and the Moroccan regime in the Ma.ghreb...The Rabat
- regime is at the origin of the Camp David conspiracy."
The role that the FLN has traditionally played in Algeria's foreign rela-
~ tions, through contacts with correspondent political organizations, is thus
being highlighted with unaccustomed vigor.
COPYRIGHT: Rene Moreux et Cie Faris, 1979
9399
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BEN BELLA'a HOUSE ARREST TN M'SILA DESCRIBED
Paxis JEUNE AFRIQUE in Fr.ench 3 Oct 79 pp 50, 51
ALGrRTA
[Article by Hamid Barrada: "The Man of M'Sila"]
_ [Text] "I have returned from Qom." "So and so was in ypm Iast week." "When
_ are you going to Qom?" These snatches of conve'rsatioiz were not heard in Iran,
but in Algeria. They do not refer to the second capital of the former empire
- of the Pahlavi, where the all-powerful Khomeyni has set up his headquarters,
but f4�Sila where a man stripped of all power for more than 14 years lives
under house arrest. This man is, of course, Ahmed Ben Bella. The compaxison
between the first president of the Algerian Republic and the hea.d of the
Islamic Republic has f'lourished in sone subversive spirits, perhaps to give
substance to a wild hope but especially because truly, the village located
- 250 kilometers from Algiers has become, like Qom, a place of pilgrimage.
' Ben Bella has been there for almost 3 months, and the wave of his visitors
has scarcely receded; daily some 30, sometimes double tha,t come on certain
peak days, as the holiday which followed Ramadan. They come from all corners
of.' Algeria, from Oran, where the ex-president comes from, but also from
Kabyl'La, frori the Aures. People from Mostaganem rented a bus to make the trip.
. People from another village insisted that the local orchestra be included on
- the trip. Most do not forget �the traditional of.fering: a laar,b, a ba,g of
semolina, a sugar Ioaf.... These gifts are not too much to defray the expenses
resulting from seeing so many people. The forme,r president of the republic
xeceived, when he was in solitary confinement, a pension of about 4,400 FF,
- and apparent].y it has not been increased since his transfer to M'Sila.
Ren T~ella's Father-in-law caxries out the duties of director of proi:ocol by
welcomirig the visitors. When he is absent, it falls to 77r. PTakkache, ex-
min:tster oi healtr who has chosen in fact to live in M'Sila, to do thE job.
No security measures axe taken. Ben Bella's �riends worry about this, 'but he
woul3 not discuss taking the least precaution. "Visiting izours" are not
regulated, but the ex-president receives practically frorit 10:00 A.M. until
7~nera,lly after a:Cternoon prayer (axound 6:00 P.M.).

The visitors are not just Ben Bella�s friends and supporters. There are
veterans of the OS [Special Organization],or o'L the "Committee of 22" which
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= unleashed the uprising of 1 November 195k; there is Hadj Ben,Alla, who was
the preside nt of the National Assembly until the coup d'etat of June 1965,
= and also Col Amar Ouamrane, one of the l.eading figures of -the wax who fought
bitterly aga.inst the former head of state. There are especial].y the people
o.f modest means whom }3en T3ella does not always know who come to see him as
in the past to discuss their problems. People go to M'Sila to see a man they
did not expect to see a,gain, to recall heroic times, or simply to discuss
the coup. People go to M'Sila for the past and the future, to remember and
to dream.. . .
. What do people talk about? What does he talk about? Listening to several
= men who made the M'Sila trip, gathering their impressions, one can determine
the themes which reoccur in thp conversations. First everyone agrees:
"T3en Bella is in excellent shape, physically and mentally." People find him,
at 63, rejuvenated. Some go so far as saying that "he does not have one white
hair," but good photos show that he is greying at the temples. Colorael
Ouamrane said to him in reproach, "We have all a,ged except you, hoh' do you
do it?" He answered: "Thanks to my wife, I have remained young...:"
_ The ex-president does not appear uninformed after the long yeaxs oF confine-
ment he endured. His interlocu'l-ors ase struck by his knowledge of the
country's affairs. Naturally, he is not fond of Boumediene's government
which he c onsiders a resounding failuxe. He deems that agriculture should
have heen the priority in the state concerns. Generally, economic policy
should have endeavored to solve the problems of employment. In educational
matters, he remains a partisan of Arabization. A practicing but unostenta-
' tious Mosle m, he is rather hostile to the religious fundamentalism which
has developed in recent yeaxs in Algeria as elsewhere. He is passionately
interested in the Iranian revolution, bu+., considers that fundamentalism has
made it deviate dangerously. He believes that it goes without saying tha.t.
the woman has another place in the rtoslem society than the one she currently
- ho7d.s. He s-ets the example. He realizes that the photos which show him in
_ his wife 7ohra Sellami's company in a let us say loving attitude shocked
Moslem elders and does not exactly reflect what the image of a pol.itical.
7ea.der in austere Algeria should be, but he does not ca,re, ihe ex-journal3.st
of RL�'VOLUTZO'V AF'RIrAINE' participates in thz discussions without the lea; t
conpunction.
On another point, I?en Bell.a seems to have reflected--and evolvedo he is
- a;ain:t the single party. He adds that while awaiting the comp].etF change
~ to a multiple party system, one could contemplate transitional formul.as by
allowing polit.ica.l factions inside a.nd outside the party to express them-
selves. In this regarci, he thinks f.reeciom of the press is urgently needed.
tie is circu mspect about current problems. His intimate friends know that he
_ has taken a position on the Sahara conflict, but he pre:fers to avoid the
subject. He only states that Boumediene created the affair a,nd "�more
Maphr.ebian than ever," he declaxes tha.t an open war between Algeria and
Morocco would be a catastrophe. His silences axe equally meaningf'ul. Not
_ 7
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- a word on the army. Of Pre:;ident Chadli, he only says :"He is a courageotis
man. He proved it by releasing me."
On the subject of his own experience in power (1962-1965), he admits that -
he made "mistakes," but he is hardl~ moi�e forthcoming. Rather, he _
reportedly tenda to self-criticize others, while making arguments that can =
.W only disiurb his interlocutors. Colonel Ouamrane, who gave up all political
activity after independence, said to him: You should have listened to us in
1962, and not allied yourself !Jith the military." Ben Bella retorted: "You i
can say what you,like but what have you done in the 14 years since I le.ft '
- tne political scene?" As might be suspected, these permanent discussions at M'Sila which seem like
meetings and ce.ll meetings axe not regarded favorably in some high places. -
- The release of the forme-r head of state or, more precisely, the easing of his conditions of detention were supposed to solve the "Ben Bella problem" j
by supreasing him. But his persistent populaxity has upset the calculations.
The attitude of the authoriti.es about access to the Kabouya villa (where -the =
ex-president and his family live) seems to have changed somewhat. The sur- _
veillance has changed from good-natured to increasingly meddlesome. That, at
9 least, is what Ben Bella's lawyer, Madeleine Lafue-Veron, says in a recent
- statement. In her opinion, the former president lives under "improved -
prison" conditions.
"There are members of the military security in the basEment of the vi11a. It -
is impossible to receive an outside aall or to place a long distance call from
the villa. Mail is censored and sometimes not delivered. The villa is tapped
as without a doubt is the BMW in which Ben Bella is obliged to ride, escorted by unmasked police cars. Until naw, the ex-president has asked in vain to '
go to his mother's tomb in Maghnia, tn make a pilgrimage to Mecca, to meet
with his lawyer." -
- The SM [Milita,ry Security] is in fact very vigilant, and on occasion, exerts
presaure ta halt the continual flow of visitors. One citizen who came from �
abroad in his car to M'Sila was summoned on two occasions to Algiers. He was
asked what his ties were to the former president. He answered: "I am Ben _
_ Bellist." Same scenario with Colonel Ouamrane. The SM officials did not
understand that this foxmer adversa:y of Ben Bella would make the M'Sila `
_ pil;rimage, moreover, accompanied by three friends. "What did you talk -
- about?" "Algeria:" replied in a Gaullist ma.nner the former resistance _
fighter. =
COPYRIGHT: Jeune Afrique GRUPJTA 1979
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ALGER IA
c-
_ REASONS FOR CLEANUP CAMPAIGN DISCUSSED -
~ London THE MIDDLE EAST in Engliah Oct 79 pp 14, lb
[Text ] phqt,rversof the Algerian political scene are
impiitiently awaiting the important central
~ committ.ee meeting of the �tuling ivational
. Liheriition Front (FLN), scheduled for
Decemher, for clues to the economic and
_ politiciil policies which will be proposed at
th pHrty congress, now expected to be held
next :+pring. Meanwhile, there are signs that
President Chadli Benjedid hes been con-
_ solidntinK his personal authority inside both
the Cuvemment a:id the higher levels of tlie
9ttite npparatus.
In a diplnmatic reshuffle at the end of
AuKuyt, 13 ambassadors were replaced, and
Chadli was able to plsce some trusted
adviacr,+ in key capitals. At the same time he
rernorved several close collaboraturs of
former Foreign Minister Atxlel-Aziz
HiMe(lika, who had carved out a veritable
fief fcir himself in this sector,
After Bouteflika lost the race to succeed the late President Boumedienne,
senior diplomatic personnel closely associated with him were given purely
hcnorary positions or posts of secondary importance abroad. Bouteflika
has decidedly fallen from grace since the beginning of tiie year. THF
MIDDLE EAST has ?ee?'ned that he no longer attends FLN Political Bureau
sessions or Government meetings. And his name nevex appears in the official
media.
~ His decline is mainly the result of the
_ behind�the-scenes inHuence exerted by
Party Co-ordinator Calonel Muhammad
_ Salah Yahiaoui, generally considered to be
. the regime's eminence grise. He leads the
raclical pan-Arab sector of the FI,N which is
~ seeking to intensify the revolutionary
process +end has been using the little-known
= Algeripn communist movement (PAGS),
heavily backed by Moscow, to advarce his
_ p()BItIUfI.
Yahiaoui's dilemma is that the groups
which constitute his power base - essentially
- the mas.y movements and the media - do not
necessarily espouse the ideal witli which he
identifies. In any case, whether Yahiaoui is
' u5ing these groups or they are using him is
largely an acadernic questinn, for the real
,
9
power, the army, is firmly behind Chadli,
especially since Miry after the switching of
regional commanders.
A.9 a result of this reshuffle, Col. Aixiullah
Bilhucet became Inspector Generail and I,t-
Col. Ktis(ii Merbah hecame Srcretnry uf the
tiatiunNl Peuple'y Army, replnrinR (',i1
Abdel-Hamid nl�Att,-,h whol tu
t)ther -iiitir-v in tht- Ueft�n