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Algeria: Bouteflika Reassures Algerians
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika sent a message to the public on Tuesday (April 30th) to reassure them about his health.
The statement was a first for Algeria. In the past, talk about the president’s health had been off-limits.
“While I continue to receive medical treatment, I must thank almighty God for allowing me to get better and now be on the road to recovery,” the president wrote. “I must also reassure my dear compatriots and thank them for their prayers and messages of sympathy.”
The head of state suffered a minor stroke last Friday and has been at Val-de-Grâce Hospital in Paris since Saturday.
According to Dr. Larbi Tefahi, the kind of stroke suffered by the president – a transient ischemic attack – “is common in people who have high blood pressure and elderly people who are suffering from anxiety”.
Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal also reassured the public about President Bouteflika’s health on Saturday, saying that his condition was “not at all serious”
The president’s illness has drawn a variety of reactions from Algerian politicians. The opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) called for article 88 of the Algerian Constitution to be enforced.
This clause states that the president may be removed from office if he becomes unable to perform his duties.
But Bouguerra Soltani, the head of the Islamist Movement for a Peaceful Society (MSP), said Monday, “Talk about the president’s removal is politically impolite.”
Still, the party demanded “the truth about the president’s health”.
The Workers’ Party said that “like anyone else, the president can have health problems”.
“The president’s illness may be a consequence of the internal and external pressures that he is under. He is human. It must not be forgotten that the situation is very serious in the region, in addition to the internal problems,” said Djelloul Djoudi, the leader of the party’s parliamentary group.
Ennahda wished the president a “speedy return to the country”.
“The political situation is serious. If the post of president becomes vacant, there could be an internal crisis. We hope that the head of state will recover as quickly as possible and return to the country to complete his term of office,” Ennahda press officer Mohamed Hadibi said.
