The leaders' cemetery, The funeral of Algerian President Bouteflika

 

Abdelaziz Bouteflika funeral, Bouteflika 2021

Today, Sunday, September 19, all roads lead to the "Al-Alia" cemetery in Algiers, and all eyes are focused on the place where the body of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose death was announced by the Presidency of the Algerian Republic, the day before yesterday, Friday, at the age of 84.

Bouteflika's funeral was held in an official procession surrounded by members of the Republican Guard, and a military vehicle carried Bouteflika's body from his residence in Zeralda to the Alia cemetery.

The funeral ceremony was attended by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, a number of senior officials, and representatives of the diplomatic corps, while the public attendance was modest in the vicinity of the cemetery.

The Algerian authorities announced that the national flag would be flown at half-mast for a period of 3 days.

Farid Alilat, a journalist for the French magazine "Jean Afrique" and author of "Bouteflika...The Secret Story," described the late Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as a man with unbounded ambition.

Alilat explained that Bouteflika was "haunted throughout his life by two obsessions: to obtain and retain power at any cost, with evidence that he wanted to rule for a fifth term, even though he was sick and helpless.

Alilat explains in a report to the French Press Agency that Bouteflika's obsession with remaining in power, despite his absence and illness, is what led to the outbreak of the revolution (the movement) in April 2019, emphasizing that, since 1999, he has had the support and loyalty of the army and intelligence services.

According to Alilat, the twenty years that Bouteflika ruled the country saw many missed opportunities, and many Algerians are still wondering where the money from oil revenues went, while the country suffers from a lack of hospitals and infrastructure, and unemployment remains high. Algeria could also find itself in serious financial difficulties in a matter of years, forcing it to borrow money from abroad. Bouteflika's presidency was also marked by massive corruption, as evidenced by the trials that followed his ouster, which revealed the extent of looting and embezzlement of funds.

The British Middle East Eye website published a report that attributed the president's career from his days with the National Liberation Army in the 1950s to the turn of the twentieth century. Abdelaziz Bouteflika shaped not only his country's contemporary history, but also its political system as well as an entire generation.

Bouteflika's last public appearance was on April 2, 2019, when he was clearly ill and suited up in the traditional djellaba , and he was forced to resign under army pressure amid massive popular protests by millions of Algerians.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika wanted to be remembered as the father of the Algerian people. He always used one of the Algerian proverbs  "Life is hard, but Algeria is harder."

In 2012, Bouteflika broke the title of the country's most incumbent president after the title of the youngest minister in independent Algeria, but he also entered history as the first ruler of the country to be brought down by the street.

The former Algerian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Taleb Brahimi, who worked with Bouteflika in the 1970s, sums up the latter’s rule in one sentence: “No one denies that the country witnessed during his reign achievements in infrastructure and facilities, but in return it witnessed a huge collapse in morals and political practice,” referring to The spread of corruption and the dilution of the political arena.