Algeria needs 'dialogue with Hirak protesters' to avoid crisis

The Hirak staged more than a year of mass protests before being immobilised by the Covid-19 pandemic

A man holds a sign reading" No vote", during a protest rejecting the presidential election in Algiers, Algeria December 11, 2019. Reuters

Algeria's government should launch a dialogue with the Hirak protest movement to prevent an economic crisis triggered by coronavirus lockdown measures and tumbling oil prices, a think tank said on Monday.

The government and the Hirak, which staged more than a year of mass protests before being immobilised by the Covid-19 pandemic, "should take part in a national economic dialogue ... to avoid a major economic crisis," the International Crisis Group said in a report.

Mass protests swept Algeria early last year in response to ailing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's announcement that he would seek a fifth term in office.

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  An outdoor market set up by the Algerian government to prevent crowding inside supermarkets, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease in Algiers, Algeria, April 19, 2020. Reuters

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  A man sweeps an alley of a food market in Algiers, Tuesday April 21, 2020. Algerians are shopping to prepare the month of Ramadan which starts on Thursday in Algeria. AP Photo

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  A man walks by closed shops in Algiers, Wednesday April 29, 2020. Algeria eased confinement measures from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan last Friday by shortening a night curfew and lifting a full lockdown for a province near the capital Algiers. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou)

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  A man waits outside a food market in Algiers, on Tuesday April 21, 2020. Algerians are shopping to prepare the holy month of Ramadan which starts on Thursday in Algeria. AP Photo

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  Workers unload medical supplies from China at Houari Boumediene International Airport in Algiers, Algeria, April 15, 2020. The equipment was donated to Algeria amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. EPA

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  Workers unload medical supplies from China at Houari Boumediene International Airport in Algiers, Algeria, April 15, 2020. The equipment was donated to Algeria amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. EPA

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  A volunteer dentist works on converting a snorkel mask into a respirator, using 3-D printing technology, to reinforce hospitals and help patients suffering from the coronavirus in Algiers, Algeria April 15, 2020. Reuters

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  Volunteer dentists assemble snorkel masks and convert them into respirators, using 3-D printing technology, to reinforce hospitals and help patients suffering from the coronavirus in Algiers, Algeria April 15, 2020. Reuters

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  In this file photo taken on June 13, 2019, Algerian policemen guard the El Harrach prison in the suburbs of the capital Algiers. AFP

They swiftly morphed into demands for a sweeping overhaul of the political system, carrying on well beyond Mr Bouteflika's April 2019 resignation.

The protests were only suspended in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country.

The pandemic and the ensuing oil crisis saw the International Monetary Fund forecast a 5.2 per cent recession in Algeria this year.

The country, which depends on oil exports for 90 per cent of state revenue, is vulnerable to crude price fluctuations.

"The government could be forced to resort to foreign borrowing" and tough austerity measures that would risk "an upsurge in social tensions", the Brussels-based ICG warned.

To avoid such an outcome, the government could "loosen its vice" on the protest movement, it said.

The virus and lockdown measures have not prevented authorities from arresting dozens of Hirak activists, opposition political figures, activists and journalists.

The CNLD prisoners' rights group says authorities are holding around 60 political detainees, mostly over Facebook posts, with the aim of preventing a resurgence of the protest movement.

The ICG warned that the Hirak running out of steam could create a vacuum that would give space to more hardline groups.

It urged international lenders to extend financial assistance to Algeria without setting conditions that were "too strict".

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ruled out seeking loans from the IMF and international financial institutions.