“The message sent by security forces has many Algerians
bracing for an authoritarian backlash rather than an official opening toward a disillusioned population that largely abstained from last week’s vote,” Ghada Hamrouche writes for
Al-Monitor.
“As persistent as the protests in Hong Kong, the
hirak [Algeria’s protest movement] remains resolutely peaceful; as insistent as Catalonian separatists in their call for independence, the
hirak nevertheless swears by the Algerian nation; as resistant as France’s yellow vests to anointing leaders, the
hirak nonetheless accepts the necessity of political alliances and organization. Algeria’s future will be determined by the
hirak’s ability to
sustain these tensions while managing the nation’s transition to democracy,” Robert Zaretsky writes for
Foreign Affairs.
