Research expert attacks policies

Ismail Abdelaziz Hariti Algiers - Hocine Bousalah Ismail Abdelaziz Hariti, director of the Amel el-Oumma Centre for Research and Strategic Studies has described the state of Algerian strategic studies as "deteriorated and dire," leading to "floundering" decision-making. Speaking to Arabstoday, he lamented "the absence of planning used in advanced states to improve vital fields." Hariti said the current conditions in his home country had "engendered an unclear policy that has been thrown in sharper relief over the recent period as the Algerian regime dealt with various national and regional crises." Hariti also criticised "the absence of planning in light of the absence of a ministry for planning." Such a ministry, Hariti said, "would operate on the principles of research and strategic studies, instructing those in power." The director also referred to a state of "retirement" and seclusion under a "totalitarian regime." This absence of a clear strategy, Hariti said, "has brought Algeria back to the time of the single-party system" in the shape of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s reforms. "It is unreasonable for Algeria to introduce unilateral reforms in light of the democratic climate which surrounds Algeria from all sides," he said, applauding the Moroccan political reform, which he described as "successful." The Amel el-Oumma centre has held a number of seminars and studies on this subject since its establishment in 2010 and Hariti said they highlighted the importance of "profound study of the people’s needs and creating reforms in line with them." Describing reforms as a "failure" and a "political regression," Hariti said that conditions in Algeria are ripe for the arrival of the Arab Spring to the North African country "very soon. The researcher also said that the constitutional amendments represented an "important" stage, and demanded that Algeria’s political elite "carry out their responsibility toward the people by forming an alliance despite political inclinations and uniting behind a strategic vision toward radical change, in line with the Egyptian experience." The researcher asserted the necessity for the new constitution to be put to a popular referendum and warned against ratifying the document via "elected bodies such as parliament" which he described as "devoid of legitimacy." He also decried the "lack of a clear strategic vision in Algeria’s foreign policies," regarding the various regional crises which he said "affect Algeria and its international credibility." He said Algeria's historical role as protector of truth must remain as strong as ever, slamming the "totalitarian" regime for deriving its "stances and inflexibility" from a desire for self-preservation.