FLN’ SG Baadji, in exclusive interview with Dzair Tube, tackles range of sensitive national, regional, international causes
By: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- The Secretary General (SG) of the National Liberation Front Party (FLN), Abou El Fadhl Baadji, noted, in an exclusive interview with Dzair Tube TV, that the FLN party broke with the old “practices” that distorted the party’s image, stressing that “thanks to the reforms introduced, the party regained the trust of Algerians who went to the polls on a vast scale and voted massively for it.”
“We deployed huge efforts to put an end to the illegitimacy that struck some of the party’s organic structures. Our aim is to safeguard the legacy of the party to remain, forever, loyal to the service of Algeria and its people. We inherited a situation of illegality. Huge efforts are exerted to nip the old practices from the bud, including the dirty money which led to the reluctance of young people to engage in political life,” underlined the new Secretary General of the FLN, Baadji Abou El Fadhl, an outstanding political figure, adding that “the party preserved its leading position on the political scene both in the legislative and local elections thanks to the unwavering commitments of its militants to the crowning of the process of institutional building and the transition to a new governance that aims at giving a strong impetus to local development”.
“The ones who are attacking the party, dubbing it “the museum” are our competitors and not the Algerian people who cast their votes in favor of our party. This latter (i.e the party) regained its former glory over the past two years, thanks to a renewed discourse and a rigorous political will which has given activists a voice after a long period of lost legitimacy. We will always maintain our leading and prominent role due to the will of the militants and the confidence of the Algerian people.” he stressed.
Mr. Baadji evoked the most important axes of the party to widen the membership of young people within its structures, welcoming, in this regard, the performance of the young elected officials who, according to him, knew how to “renew the political discourse by proposing, in particular, adequate solutions to various problems”.
“Appropriate training frameworks have been put in place in order to enable young people to take part in political life and engage in political action with confidence. 50% of the party’s members are less than 40 years old, while 90% of them hold a university degree and many of the FLN’s Mayors are less than 30 years old…this category of our society is an important asset for Algeria,” he added.
“The inclusion of young people emanates from a deep conviction that this segment of the society represents the future of the country and should not be marginalized or excluded. I call upon young people to actively participate in political life and to climb the ladder of responsibility within the party,” he further explained.
As for the upcoming 11th congress, Baaji Aboufadl referred to a “roadmap”, including, among other things, a review of his party’ structures, training, and the separation between dirty money and politics. He noted, in this regard, that the National Commission was installed last May, with the aim to launch preparations for the congress which will be “unifying and decisive”. “This congress will draw the party’s roadmap for the coming period,” he added.
“To this end, he stated, 05 commissions have been installed, namely; The Basic Law Committee, the Intellectual Foundations Committee, the Party’s General Program Committee, the Political Regulations Committee, and the Material, Human, Media and Logistics Preparation Committee”.
As for the election of the party’s delegates, Baadji said that up to 25000 militants took part in a strong sign that the party began to recover, referring to the integration of women as “they offer different perspectives and interests in the decision-making process”.
On another level, FLN’ SG emphasized the Party’s accompaniment of the reforms undertaken by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, including the Referendum on the new Constitution, the organization of the legislative and local elections, the reinforcement of individual freedoms, as well as the balance of powers, welcoming “the approach of constructive dialogue and direct consultations” initiated by the President with a “firm and sincere will”.
“The party adheres to this approach for a solid internal front capable of facing up to dangers as well as the vicious and malicious plots hatched against Algeria by ignominious circles of handful henchmen of colonial infamy, haunted by their chronic hostility to Algeria… Such behaviour is meant to influence Algeria’s positions and its interaction with its regional and international environment, a cooperation based on mutual interests with a total respect of the principle of independence of States and peer-to-peer approach,” he underlined, adding that “Algeria has witnessed very substantial changes reflected in the restoration of the State’s authority, the establishment of a new institutional structure worthy of big democracies, the strengthening of a social policy that protects the most vulnerable classes, the return in force at the international level, in addition to the digital transformation…. Once elected, President Tebboune was aware of what awaited him domestically and internationally. He quickly launched the institutional, economic, and political projects to change the practice of power and rethink a new democratic model”.
With respect to Algeria’s foreign policy, Baadji noted that New Algeria, whose foundations were laid by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune amidst international changing circumstances, has reinforced its regional and international position, playing a pivotal and pioneering role through its solidarity with the liberation movements in the world.
“Thanks to the judicious and far-sighted policy adopted by the country’s high authorities, under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and Minister of National Defense, who, since coming to power in 2019 has confirmed his full commitment to Arab and African issues, New Algeria is playing a leading and axial geopolitical role in the region based on its long-standing principles. President Tebboune gave a new impetus to a disempowered diplomatic apparatus and in a very short time, he managed to place Algeria on the world chessboard. Inspired by its anti-colonial struggle, Algiers is standing up as a voice of oppressed people, a defender of states’ sovereignty… It exerted huge efforts to rescind the observer status granted to the Zionist Entity in the African Union (AU). In addition, world leaders hailed Algeria’s efforts and the means it has mobilized to ensure the success of the Arab Summit,” he said.
Economically, the official stated that: “Based on President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s vision to focus on economic issues, making his tenure an economic era par excellence, New Algeria has embarked on a very ambitious reform program of its legal framework to boost all-around investments with the aim of achieving economic recovery. Algeria is deploying significant efforts to create an environment conducive to the transition from a rentier economy to an economy with diversified incomes without dependence on oil and price volatility on international markets. Besides, President Tebboune encourages local production as our country enjoys significant technological capacities and human resources. He also rationalized the import operations with a view to protecting the national product and establishing a developed agricultural and industrial fabric, constituting the cornerstone of a solid national economy which guarantees the country’s national security in its global sense”, argued the SG.
“Thanks to these measures, he emphasized, Algeria’s trade balance recorded a surplus of over USD 17 Billion. The foreign exchange reserves have recently recorded a marked increase, exceeding the expected rate. Furthermore, Algeria projects a colossal budget of nearly 100 billion dollars for 2023, a first in the country. In view of these positive indicators, I reassure that the beginnings of economic recovery are starting to appear, and the ambitious development program initiated by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, is currently materializing despite the difficult circumstances the country has gone through due to the repercussions of the crises that have affected the world over the past two years”.
Welcoming Algeria’s decision to join the BRICS group consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Baadji said the bloc “accounts for about a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product”.
The official slams the malicious campaigns and the vicious plots orchestrated by hostile parties, which are desperately trying to sow chaos and disaccord, with their profound rancor towards our fortified Algeria, its great people and the achievements made in many fields, in record time, under the new adopted orientation.
“Algeria’s development is a gain for the whole region and the Arab nation. We consider our neighbors, sisterly countries. Algeria harbors no hostilities towards brotherly Arab people, but it refuses categorically the malicious maneuvers of the Moroccan regime, jeopardizing the security of the region. The Moroccan kingdom has not ceased its unfriendly, low and hostile maneuvers against Algeria for a day. The recent comments by the Zionist Foreign Minister Yair Lapid who was on a historic visit to Morocco where he attacked Algeria from this neighboring country, in blatant violations of good neighboring relations, did not go unnoticed. Morocco has turned its territory into a platform allowing foreign powers to speak with hostility about Algeria. Besides, the electronic website of the Agency “Algeria Press Service” in its multilingual versions has been the subject of a series of severe cyberattacks. These cyberattacks have been located and originated from Morocco. In the face of a provocation that is reaching its climax, Algeria has decided to sever its diplomatic ties with this country,” he stressed.
With respect to Western Sahara, the FLN’ SG reiterated the firm and unwavering position of Algeria, stemming from the principles and values of the First November Revolution, in favor of the cause of the Sahrawi people and their right to self-determination and independence, in accordance with international legality and United Nations (UN) resolutions, denouncing the complete and shameful silence of the Moroccan regime regarding the recovery of Ceuta and Melilla islands.
“Morocco’s Makhzen voluntarily cedes Ceuta and Melilla to Spain. Besides, if Western Sahara is an integrated part of Morocco, why was it divided with Mauritania,” he questioned.
In this vein, the Secretary General of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), Mr. Abou El Fadl Baadji, reiterated his party’s unwavering position in support of the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
As regards the Palestinian cause, the official stressed on Algeria’s principled and unfailing support for the Palestinian cause and Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian State with al-Quds as its capital, noting that this cause is sacred and Algerian par excellence as Algerians, under the colonialism in 1948, rushed to join the war along with their Arab brothers to defend Palestinians. He said that President Tebboune’s approach to unify the Palestinian ranks and the signing of Algiers’ Declaration reaffirm the permanent commitment of Algeria to the Palestinian cause.
In an unrelated context, the official lauded the efforts exerted by the units of the Algerian Civil protection and the teams of the Algerian Red Crescent who set of to Syria and Turkey to partake in the rescue operations for missing persons following the devastating earthquake that struck the sisterly countries, causing countless victims and wreaking terrible infrastructural damage. He noted that the Algerian Civil Protection team was ranked first according to statistics from the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), insisting on the pledge and the personal attention given to this operation by the President of the Republic, who was closely monitoring the situation.
He noted President Tebboune’s willingness for Algeria to be at the forefront of the States to arrive in the affected areas to provide first aid to the victims, explaining that” the President of the Republic has instructed that all measures should be taken to this effect.”
Asked about the social media campaign that has been launched in Algeria, calling for the boycott of French products across the country following the secret and illegal exfiltration, by French officials, of an Algerian national whose presence on the national soil is considered necessary by a decision of the Algerian judiciary, The FLN’ SG praised the initiative, condemning, in the strongest terms, the violation of the national sovereignty by diplomatic, consular and security personnel under the French State who participated in a clandestine and illegal operation to exfiltrate an Algerian national whose physical presence on the national territory is prescribed by the Algerian justice.
“The recent malicious maneuvers of France, disrespecting the sovereignty of the Algerian justice and state, were aimed at poisoning Algerian, Tunisian privileged relationships. However, this latter would never be shaken by these vicious maneuvers. Algeria has chosen to be alongside Tunisia in every sense of the word, especially that Tunisia is known for its honorable stances, rejecting the normalization of ties with the Zionist Entity and favoring the joint Arab action,” he noted, adding: “After the desperate attempts of the French press to exploit the shameful affair of the exfiltrated Bouraoui, with the aim of destabilizing the strong and fraternal relations between Algeria and Tunisia, the two nations’ Presidents reiterated their determination to further consolidate their strong ties”.
Regarding France, the official said: “The very unfriendly act threatens recently mended relations between Algeria and France which vowed to build a new pact following President Macron’s visit to Algeria a few months ago. Some parties in France with the collaboration of Makhzen, faced with the Maroc gate scandal, and the Zionist Entity are throwing cold water on Algerian, French bilateral relations”.
The FLN’ SG did not fail to evoke the appellation of “Uncle Tebboune”, stressing that it was a spontaneous initiative by Algerians, that was spread to different Arab countries due to President Tebboune’s remarkable and honorable principled positions in the service of his people and the Arab nation.
As for the sporting events, the FLN’ SG hailed the exceptional organization of the multisport events held in Algeria. “The sumptuous and majestic organization illustrates the leading role of our country in all spheres,” the official concluded.
