On February 22, the Algerians will mark the 1st anniversary of Hirak, an unprecedented popular movement challenging the ruling power in the country, which pushed for the exit, on April 2, of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

For almost a year, weekly demonstrations, organized every Friday, continue to demand the end of the "system" and the departure of its representatives. The election of Abdelmadjid Tebboune, winner of the presidential election on December 12, in an election imposed by the army and boycotted by the majority of Algerians, and the formation of a new government did not change the situation.

The demonstrators remain mobilized and call for "a period of transition" which should lead to a change of regime.

To take stock of Hirak, France 24 interviewed Khaled Drareni, a freelance journalist, an observer at the outset of the protest and one of the figures of the popular movement.

France 24: What is your view on Hirak, almost a year after the start of this movement which caused the fall of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika?

Khaled Drareni: I am looking at this movement with optimism, because after a year of exceptional mobilization, it has shown how united, aware, peaceful and fully committed the Algerian people are. Now the hardest part remains to be done, because the main demand was and remains the departure of the system which governs Algeria. However, it is far from gone, since the system has strengthened and even regenerated through President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his government. The challenge opposed a fifth term of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, but in fact, we are in a fifth term in disguise, a kind of fourth term bis, with Abdelmajid Tebboune, former Prime Minister and close to Bouteflika, and members of the government who, for many, are figures known to be close to the system.

Some observers believe that the movement has run out of steam. Do you think that such a goal is still possible to achieve?

A year of mobilization does not mean that this movement is dead, on the contrary, it remains intact and will continue with new challenges to meet and new objectives to achieve. The march of the Algerian people which started on February 22, 2019 cannot stop halfway, it is not possible. I think the Algerians have already won, and the system has already lost, it's just a matter of time. It's been a year since the movement started, some will say that it is very short, others will say that it is very long, but what is certain is that we cannot bring down an old system who is over 50 in a few days, a few months, or even a few years. There is still a long way to go, we have already achieved many things, but there are still many other things to conquer. I am thinking in particular of the demands of the population demanding more social justice, the guarantee of freedoms and a real democracy. Freedom of expression and that of the press have been declining in recent times, which shows that there is still a long way to go.

President Abdelmajid Tebboune claims to have reached out and promised to respond to Hirak's demands. What do you think ?

It is a false outstretched hand. Algerians are not fooled and know that power is against Hirak, even if he spends his time glorifying it. Abdelmajid Tebboune knows that he is the result of an illegitimate election and probably the most rejected since the independence of Algeria in 1962. We see it every Friday, we are still far from any democratic opening, and the goal of power is to kill and muzzle this movement. It is enough to observe the scale of the police mobilization and the repression which seeks to prevent the demonstrators from marching in the morning, which reduces the spaces for demonstrations in the street, and which prohibits access to public places.

Could Hirak take another form? Should it endow itself with representatives and transform itself into a political party?

The strength of this movement is that it has no representative. It is an advantage but a weakness at the same time. On the other hand, a large part of the Algerians are opposed to political parties, because they have seen what the parties, whether they are in power or in opposition, have done during the past fifty years. For my part, I think that the Hirak must crystallize around political demands, and have a vision of the future. On February 20, in Algiers, a national conference is to be held. It will not bring together representatives, but Hirak actors from civil society, such as lawyers, journalists, activists, academics, who have participated in the movement since the early days. Coming from several regions of the country, they will meet, not to speak on behalf of the movement, but to discuss and say how they see the future. This historic mobilization, as spontaneous as it is unexpected, must absolutely continue in the same way as it started, that is to say in a completely peaceful manner. Let us hope that one day it will be able to realize the dreams of all Algerians, namely those of a free and democratic Algeria.

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