Algerian interior minister calls election opponents "traitors and gays"
Algerian Interior Minister Salaheddine Dahmoun provoked controversy after he violently attacked opponents of the December 12 presidential election, calling them “traitors, mercenaries, homosexuals and the remains of colonialism.”
Private television channels on Tuesday aired the remarks of the minister, who was speaking at the upper house of parliament and was immediately widely circulated on social media, sparking mostly angry reactions.
“Today, this colonialism or what is left of colonialism, a colonial ideology that is still alive,” the minister said, “is used by some children or semi-Algerians who are traitors, mercenaries, homosexuals and homosexuals we know one by one. He should explicitly name those he has targeted.
He also recalled quotations of the icon of the revolution against colonialism, Cheikh Bouamama, and the leader of the country’s reform movement, Abdelhamid Benbadis, calling for the fight against colonial France, saying, “We must be united and give a lesson on December 12th to show the unity of the Algerian people and protect our independence.”
The newspaper quoted the “country” daily that the Presidency summoned the Minister of Interior against the background of his controversial remarks, and it is not yet known the decisions that resulted from this recall, which caused great controversy on social media platforms.
For his part, Chief of Staff General Ahmed Qaid Saleh on Tuesday that the presidential election “irreversible” because it “to complete the process of embodying the principles of the revolution against colonialism” French.
Presidential elections to choose a successor to former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned in April under pressure from the street and the army, are being held in the country on June 12.
The country has been protesting against the regime since February 22, and protesters reject the presidential election, saying it aims to reproduce the former regime.
Source: Agencies, Algerian press