Algeria pardons thousands

2005-11-01 21:31

Algiers - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday pardoned 6 778 prisoners, marking the 51st anniversary of the start of the country's eight-year war of independence with France as well as the end of Ramadan.

The president's office said partial pardons also were being accorded to other prisoners.

Those able to benefit from the full pardon had six months or less of their sentences remaining. Partial pardons shortening sentences by 7 to 11 months were accorded to other prisoners.

The pardons coincided with the 51st anniversary of Algeria's independence war with France on November 1 1954, and the start here of Eid El-Fitr to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Peace, national Reconciliation

His office said the measures were part of the president's efforts to "promote and strengthen the values of solidarity, assistance and forgiveness".

The pardons were a prelude to broader measures expected to be announced as this North African nation moved forward with its charter for peace and national reconciliation - designed to mend a society fractured by more than a dozen years of Islamic insurgency.

Measures to allow remaining insurgents to lay down their arms and return to society were being worked out and were to go before parliament.

Compensation

The charter - approved overwhelmingly in a September 29 referendum - also called for dropping charges against insurgents' suspected accomplices, jailed or in hiding, as well as special compensation for those who had suffered, like the families of thousands of people who disappeared, allegedly at the hands of security forces.

Officials had estimated the number of insurgents still at large at 800 to 1 000. Bouteflika said about 150 000 people had died in the insurgency.

The violence was triggered by an army decision to cancel the January 1992 second round of legislative elections to thwart a likely victory by the now-banned Islamic Salvation Front.

- AP