Abdelmadjid Tebboune — main statements to Al Jazeera (APS state-agency summary), 8 June 2021 (English rendering of Arabic)

ALGIERS- President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune has granted an interview to the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera […] in which he raised several crucial national and regional issues […].

At the domestic level, the president of the Republic said "the genuine and blessed Hirak (protest movement) has saved the Algerian State from failure."

"Algeria was under the hand of an 'issaba' (gang) which stole and transferred hundreds of billions of dollars abroad." The gang "wanted to exploit the illness of the former president to grab power for another five years," President Tebboune said.

"Thirteen million Algerians saved Algeria from the 5th term and the extension of the 4th […]."

At the political level, President Tebboune said "Algeria has definitively got rid of ideological Islam" and "the active Islamist movement in Algeria is different from Islamist movements in other countries."

"Thanks to its peaceful nature, the genuine Hirak came out victorious under the protection of security services and the army," the head of State said […]. "The relationship between the presidency and the Army is a natural one," […] "the Algerian army is a constitutional institution that enshrines the Constitution."

"Algeria carries the torch of Palestine, Western Sahara and oppressed peoples." […]

On relations with neighboring Morocco, President Tebboune said: "we have no problem with Morocco. Morocco has a problem with us." […] reaffirming Algeria's consistent position vis-à-vis Western Sahara. "We do not accept the fait accompli, whatever the circumstances are," he stressed.

As regards the relations with France, President Tebboune broached the existence in France of three lobbies […].