Black Spring

The black Printemps is the name given to the revolt of Kabylie, violent the riot S which burst there and their repression by the Algerian armed between April 2001 and April 2002.

April 18th, 2001, a young Berber high-school pupil (Massinissa Guermah) is carried out of a gust of automatic weapon by the gendarmes in the buildings of the gendarmerie of Beni Douala (Grande Kabylie). This event - which falls under series of demonstrations hostile with youth on behalf of the police force - will be, from its extreme gravity, the element release of the Insurrection kabyle.

The April 22nd, the Minister of Interior Department, taking again the false informations of the official statement made public by the command of the national police on the assassination of Guermah, declares that this last was “a 26 year old delinquent”. Following this declaration, the press publishes the birth certificate of Massinissa proving that it was actually about a 16 year old high-school pupil.

Peaceful steps are then organized to denounce the injustices and the abuses of authority. These Manifestation S is repressed hard: the police force shoots with real balls at the demonstrators who are, for the majority, of the schoolboys or the high-school pupils. One deducts more than one forty died and hundreds of casualties, only for the days from April 25th to 28th 2001.

During May, repression is increasingly violent: Torture S, Plundering S of residence and stores, reprisals. The gendarmes make 15 new victims and of tens of casualties. The movement organizes and creates the “ Coordination of the âarchs, will daïras and common ” (CADC).

The June 14th, an imposing walk peaceful converges towards Algiers to give to the president Abdelaziz Bouteflika a text of claim: the “Platform of El Kseur”. The demonstrators are not received and are stopped by the police force. Repression makes 8 victims, and 130 people are reported missing - they either will be found died, or hospitalized in the neighborhoods, or put in guard-with-sight. Many confrontations will succeed this demonstration, involving tens of deaths, hundreds of wounded and multiple arrests. The Prime Minister Ali Benflis tries to open the dialog with the âarchs, but without success.

Also the police force will carry out wild reprisals by destroying stores, hospitals, plundering houses or by organizing night raids in the villages, provided with machetes or daggers.

During March 2002, repressions are bloody. The demonstrators tackle the symbols of the capacity - the town halls, will daïras them, the centers of the taxes, the courts, etc Of the Assassinat S savages are perpetrated by the police force. March 12th, the president of the republic announces new measurements going in the direction of the appeasing - of which the statute of “national language” , granted to the Tamazight. But the confrontations do not cease between the police force and the demonstrators. Cities (Azazga for example) are besieged by the gendarmes to carry out punitive forwardings to it . Simple passers by are tabassés . Political opponents and Journaliste S are maltreated. Tens of persons in charge of committees of villages (delegates of the âarchs) are stopped. Vis-a-vis this impossible dialog, the situation seems blocked.

The arrival of Ahmed Ouyahia at the station of Prime Minister however allows the resumption of the dialog: in October 2003, the chief of the government reopens the discussions with the âarchs. Most of the claims of the “ Plate-forme of El Kseur ” is granted.

The revolt of black Spring made 132 died and more than 5.000 wounded.

See too

External bonds

  • Photographs of Black Spring
  • Report/ratio of the Algerian League of defense of human rights
  • Platform of El Kseur

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