Maghreb news Lamine Ghanmi
– Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has disbanded the long-standing military spy directorate known as the DRS, giving it a new name in another step to tigthen his grip over the military and intelligence apparatus.
Bouteflika, rarely been seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, began expanding his clout over the paramount military before his re-election in April 2014, in what analysts said was preparation for his eventual departure after more than 15 years in power.
When he took over the presidency after two decades in the wilderness, he vowed he « will never be a three-quarters of president » in reference of the sway of the military during the mandates of his predecessors.
The decree to shut the Department of Intelligence and Security, or DRS by its French initials, and replace it with the Directorate of Security Affairs is a significant move to restructure the internationally-renowned intelligence apparatus to bolster Algeria’s role as a bulwark against instability and spreading violence in North Africa and sub-Sahara Africa.
The decree dated back to 1989 as the then reform-minded Chadli Benjedid attempted to establish a multiparty democracy and curtail the pervasive role of the intelligence services in politics, civic associations and business.
But the decree was shelved as the country plunged into violence early in the 1990s and the intelligence body had taken a dominant in the fight against radical Islamists and terrorist groups. Algeria rarely does publish decrees related to the armed and intelligence forces as it with other legal pronouncements
Despite the veneer of democracy including presidential elections, analysts say, Algeria’s politics has long been shaped by the ruling FLN party elites and the military, who engage in backroom manoeuvring for political influence and competition in the hydrocarbon-rich state.
« In all this commotion, nothing ultimately has changed in depth except the name of the services and the street address, » said security analyst Mokrane Ait Amara.
Former defence minister Khaled Nezzar was among the rare influential officials to demystify the veil secrecy surrounding the genuine leader of the feared spy agency by stating that the head of the service answer directecly to the president, not the military brass as it has been widely believed.
Since June 1965 when the then defence minister toppled president Ahmed Ben Bella, the military intelligence service has been headquartered at the defence ministry buildings at Tagara area overlooking Bab el Oued neighbourhood as a layer of security and cautiousness against any new military coup d’état.
Under the resuscitated decree, the DRS changes its name and address with General Athmane Tartag, a retired DRS chief, will led the new intelligence agency from his office at the presidency.
Bouteflika last year removed Mohamed Mediene, the DRS for more than two decades, sidelining someone who had been a major figure in past behind-the-scenes power struggles.
Mediene, one of whose nicknames was the « King of Algeria », had long played the role of political kingmaker, analysts said, influencing leadership choices in backroom showdowns between civilian and military factions even while trying to maintain stability among them..
Since Algeria’s 1962 independence from France, the military has long played a role in politics. But during the country’s 1990s war with Islamist fighters, the DRS extended deeply its sway over political parties, media and economy in the name of security.
For the past two years, Bouteflika had already moved to steadily ease the DRS out of civilian interests, retiring generals and restructuring parts of the military, transferring DRS roles to army officials seen as loyal to the presidency.
Shifts in the security service come amid opposition speculation on whether Bouteflika will finish his term and while the government faces a steep economic challenge as world oil prices plummeted. A major gas supplier to Europe, Algeria relies on energy revenues for more than 90 percent for foreign currency earnings and for 60 percent of state budget.
While Algeria’s intelligence services had stepped up operations in the country’s « outer neighbourhood » as a result of the recent change within the spy apparatus, the outcome of revamping the services at home would be chnages in the midst of political parties and associations.
« After the change, it remains for president Bouteflika to separate the duties of the deputy-defence minister and the chief-of-staff of the Popular National Army to prevent the entanglement of the roles at the hand of one person as it could lead to un-democratic drifts. It would be done at the next and third stage of the reform, » added Ait Amara.
Algeria’s top officer Ahmed Gaid Salah is doubling as vice-minister of the defence and chief-of-staff of the armed forces.