The People’s National Assembly Hijacked by Ideological Arsonists

✍️ BY: Dzair Tube

The “Tarbouche” of Discord and the Assault on National Unity

Algiers, Algeria | May 28th, 2025 — In an alarming regression of parliamentary ethics and national responsibility, the People’s National Assembly (APN) has once again been turned into a theater of ideological provocation. This time, the attacks target Mohamed Meziane, Minister of Communication, following his participation in an academic seminar organized by the High Commission for Amazighity (HCA) in Batna, dedicated to the promotion of the Amazigh language and culture in the media.

What ensued was nothing short of a political farce. A familiar ideological current, known for its rigid exclusivism, unleashed a barrage of inflammatory rhetoric, barely disguising its contempt for one of the constitutional pillars of Algerian identity. The arguments put forth were embarrassingly shallow and laced with prejudice, as if orchestrated to revive the ghosts of division Algeria has long struggled to overcome.

While the Algerian state strives to reclaim its foundational identity under the imperative of “identity security”, reinforced by a broad national media front capable of countering destabilization campaigns, certain so-called deputies chose instead to attack the judiciary and the institutions of the Republic. This was done in a shameful bid to defend a self-proclaimed “intellectual” whose rhetoric of hate and manipulation has consistently violated the very laws these parliamentarians have endorsed.

Among the most disgraceful episodes was the intervention of a deputy with a well-documented hostility toward the Amazigh dimension of Algerian identity. His poisonous statements, echoing the ethno-sectarian discourses that marred the Hirak period, were paired with a theatrical stunt by fellow MP Zakaria Belkheir—a figure widely criticized for his ideological alignment with Larbi Zitout, the radical co-founder of the Rachad movement, now posing as a preacher while peddling foreign agendas.

In a deplorable display, Belkheir adorned a symbolic “tarbouche” — a nod to the Ottoman legacy — as he delivered a speech filled with disdain, hypocrisy, and political opportunism. Despite having loyally endorsed every bill submitted by the government throughout his mandate, he now postures as its most vocal critic. His sudden rediscovery of a voice, steeped in populist theatrics and ideological nostalgia, was nothing more than a hollow spectacle aimed at undermining Minister Meziane’s principled defense of national institutions.

At a time when neo-colonial forces are openly targeting Algeria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and social cohesion, these subversive voices have chosen to weaponize identity and religion for narrow political ends. This form of ideological adventurism not only defies the Constitution — which enshrines both Islam and Amazighity as immutable foundations of the Algerian nation — but also seeks to reproduce the chaos of the 1990s.

The recent judicial action against Mohamed Lamine Belghit, an academic accused of inciting hatred, has been opportunistically exploited by these same currents. Instead of fostering mature dialogue, they have turned the parliamentary floor into a platform for conspiratorial narratives and sectarian polarization, dangerously reminiscent of the very elements that once pushed the nation to the brink of collapse.

Most concerning is the glorification of known agitators such as Larbi Zitout by elected officials. That an MP, from an Islamist political faction, would refer to Zitout as a “master” and echo his subversive discourse in the hemicycle is an insult not only to Minister Meziane, but to the entire democratic framework of the Republic. It is also a disturbing indication of the creeping normalization of anti-national rhetoric under the guise of parliamentary immunity.

Equally disturbing is the absenteeism of these same MPs when it comes to core policy matters. During the recent oral question session with Minister of Water Resources, Taha Derbal, only three deputies were present—this, on a subject as vital as Algeria’s water strategy. Yet the chamber was fully animated when it came to performative outrage against the national media and its defenders.

It must be remembered that the televised segment under fire had rightly highlighted a foreign country’s hostile stance toward Algeria — a country deeply entangled in the Abraham Accords and infamous for its campaigns of destabilization. Yet instead of defending national dignity, the aforementioned deputy from the MSP cloaked his allegiance in the false pretense of defending a judicial defendant, even though the matter had already been entrusted to Algeria’s independent judiciary.

Adapted and translated from the original French article published on Algérie54 under the title: « L’APN prise en otage par des apprentis pyromanes : Le tarbouche de la discorde ».

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