Algeria on Wednesday announced the formation of a committee to link the government and thousands of families who say their loved ones disappeared at the hands of state security forces during the 1990s.
Human rights groups have pressed Algeria to form an independent inquiry commission on the disappearances. However, a statement from the president’s office said the new, temporary committee would not carry out an inquiry but rather open up dialogue.
”Today, the state must take on its responsibilities with serenity and determination, and resolutely face this aspect of the nation’s tragedy,” the statement said.
Human Rights Watch, based in New York, said this year that more than 7 000 people were believed missing at the hands of security forces during the 1990s, at the high point of Algeria’s Islamic insurgency.
The insurgency has pitted security forces against rebels trying to topple the government and set up an Islamic state. In the chaos, state forces were accused of ”disappearing” thousands of people.
Some were prominent in an Islamic political party. In other cases, families have no idea why their loved ones were singled out.
Today, disappearances are isolated, human rights groups say. But the North African nation is still struggling to end the 11-year Islamic insurgency that has left about 120 000 people dead. Violence by Islamic militants has waned, though it continues.
Algerian’s insurgency erupted in 1992 when the army cancelled legislative elections that a fundamentalist party was poised to win. – Sapa-AP