Houari Boumédiène: A Great African Departs

Houari Boumédiène: A Great African Departs

On 27 December 1978, Houari Boumédiène passed on in Algiers, Algeria, after an unsuccessful treatment for a rare form of blood cancer. Boumédiène was an Algerian military officer and revolutionary politician who was the second head of state of independent Algeria from 1965 until his death in 1978. He served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Algeria from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976 and as President of Algeria until his death.

In its tribute to Boumédiène, The African Communist (No. 77, Second Quarter 1979) referred to him as a Great African, saying, “1978 ended with the departure of a great African, a man who contributed so much to the making of Africa’s recent past and present which is characterised by the determination of the masses of our people to rid the continent of the scourge of colonialism, racism and apartheid. That man was Houari Boumédiène.”

Houari Boumédiène was born Mohammed ben Brahim Boukharouba on 23 August 1927 in the village of Guelma, near Algeria’s border with Tunisia. He was educated at the Islamic Institute in Constantine and went to University in Tunis, Tunisia, and later to Cairo’s Al Azhar University. It was during his studies in Cairo that he got involved in politics and when in 1954 he met Ahmed Ben Bella, joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) and adopted the nom de guerre of Houari Boumédiène. He then fought in the Algerian war of liberation from French colonialism, the eight-year war which resulted in more than a million people killed, two million incarcerated and almost half a million being exiled to Morocco and Tunisia.

By 1960, he had risen through the organisation’s ranks to become Chief of Staff and later the overall Commander of the FLN’s military wing, the National Liberation Army (ALN). After the FLN’s victory over the French in the Algerian War of Independence in 1962, Boumédiène became the Minister of Defence in Algeria’s new government. However, in June 1965, he overthrew his close comrade, President Ahmed Ben Bella in a bloodless coup, following instability around Ben Bella’s dictatorial leadership. He then went ahead to abolish Algeria’s parliament along with its constitution and ultimately becoming the country’s Acting Head of State.

After Algeria’s independence in 1962, the NLF was confronted with difficult challenges, such as industrialisation, agrarian reform, the introduction of free education and a revitalised health system, as well as state control of domestic and foreign trade. Boumédiène clearly understood these challenges, and when he became President on 19 June 1965, he modernised Algeria and fought for the unity of the Arab and Kabyle people. This was a critical aspect of a broader question of uniting the African and Arab people. Moreover, Boumédiène ensured that the energies of the Algerian population were channelled towards anti-imperialist directions.

For Boumédiène, the independence of Algeria was meaningless without being rooted in the world-wide anti-imperialist front. Hence in the 1970s, he initiated a gradual restoration of parliamentarism and civil institutions in Algeria that ended with the adoption of a new constitution in 1976. The constitution reinstated the presidency wherein he emerged as the sole candidate, winning over 99 per cent of the votes. He subsequently pursued Arab socialist and Pan-Arabist policies, which made him strongly opposed to Israel. He unswervingly offered logistic assistance to anti-colonial liberation movements and freedom fighters across Africa and the Arab world.

Under Boumédiène’s leadership, Algeria became more vocal on the question of the New International Economic Order (NIEO), which demanded the equation of economic and political relations between the industrialised countries of the North and the less developed countries of the South. He also emphasised Algeria’s stance on resolving the Middle East question and on supporting the efforts of the Southern African liberation movements against racism, colonialism and imperialism. According to Boumédiène, “The struggle being waged in Africa is of vital concern to all of us. We cannot afford to accept the flouting of the dignity of the peoples still under the yoke of colonialism and oppression.”

For Boumédiène, “This situation will change only through the escalation of the armed liberation struggle of the African peoples and the continued solidarity shown by all African countries and powers supporting liberation movements throughout the world and backing these peoples in their just struggle” (Algiers Non-Aligned Movement Summit, September 1973). The SA Communist Party (SACP) lamented the passing on of Houari Boumédiène as “a great loss for our continent, the OAU (Organisation of African Unity), the national liberation movements and all anti-imperialist forces throughout the world.”

Sources:
Wikipedia.
South African History Online (SAHO).
Sechaba Report, “The Algiers Summit: The Summit Conference of Non-Aligned Countries which met in Algiers, Algeria on 5 – 9 September 1973”, Sechaba, Vol. 8, No. 1, January 1974.
Editorial Notes, “Houari Boumedienne – Departure of a Great African”, The African Communist, No. 77, Second Quarter 1979.

Castro Khwela
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