APS : Thursday, 15 March 2018
LONDON-Former Ambassador of the United Kingdom (UK) to Algeria between 2014 and 2017 Andrew Noble called “phenomenal” the peace process that allowed Algeria defeat terrorism in the 1990s.
The peace process that began in 1999 in Algeria is “phenomenal” and deserves to be a model to follow by countries experiencing internal conflicts, stressed the diplomat in a “Conference on his impressions of Algeria” held at the prestigious London School of Economics (LES).
“The national reconciliation is really an exceptional experience not only because it was successful but also because Algeria is no more a country in which terrorism is uncontrollable, affecting the life of the population like in the 1990s,” said the diplomat.
“In my opinion, the national reconciliation launched in 2000 is one of the Algerian measures that deserve to be better understood by more people around the world,” said Noble.
In this connection, Noble said that daily massacres during the black decade in Algeria “are now behind the Algerian people thanks to the process they launched and led with a view to developing the economy and radically changing their life.”
“National reconciliation has consolidated because Algerians have fiercely defended it,” said Noble.
According to him, this success should serve as an example for the Muslim world where “there are very complicated conflicts everywhere, to which is added the difficulty of finding solutions.”
The success of Algeria’s national reconciliation policy has encouraged the country to spare no effort to support the peace process in Mali.
Algeria is also trying to help make the peace process in Libya a reality, said the diplomat.
Recalling memories of his three years in Algeria, Noble said that “Algerians are a beautiful, warm, open and hospitable people.”
“They are the friendliest people I have ever met,” said Noble, stressing that “Algeria is not known in the UK as it deserves to be.”
In this regard, he lamented the “exceptionally weak” coverage of Algeria by British newspapers.
