It would seem that the diplomacy of the capos of Algiers is looking for a new structure to find a new angle of attack other than the unproductive and fruitless one that is the current one. The “ugly” Amar Belani, a follower of the hard line against Morocco and the Moroccan people, has just been afflicted with a correction worthy of his disproportionate aspirations. His benching comes after the forced withdrawal of the former head of Algerian diplomacy, Ramtane Lamamra.
In effect, the military regime in Algiers has appointed Amar Belani as the new Algerian ambassador to Turkey, according to a communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when he was secretary general of the same ministry.
In Algeria or elsewhere, everyone agrees that the character of Amar Belani is mediocre and does not honor the profession of diplomat. Little appreciated by Western chancelleries and by his European peers with whom he rubbed shoulders when he was Algeria’s ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, or even as head of mission to the European Union, the peak of his career was was his appointment as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He is therefore the “strong man” of this important department which the Algiers regime is getting rid of and which is disappearing by a siding from the Algerian politico-diplomatic landscape after only 9 months of service. The one who held the post of secretary general of the ministry for a short time and who, until his disillusion at the last minute, thought to replace Ramtane Lamamra as minister, suffered a bitter relegation.
Amar Belani, who has climbed the ranks of Algerian diplomacy thanks to his repeated attacks against Morocco, which he has made a business, has just suffered the worst degradation that can exist for a diplomat.
Passed from ambassador to “special envoy” after a year of unemployment, a post created to measure by Abdelmadjid Tebboune in the wake of the anti-Moroccan shift operated in Algeria, was already a slap inflicted on Amar Belani.
His appointment as Secretary General gave him a boost before he was punished by an assignment to Turkey, a country that takes a line close to Morocco on the Sahara issue, and that’s not close to change with the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The indefatigable “yes-yes” of the military regime and sadly famous for being the “dirty man” of the Algerian establishment known for his virulent declarations against Morocco, has just seen his dream of becoming a minister definitively shattered. Reckless loyalty to a lunatic regime in desperation is unfortunately thus rewarded in Algiers.
In addition, the other factor that precipitated his descent into hell is the surprise appointment of Ahmed El Attaf, who came out of retirement in the 1990s, as Ramtane Lamamra’s replacement. It is well known, those who betray their friends (Belani betrayed Lamamra to take his place, editor’s note) cannot hope to have anyone’s trust. Belani was to be eliminated from the race.
He should have known that he would not last long as Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after his schemes against the former head of diplomacy victim of Algerian clanism. Yet, just hours before his appointment was announced, he was still receiving foreign diplomats at the ministry’s headquarters, so he must have learned of his dismissal at the same time as the press.
Because of the clanism of the generals and the two-headed power in Algeria, the “cons” won against Belani, whether those who took revenge for the dismissal of Lamamra or those who do not trust Belani, the happy medium was found by returning it to where it will not make noise.
Now neither he nor Ramtane Lamamra, the now ex-foreign minister dismissed by the military regime, will be heard from for long. Moreover, the former head of Algerian diplomacy, seen as a threat to President Tebboune’s second term, would have been prevented from leaving the territory with his wife and his passport would have been withdrawn, not to say confiscated. .
It is an open secret, Ramtane Lamamra was obviously not in the good graces of the head of state and his henchman Chengriha or vice versa. He had been on an ejection seat for a long time and the duo did not hesitate to activate it. Worse, today we are looking for the famous corny and this is only the beginning. He is accused of nurturing “presidential ambitions”, and this is a crime of lèse-majesté. The military do and undo this function as they please, this is how the history of Algeria is.
Already during his tenure as head of Algerian diplomacy, he was always given Sticks in the wheels. Decisions were made without his knowledge and government media were told not to publicize his activities.