It seems Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika sees the writing on the wall: He is promising to end nearly 20 years of "emergency" rule "in the near future."
Saad Djebbar, an international lawyer and Algerian analyst, said the regime has clearly been affected by the region-wide demonstrations that have led to the toppling of one autocratic regime in Tunisia and threaten another in Egypt.
"My take is that the regime may be preparing (for public protests)," Djebbar said from London. "They want to produce some sort of trick that would show that reform is underway, like what (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak is doing in Egypt, who appears to be using all of the tricks in the book to avoid being removed."
http://www.cnn.com/...
Removing Emergency Rule at some vague future moment doesn't sound like much of a concession to me, and I doubt that it will to pro-democracy protesters in Algeria, either.
A new generation throughout North Africa and the Middle East, generally, is no longer patient with autocratic rule, and they are clearly taking to the street to protest for their freedom.
Tunisia had its revolution. Egypt is in the throes of its own. Yemen is experiencing thousands of protesters, as well. The king of Jordan, feeling the heat, recently sacked his government and hired a new prime minister, promising to pursue reform from within.
A truly amazing and historic moment to witness.