| Mar 10 - Apr 20, 1980 |
The famed Berber Spring occurs. Celebrated Berber writer Mouloud Mammeri comes to Tizi Ouzou to deliver poetry and is blockaded by the government. Protests occur, with people demanding an end to repression and the recognition of Tamazight, the Berber language, as a national and official language in Algeria. The violence comes to a head on 04/20/1980, when lecturers are arrested, women are raped, and the Berber Spring is crushed by the regime. The 1980 uprising is deemed as the beginning of strong Berber resistance. (Tahi, Mohand Salah. Tamazight. Date unknown. “North Africa Berbers and Kabylia’s Berber Movement.” http://www.tamazgha.fr/article.php3?id_article=225. Accessed 7/26/2007.) |
| Oct 1988 |
The FLN's domination of Algeria begins to unravel with nationwide riots. To help quell the riots, Pres. Chadli Benjadid promises multi-party democracy. |
| Jul 1 - Dec 31, 1989 |
The Algerian government passes a law legalizing opposition parties. The FFS, which had not been officially legal up to this point received official recognition in November. Also the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), a new Berber party calling for separation of church and state, the amendment of the Algerian constitution to remove the part which makes Algeria an Arab state and the official recognition of the Berber language, was officially recognized in December. |
| Jan 23, 1990 |
Algeria agrees to set up a specialized institute to teach Berber beginning in the 1990-91 academic year in Tizi-Ouzou. (100 km. east of Algiers in the Kabaliyah mountains.) |
| Jan 25, 1990 |
About 50,000 Berbers peacefully demonstrate in Algiers to demand the official recognition of the Berber language and the teaching of the Language in Algerian Universities. This rally is organized but the FFS and "criticized" by the RCD. |
| Apr 20, 1990 |
More than 200,000 Berbers peacefully protest in Tizi-Ouzo to, protest the 10th anniversary of bloody anti-government riots. |
| May 10, 1990 |
Over 100,000 Algerians, including many Berbers, engage in a peaceful pro-democracy march in Algiers. |
| May 31, 1990 |
Over 100,000, mostly Berbers, peacefully march in Algiers to denounce the upcoming elections as a fraud and to condemn the national assembly. |
| Jun 15, 1990 |
RCD wins in 87 municipalities (out of 1500) in local elections, mostly in Berber dominated regions. The FIS wins in 850. The FFS boycotted the elections. |
| Jul 5, 1990 |
Enabling legislation is passed which allows for the formation of political parties. Many parties immediately apply for official recognition including the RCD, headed by Dr. Said Sadi, which considers itself a major defender of Berber cultural rights and individual rights in general. The FFS, which had never disappeared is also legalized. |
| Jul 26, 1990 |
A spokesman for the RCD cites a series of intimidations against the RCD by Islamic fundamentalists including: attempts to set fire to party offices and the driving out of Berber activists planning a peaceful exhibition in an Algerian suburb. |
| Sep 1990 |
A FIS leader at Ain Taya, near Algiers, calls for Jihad, or holy war, to be declared against Kabylia to bring it back into the Islamic fold "even if a third of its population is exterminated." |
| Dec 27, 1990 |
Over 100,000, mostly Berbers bussed in from the Kabylia region, march in Algiers against the imposition of Arabic as Algeria's official language. |
| Feb 13, 1991 |
A law making Arabic mandatory in virtually all spheres of public life is signed by Pres. Chadli Benjadid. |
| Apr 25, 1991 |
About 200 Islamic fundamentalists stone a Berber language concert. They are subsequently arrested, convicted and jailed. This is just one example of the general intolerance of Berbers displayed by Islamic fundamentalists. |
| May 27, 1991 |
8 opposition groups, including the RCD, threaten a strike over changes in the election laws that favor the dominant FLN. |
| Jun 10, 1991 |
Several Islamic extremists are arrested for carrying offensive weapons in an attempt to prevent a performance of Berber Music. |
| Jan 3, 1992 |
About 200,000 Algerians, including many Berbers, march in Algiers in opposition to the FIS. |
| Jan 7, 1992 |
The FIS announces that if it takes power it will impose Islamic law in all of Algeria including Kabylia. |
| Jan 8, 1992 |
It is announced that the FFS won 25 out of 450 seats in the first round of national elections. The FIS won 188 and would probably gain an absolute majority in the second round runoffs. |
| Jan 11, 1992 |
Pres. Chadli Benjadid is forced to resign in a "constitutional Coup" and a five-man High Council of State is appointed as a collective presidency headed by Mohammed Boudiaf. They scrap the upcoming elections and postpone any future elections indefinitely. This is in reaction to the expected FIS victory in the now-scrapped elections. |
| Feb 9, 1992 |
The government declares a state of emergency to quell spreading fundamentalist unrest. |
| 1993 |
A Berber French-language author is murdered by Islamic fundamentalists. |
| Apr 20, 1993 |
A massive strike and protest is staged on the anniversary of the 1980 anti-government riots. The protesters demand the teaching of Berber in Algerian schools and the official recognition of the Berber language and identity. The strike is peaceful in Tizi-Ouzo but riot police disperse protestors with gas in Benjaia. |
| Jan 17, 1994 |
At least 150,000 Berbers peacefully march in Tizi-Ouzo in protest against Islamic fundamentalists and the ruling authorities and demand official recognition of their language. |
| Apr 20, 1994 |
Over 100,00 Berbers peacefully march through central Algiers and in several town in Kabylia on the anniversary of the 1980 anti-government riots. Calls for a strike are ignored in Algiers but are heeded in Tizi-Ouzo and Benjaia. In Bouira the strike is partial. The strike includes a boycott of classes by school children. The protestors demand the official recognition of the Berber language and blame the rise of Islamic fundamentalism for the suppression of their culture. |
| Jul 31, 1994 |
Berber villagers fight off Islamic militants who raid their community in the Kabylie region to steal the villagers' shotguns. This is the first report of fighting between Islamic militants and Berbers since the civil strife in Algeria began about 30 months ago. |
| Aug 5, 1994 |
Reuters reports that Berber villagers in the Kabylie region have set up armed self-protection groups. |
| Sep 1, 1994 - May 31, 1995 |
About one million Berber students in the Kabylie region boycott schools and colleges to demand that their "mother tongue" be taught as an official language. |
| Sep 21, 1994 |
Berbers in the Kabylie region go on strike to demand official recognition of their language. The strike is called by the Berber Cultural Movement (MCB) as part of its ongoing campaign for the recognition of the Berber language. The strike primarily affects the main towns of Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia. |
| Sep 26, 1994 |
Matob Lounes, a leading Berber singer, is kidnapped in the Kabylie region by militant Islamic gunmen. The MCB threatens "total war" if he is not returned. Note: Many militant Muslims oppose the speaking of any language other than Arabic and consequently target Berber singers who perform in the Berber language. |
| Sep 29, 1994 |
Gunmen, suspected to be Islamic militants, shoot dead Cheb Hasni, a Berber singer. |
| Oct 1, 1994 |
About 10,000 Berbers march through Tizi Ouzou to demand the return of Berber singer Matrob Lounes. |
| Oct 10, 1994 |
Islamic militants sentence kidnapped Berber singer Lounes to death and then release him unharmed. |
| Oct 16, 1994 |
A journalist working for Algerian state radio's Berber-language service is shot dead outside his house by gunmen believed to be Islamic militants. |
| Nov 12 - 14, 1994 |
Berbers in the Kabylie region strike to demand official recognition of their language. The strike is called by the MCB. |
| Jan 12, 1995 |
Police break up a 1,500 strong rally in Algiers in support of the Berber language. |
| Feb 6, 1995 |
Gunmen believed to be Islamic militants shoot dead 2 people in a cafe in the Berber town of Tizi Ouzou. Suspected Islamic militants also firebomb another cafe in the town. |
| Feb 15, 1995 |
Gunmen believed to be Islamic militants shoot dead the president of a Berber women's association in the Berber town of Tizi Ouzou. |
| Feb 21, 1995 |
Algerian riot police seal off the main university in central Algiers preventing Berber students from holding a protest in support of Berber language rights. |
| Mar 22, 1995 |
7 Islamic militants are killed in an armed clash with Berber villagers in the Kabylie region. |
| Mar 31, 1995 |
A car bomb believed to be set by Islamic militants kills one in the Kabylie region. |
| Apr 1995 |
The government, in a deal to end the 8-month-long school strike in the Kabylie region, agrees with one faction of the MCB to create a body to oversee the teaching of the Berber language in school and its use in the official media. Another faction of the MCB opposes the agreement. |
| Apr 22, 1995 |
A march by Berbers to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the "Berber Spring" protest for the recognition of the Berber language is broken up by police. |
| May 3, 1995 |
A faction of the MCB calls for a general strike in Algiers to press for recognition of the Berber language. |
| May 28, 1995 |
Algeria creates an official body called the High Commissionership to introduce the Berber language into school curricula and the media. |
| Aug 13, 1995 |
A Berber singer and her husband are shot dead and have their throats cut by suspected Islamic militants. |
| Aug 24, 1995 |
Suspected Islamic militants blow up a water tower which supplies 2 villages in the Berber region of Kabylie. |
| May 12, 1996 |
The President proposed an amendment to ban parties with religious or ethnic appeal. (ABC) |
| Nov 29, 1996 |
Anti-referendum strikes, organized by the Berber Cultural Movement and the Rally for Culture and Democracy, were held in Berber regions. (BBC) |
| Nov 29, 1996 |
A majority of Algerians voted for a referendum that proposed a new constitution that bans Islamic parties and those based on language or regions. (Washington Post) |
| Jun 6, 1997 |
The president's party was victorious in June 5 elections for national legislature. (ABC- CLIO) |
| Oct 24, 1997 |
Government parties swept local elections amid fraud charges. (ABC- CLIO) |
| Jun 11, 1998 |
The Paris based Congres Mondial Amazigh (CMA) that includes Berber movements throughout the world called on the government of Algeria to repeal the law generalizing the use of Arabic due to be implemented July 5. (BBC) |
| Jun 28, 1998 |
The killing of Berber entertainer Lounes Matoub by Muslim Fundamentalists led to protests by Berbers against both the Islamic movement and the government, and new language law. (ABC-CLIO) |
| Jun 29, 1998 |
Violent rioting was reported at the burial of Lounes Matoub with government buildings burnt and at least one person killed by gunfire. (San Diego Union - Tribune) |
| Jul 1, 1998 |
The new constitution restricts ethnic parties even though the 1996 national charter agreed to accept Berber culture as part of Algerian culture and allowed it to be taught. (Political Risk Service) |
| Jul 2, 1998 |
Police confronted crowds of more then 2000 people taking part in a protest organized by the Rally for Culture and democracy (RCD) protesting the killing of Berber singer Lounes Matoub. (BBC) |
| Jul 6, 1998 |
Berbers protested in large numbers against the law that took effect July 6 requiring the use of Arabic for all official business. |
| Jul 7, 1998 |
The Socialist Forces Front (FFS) denounced the creation of the Armed Berber Movement. (BBC) At rallies organized by the Socialist Forces Front (FFS) and the Berber Culture Movement, 15,000 people protested against the law. (DPA, 7/9/98) |
| Jul 11, 1998 |
Reports of creation of Berber Armed Movement (MAB) for violent resistance. They have made threats to kill those trying to impose new law. (BBC) |
| Jul 13, 1998 |
The government announced that the language law will be imposed in the universities by the year 2000. There are riots against the law. (US News and World Report) |
| Dec 14, 1998 |
Economic troubles forced the resignation of the government (ABC- CLIO) |
| Jan 14, 1999 |
The High Commission for Tamazight (the Berber Language) held a coordinating meeting that reported on the decline of sales of books in the Berber language and the marginalization of the language continues in some regions of the country. . (BBC) |
| Feb 5, 1999 |
Rally for Culture and Democracy (a mainly Berber party) called for an election boycott. (BBC) |
| Mar 7, 1999 |
The High Commission for Tamazight (the Berber Language) announced that the language issue is being overlooked in the campaign or has been used to express a nationalist identity point of view. BBC |
| Apr 7, 1999 |
The Berber cultural Movement (MCB) announces that it is against a boycott of the presidential elections. (BBC) |
| Apr 22, 1999 |
A march was held to commemorate the introduction of the Berber language into schools. Berber leaders have protested that the language is still being taught in only 16 provinces and there is a need for more television in the Berber Language. (BBC) |
| 2000 |
The Algerian government establishes the Pedagogic Language Centre for the Teaching of Tamazight (Berber language). (BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 12/27/2004, “Algerian Education Minister Appoints Director of Berber Language Centre.”) |
| Apr 18 - Jun 11, 2001 |
In preparation for the 20th anniversary of the Berber Spring, an 18 year old Berber is killed while in police custody in Tizi Ouzou. Protest and violence take over Kabylia, concluding in the formation of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, the Berber Citizens Movement, and the El-Kseur platform. (Tahi, Mohand Salah. Tamazight. Date unknown. “North Africa Berbers and Kabylia’s Berber Movement.” http://www.tamazgha.fr/article.php3?id_article=225). Accessed 7/26/2007.) |
| Jun 2001 |
Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie and the Berber Citizens Movement are founded in response to the violence of 2001. (Mouvement pour l’Autonomie de la Kabylie. 2007. “L’autonomie de la Kabylie en questions.” http://www.makabylie.info/?article20. Accessed 7/24/2007; Tahi, Mohand Salah. Tamazight. Date unknown. “North Africa Berbers and Kabylia’s Berber Movement.” http://www.tamazgha.fr/article.php3?id_article=225). Accessed 7/26/2007.) |
| Jun 11 - 11, 2001 |
In response to the violence of 2001, the Berber parties outline their demands in the El-Kseur platform. (Tahi, Mohand Salah. Tamazight. Date unknown. “North Africa Berbers and Kabylia’s Berber Movement.” http://www.tamazgha.fr/article.php3?id_article=225. Accessed 7/26/2007.) |
| Apr 9 - Dec 12, 2002 |
Prison sentences are handed down to 11 Berber Citizens Movement members accused of destroying state property and disturbing the peace. A protest is ordered in December to show opposition to imprisonment, but the protest is banned by the government. The Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH) agrees to represent one of the members who was arrested, arguing that arrests violate individual and political freedoms. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 4/9/2002, “Algeria: Berber Citizens’ Movement Activists Given Jail Sentences.”) |
| May 2002 |
Berber political parties urge boycott of the National Assembly election. Voters respond, as Kabylia boycott participation nears 100 percent. As a result, political parties lose almost all of their representation in the Algerian parliament. (Quandt, William B. National Endowment for Democracy. 2002. "Algeria's Uneasy Peace." http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_democracy/v013/13.4quandt.html. Accessed 8/1/2007) |
| Dec 1, 2002 - Jan 31, 2003 |
Six Berber Citizens Movement members held by the Algerian government hold a hunger strike. Doctors claim that they are in critical condition, while the state denies their deteriorating health. In early January, three of the six stop their hunger strike due to their failing health, while the others continue through the end of January. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 1/1/2003, “Algeria: Berber Citizens Movement’s Jailed Delegates Suspend Hunger Strike.”) |
| Dec 25 - 25, 2002 |
Government forces prevent Berber Citizens Movement rally from occurring and throw tear gas at the crowd; young protesters respond, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 12/26/2002, “Algeria: Berber Citizens Movement Rally Broken Up by Security Forces.”) |
| Feb 2003 |
The now 29 Berber detainees begin another open-ended hunger strike. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 2/10/2003, “Algeria: Berber Citizens Movement Detainees to Stage Open-Ended Hunger Strike.”) |
| May 17 - 17, 2003 |
Nordine Medrouk, a member of the Berber Citizens Movement, is arrested for "disrupting public order" and "destroying private property" after a protest. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 5/20/2003, “Algeria: Berber Citizen Movement Leadership Member Under Arrest.”) |
| Jun 2003 |
The government gradually releases all of its Berber Citizens Movement detainees. The Berber Citizens Movement views it as a monumental step in the road toward compromise and peace. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 6/10/2003, “Algeria: More Berber Representatives Released from Prison.”) |
| Jul 15 - 15, 2003 |
Just one month after the government released all of its Berber Citizens Movement detainees, the government arrests two Citizens Movement members for a protest in Bouira. (BBC Monitoring Middle east – Political, 7/16/2003, “Algeria: Two Berber Citizens movement Delegates Arrested.”) |
| 2004 |
Rioting breaks out between the government and members of the FFS and LADDH. As of 2005, the accused protesters were still awaiting sentencing. (Le Monde, 1/27/2005, “En Algérie, la hausse des carburants provoque émeutes d’est en ouest.”) |
| Jan 4 - 4, 2004 |
After meeting with the Berber Citizens Movement, the government agrees on several conditions of the El-Kseur platform, the 2001 document outlining the demands of many of the Berber parties. Detainees are released under the agreement, but no other portion of the agreement has yet been implemented. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 1/4/2004, “Algeria: PM, Berbers’ Representatives Agree on Five of Six Conditions.”) |
| Mar 26 - 26, 2004 |
In the lead up to the election, Berber Citizens Movement members and anti-riot police engage in "violent clahses." Rioters burst tires and install roadblocks at the entrances to town districts in Kabylia, and throw stones at officials. Security forces use tear gas to disperse the protesters. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 3/27/2004, “Algeria: Clashes Between Police and Berbers Over Election Meeting.”) |
| Mar 31 - 31, 2004 |
In response to Algerian President Bouteflika's first visit to Kabylia since 1999, members of the Berber Citizens Movement organize a general strike; most Kabylian schools and shops are closed to signal their disapproval. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 4/1/2004, “Algeria: President Visit to Berber Kabylie Triggers Unrest.”) |
| Apr 7 - 7, 2004 |
On the eve of the 2004 presidential election, a Citizens Movement activist is murdered in Kabylia. The victim's brother accuses RCD presidential candidate and leader Said Sadi as perpetrators of the crime. RCD has neither confirmed nor explicitly denied involvement. (BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 4/8/2004, “Algeria: Presidential Election Press Review.”) |
| Jun 18 - 18, 2004 |
Amezian Mehenni, son of MAK leader Fehrate Mehenni, is killed in a brawl in a Paris discotheque. (Agence France Presse, 6/19/2004, “Le fils du fondateur d’un mouvement Kabyle tué lors d’une rixe à Paris.”) |
| Jun 26 - Jul 7, 2004 |
Members of the Berber Citizens Movement, held in prison, protested their imprisonment by carrying out a hunger strike. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 7/8/2004, “Algeria: Health Condition of Berber Citizens Movement Detainees Worsening.”) |
| Dec 26 - 26, 2004 |
Algerian Education Minister appoints Dourai Abderrazak as the new head of the Pedagogic Language Centre for the Teaching of Tamazight. (BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 12/27/2004, “Algerian Education Minister Appoints Director of Berber Language Centre.”) |
| Jan 2005 |
Berber representatives and the Algerian government reach a fragile agreement to fulfill recognition of the Berber language. (BBC News. 2005. “Algeria Strikes Deal with Berbers.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4180887.stm. Accessed 7/30/2007). |
| Jan 16 - 16, 2005 |
Berber Citizens Movement and government once again agree to conditions within the El-Kseur platform, which were previously agreed to in January 2004. Detainees are once again released and a body is set up to implement the demands. (BBC Monitoring Middle East – Political, 1/16/2005, “Algerian Premier, Berber Delegates Set up Body to Implement Citizens Demands.”) |
| Sep 29 - 29, 2005 |
RCD, FFS, and other Berber parties urge boycott of the vote on the Charter for Peace and Reconciliation. The boycott is effective, as turnout in the Berber cities of Bejaia and Tiziz Ouzou is only 11 percent. (BBC Monitoring Middle East, 8/30/2005, “Algeria’s Kabylie Autonomy Movement Calls for Boycott of Reconciliation Vote.”) |
| Nov 7 - 7, 2005 |
Two members of the FFS are arrested in Ghardia for protesting human rights violations(BBC Monitoring International Reports, 11/8/2005, “Algerian Police Reportedly Arrest Two Human Rights Activists.”) |
| Nov 25 - 25, 2005 |
Berber parties run in local council elections in the Kabylia provinces. RCD and FFS win most of the seats with 139 and 188 respectively. (Panafrican News Agency, 11/26/2005, “FFS, RCD Win Local Elections in Kabylia.”) |
| Oct 12 - 12, 2006 |
Raba Aissant, head of the Provincial People's Assembly in Tizi Ouzou and a FFS member, is assassinated. The perpetrator is believed to be an Islamic militant. (BBC Monitoring International Reports, 10/13/2006, “Head of Berber Local Official Said Assassinated in Algeria.”) |
| Nov 9 - 9, 2006 |
FFS organizes protest in Tizi Ouzou to protest the social and economic disparities between Berbers and Arabs and push for increased autonomy for Kabylia. (Comtex, 11/12/2006, “Marche du FFS, jeudi dernier, a Tizi Ouzou, ‘Les forces politiques autonomes ne sont pas achevées.”) |
