Donald M. Payne: “let me commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa for the outstanding work that he has done, and I rise in…”

“let me commend the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa for the outstanding work that he has done, and I rise in support of H. Res. 374. I am disappointed that, after gaining independence from France many years ago, Algeria is again plagued with some of the same old travesty. After colonialism ended in 1962, the French did little to prepare Algeria for independence. When the French left, mosques were reopened, people started learning Arabic again and feeling good about the religion of Islam. While this past year marked the first legislative and local election since 1992, it also turned into the bloodiest year in the longstanding political strife of power. As we look back, the cancelling or annulling of the elections may not have seemed to be the right course of action. However, it should be noted that the desire to maintain Islamic domination and to radically change the food and clothing habits of the people was thwarted by most of Algerian citizens in 1992. Yet this explanation can be summed up by saying that the democracy cannot benefit if those that desire it want to end it once they are in power. It is common knowledge that the first armed Islamic groups were organized by veterans of the war in Afghanistan and trained in Pakistan. Today, the GIA still receives weapons and money from outside sources including Pakistani Islamists, Iran and Sudan.”