VZCZCXRO6471
RR RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAS #1119 2891711
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151711Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6494
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2888
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 9056
RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO 0715
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 2530
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 7383
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 6523
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY 1732
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 3545
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS ALGIERS 001119 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EDU FR AG
SUBJECT: TO JOIN OR NOT TO JOIN: ALGERIA'S FRANCOPHONE 
DILEMMA 
 
¶1. (SBU) Despite the lack of an official announcement by the 
Algerian government, MFA contacts tell us that President 
Bouteflika will attend and give a speech at the twelfth 
Summit of Heads of State of the International Organization of 
Francophone Countries (OIF).  The summit, to be held from 
October 17-19 in Quebec City, will be a stop on the 
President's visit to the province, during which he will also 
celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city. 
Never a member and only recently a quasi-observer, Algeria 
has long been leery of the OIF, given its Arabization 
campaign dating back to the 1970s.  Bouteflika's comments at 
the summit may indicate whether Algeria intends to finally 
embrace the organization, and in doing so, formally accept 
the francophone identity Algeria has struggled for decades to 
escape. 
 
¶2. (U) With approximately 25 million French speakers, Algeria 
is the second most populous francophone nation in the world 
after France.  Since independence, however, Algeria has 
rejected offers to join the OIF or benefit from its 
assistance programs.  In one of his speeches, President 
Boumediene went so far as to refer to the organization as "a 
retailer of neo-colonialism."  Still, other national leaders 
have been more open about possible cooperation with the 
organization.  Former Prime Minister Sid Ahmed Ghozali once 
stated that "the francophony should be considered a framework 
and a forum for dialogue." 
 
¶3. (SBU) During his presidency, Bouteflika appears to have 
sought a policy of cautious rapprochement with the OIF.  At 
the behest and persistence of former French President Jacques 
Chirac, Bouteflika attended the 2002 and 2004 summits as an 
observer.  He did not attend in 2006 and the current French 
President does not appear to be putting the same pressure on 
Bouteflika to participate. 
 
¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: Given that Algeria is still governed by the 
same generation that fought in the war of independence, the 
idea of joining the OIF is likely not a popular one within 
the government.  Nonetheless, Algeria has engaged with the 
French government to improve the instruction of the French 
language in public schools and membership in the OIF would 
come with a significant assistance program including 
scholarships and teacher training.  At the 2002 summit, 
Bouteflika declared that "French is an asset, not a threat", 
but given that Algeria remains conflicted about such a 
symbolic gesture, no one except Bouteflika knows what he will 
say next week in Quebec. 
PEARCE