Algeria: Algerians outraged by Tebboune's blunders in Moscow
For some reason, Abdelmadjid Tebboune preferred to improvise rather than prepare a well-crafted text with the help of his advisors when addressing his host, who was brief and to the point.
Developing incoherent ideas and expressing himself in a mixture of classical and dialectal Arabic, the Algerian president was mostly clumsy in his praise of Russia.
The most memorable of Tebboune's gaffes, which really outraged Algerians, was when he attributed to Russia the role of protector of Algeria's independence. As if Algeria had been under a Russian protectorate since it regained its independence in 1962. "The preservation of our independence is due to the important Russian help that armed us and defended our freedom," he declared.
He went on to say that "thanks to Russia, Algeria has obtained a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council". However, this achievement did not require the help of any country and Algeria obtained one of the two seats reserved for Africa without the slightest competition.
And this is where things get even more complicated, when he talks about the BRICS, whose functioning and structures he knows nothing about, declaring that "in a world marked by strong tensions, we want to join the BRICS as soon as possible to leave behind the dollar and the euro zone". Incredible, but true. Apparently, the BRICS uses a currency other than the euro and the dollar in its trade transactions.
As he had done the day before, in his speech to the Russian-Algerian forum of Russian businessmen, Tebboune spoke without the slightest reservation, going so far as to antagonise Europe and the United States. He addressed Putin as if he were the representative of a Russian satellite state.
Just after the signing of the agreements, Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke again to an audience of ministers from both countries and representatives of the accredited press in Moscow. And although he was under no obligation to refer to history, he let the full extent of his ignorance on the subject explode.
In thanking Vladimir Putin for having named a public square in Moscow after Amir Abdelkader, Tebboune was wrong to say "for the sake of history, I remind you that Tsar Nicholas II awarded Amir Abdelkader the insignia of the white eagle (...)". Nicholas II ascended the throne of the Russian Empire in 1984. That is, 11 years after the death of Amir Abdelkader. He was born in 1868, 8 years after the events that earned Emir Abdelkader this gift from Alexander II for protecting Christians and members of the Russian consulate in Syria against the Druze in 1860.
This reminds me of another historical gaffe made during a meeting with representatives of the Algerian press in October 2021. In an attempt to illustrate the depth of Algerian-American relations, Abdelmadjid Tebboune claimed that the first president of the United States of America, George Washington, had given Emir Abdelkader two pistols. However, the two men did not live at the same time. On the contrary, it was Abraham Lincoln who gave the two pistols as a gesture of thanks and recognition for the role played by Amir Abdelkader in defending the Christian community in Syria.
The meeting was broadcast live on Algerian television. Tebboune's advisors had plenty of time to correct this serious error. But these advisers must surely be on the same level as their president not to realise this.
So what Tebboune thought was a feat and a display of his intellectual abilities turned out to be a real blunder that deeply outraged Algerians.
