American restaurant chain KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) opened its first location in Algeria on Monday to a large protest mustered by a pro-Palestinian group calling for a boycott of the chain for its alleged support of Israel. Algerian police cracked down using tear gas to disperse hundreds of people “hostile” to the American company.
The regime’s brutal suppression of the protests undermined Algeria’s official position asserting that it supports Palestine, according to observers.
When the United Nations Security Council finally adopted its first resolution in March calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages held by Hamas, Algeria sought to capitalize on the vote, using its state-controlled media, to portray itself as a defender of rights.
At least one international leader has called out Algeria’s hypocrisy. Ferhat Mehenni president of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia condemned in September the “presence” of Algeria in the UN General Assembly for its blatant human rights abuses and attempted “genocide” of the Kabyle people.
Algeria, in tacit coordination with South Africa, reportedly was one of the eight countries of the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (Malta, Mozambique, Guyana, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, and Ecuador) that worked on developing the draft resolution.