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Algeria - Revolution of Smiles 

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Algeria Revolution Of Smiles

16/07/2019 GMT

Algeria - Revolution of Smiles

BBC World News - Algeria - Revolution of Smiles

Reveals how Algerians are trying to rewrite the history of revolutions in the Arab world.

This film reveals how Algerians are trying to rewrite the history of revolutions in the Arabic-speaking world.

In February this year, protests erupted on the streets of Algiers after it was announced that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was considering running for an unprecedented fifth term. Outraged that the ailing 82-year-old president, who hadn't delivered a speech in public since 2013, was being presented in absentia yet again, Algerians took to the streets in the first of a series of nationwide demonstrations that continue to this day. Their protests led to Bouteflika's resignation on 2 April. In what has been called 'The Revolution of Smiles', this peaceful rebellion has emboldened the Algerian people to demand the removal of the entire political system. But the Algerian army is trying hard to slow down such radical change. Rushed trials of selected oligarchs for corruption are viewed with suspicion by many as an appeasement tactic. As time passes, there are concerns that the military - which argues that a political void will fuel ethnic division and lead to the dismantling of the state - will attempt to steal the momentum and impose their own tailored transition. Many millions of Algerians have taken part in the protests so far, and as we enter the fifth month of 'The Revolution of Smiles', no-one knows what will happen. But Algerians appear determined to remain united, and to hold on for as long as it takes to cleanse the legacy of 20 years of Bouteflika's rule and build a government that can now serve the people. This film reveals how Algerians are trying to rewrite the history of revolutions in the Arabic-speaking world. We follow leading characters from the Harak - the protest movement - to discover their personal reasons for coming onto the streets. They include Anes, Algeria's most famous YouTuber, who is outraged by the corruption that is eating the country; Zubaida, a famous lawyer, who laments corruption in the judicial system; and Louisa, a renowned photojournalist, who is fighting for a free press. We see them in the thick of the protests and hear their hopes for the future of the country, With the 4th of July elections now postponed, and arrests continuing of high-profile government figures including former prime ministers, the future remains uncertain. Will Algerians remain united in their demands for a total break with the regime? How far will the army support them? Can the spirit of the revolution, and the hope it inspires, persist?

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