Bouregaa’s son announced the veteran’s death two weeks after contracting the coronavirus.
Lakhdar Bouregaa, a highly regarded veteran of the Algerian War of Independence against France and a key figure in an anti-government protest movement, has died at the age of 87.
“Lakhdar Bouregaa is now under God’s protection,” his son Hani Bouregaa wrote on Facebook late Wednesday, two weeks after the veteran’s family announced that he had contracted coronavirus.
The longtime opposition politician, who spent the second half of 2019 in prison for her role in the Hirak mass protest movement, was buried in the Sidi Yahia cemetery in the hills above Algiers.
It found hundreds of mourners pay their respects at gatherings despite the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus.
05/11/20:
Thousands of citizens attended the funeral of the brave mujahideen Si Lakhdar Bouregaa to pay tribute to a man who was truly respected in all four corners of #Algeria. God grant him heaven and everlasting peace. ❤️🌹💥🇩🇿🙏 https://t.co/Rc4mT53IUH
– Gem_Tam (@ GemTam142) November 5, 2020
Some shouted the Hirak protest movement’s slogan “civil, not military” and promised to “continue the fight”.
“We’ll remember him because he was determined to push forward and pass the torch on to young people,” wrote a Twitter user, adding that Bouregaa possessed the “rare” quality of a war hero who avoided it got stuck in the past.
Bouregaa was a longtime opposition political figure who spent the second half of 2019 in prison for his role in the Hirak mass protest movement [Ryad Kramdi/AFP]The Hirak protests flooded the streets of Algerian cities in early 2019, forcing long-time President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Protesters continued to gather in the hundreds of thousands to demand sweeping political reforms and did not suspend demonstrations until the coronavirus pandemic triggered a nationwide lockdown.
Nearly 90 of their supporters, including journalists and bloggers, are currently behind bars, according to CNLD, the prisoners’ support group.
But the Hirak has tried to maintain political pressure, including by boycotting a referendum on constitutional amendments that took place on Sunday – an exercise he described as the regime’s window dressing.
The poll found a meager official turnout of 23.7 percent, the lowest in any national poll since independence.
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