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DATE=1/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ALGERIA AMNESTY (L)
NUMBER=2-258042
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  In Algeria, a showdown is looming between 
government security forces and Islamist rebels, as a 
deadline expires for a government amnesty offer.  
Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from our Middle East 
Bureau in Cairo that one of two hardline groups that 
have rejected the amnesty is reportedly seeking a 
last-minute compromise.
TEXT:  Algerian news media say government troops are 
massing in rebel stronghold areas to the east and west 
of the capital, as the four-month amnesty expires 
Thursday.
The amnesty, called the civil concord, was proposed by 
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika following his election 
last April and was overwhelmingly approved last 
September in a popular referendum.  It offers a 
limited amnesty to rebels who have not committed 
murder, bombings, or rape.  An estimated 15-hundred 
rebels have reportedly surrendered.  President 
Bouteflika has vowed to eliminate those who do not 
accept the offer by the Thursday's deadline.
The government two-days ago announced a broader 
amnesty for rebels of the largest rebel group, the 
Islamic Salvation Army, who in exchange agreed to 
disband and lay down their arms.  The Salvation Army 
was the armed wing of the Islamic Salvation Front that 
launched a bloody rebellion eight-years ago after the 
military cancelled elections, which it was poised to 
win.  An estimated 100-thousand people have died in 
the violence.
Two hard-line groups have rejected the amnesty offer 
and vow to continue their struggle.  But as the 
deadline approached state radio and two independent 
newspapers reported that the leader of one of these 
groups, Hassan Hattab, was seeking a last-minute 
amnesty for his several-hundred followers.
            /// REST OPT ///
The last group of rebels, the Armed Islamic Group, has 
given no indication of accepting the amnesty offer.  
French intelligence sources reported earlier this week 
that members of this group had crossed from southern 
Algeria into northern Niger, leading to the 
cancellation of four legs of the Dakar-to-Cairo 
endurance automobile rally.   (SIGNED)
NEB/SB/GE/RAE 
13-Jan-2000 11:23 AM EDT (13-Jan-2000 1623 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.