Smain Lamari
Smain Lamari | |
---|---|
Birth name | Smain Lamari |
Born | June 14, 1941 Major General |
Unit | 8th Infantry Regiment |
Major General Smain Lamari (
Along with Generals Mohamed Lamari (unrelated to him), Khaled Nezzar, Larbi Belkheir and "Toufik" Médiène, he was one of the influential "Algerian Generals".[1] Lamari was close to Larbi Belkheir, now ambassador in Morocco.[1]
Lamari died from a
Career
Born in Ain Bessam (Algeria) in 1941, the son of a taxi-driver from the Titteri region, he quit high school to join the
Algerian Civil War
Lamari was one of the Generals, along with
Lamari's successes in the war against the Islamists included the elimination of the first core of the GIA (Meliani, Chebouti and Bâa Azzedine), infiltration of terrorist
Rumors claimed that President Mohamed Boudiaf, assassinated in June 1992, had envisioned to get rid of Lamari.[1] The Algerian Free Officers' Movement (MAOL), an opposition group in exile, controversially accused Lamari of playing a key role in organising the assassination of President Boudiaf, and of personally choosing Lembarek Boumaarafi as the assassin.[6]
These rumors concerning Boudiaf's projects were shared with the
Furthermore, the DCE, headed by Lamari, assisted Western intelligence services in the struggle against
National Reconciliation program
Despite Lamari's adamant opposition to the Islamists and his membership in the Eradicateurs camp (Eradicators), he played a key role in the negotiations with the AIS, the armed front of the FIS, beginning in 2000.[2] He convinced Madani Mezrag's men to surrender their arms.[4]
Pharmalliance SARL
Lamari's daughter, Amal Lamari, founded Pharmalliance SARL in 1997 (soon after graduating from university) and is its director-general. She received the 20,250 m2 (218,000 sq ft) site in Ouled Fayet (near Algiers) on which the Pharmalliance factory is built from the government through laws meant to encourage investment, while her father personally received a 1,035 m2 (11,140 sq ft) plot of land in Hydra (a prestigious neighbourhood of Algiers) by a special decree.[7]
Funeral
Smain Lamari was buried in the Quartier des Martyrs in the El Alia Cemetery, in presence of most of Algeria's policy makers. Beside President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the ministers Abdelmalek Sellal, Chérif Rahmani, and Noureddine Moussa attended his funeral.[3] The President of the Senate, Abdelkader Bensalah, was also there, as well as Ahmed Ouyahia (twice Prime Minister), General Khaled Nezzar, former Prime Minister Mouloud Hamrouche, Issad Rebrab. Allegations were made that the Islamist Abdelhak Layada, co-founder of the GIA, was also present, as well as Lamari's boss, General Toufik.[3]
References
- ^ Rue 89, 29 August 2007 (in French)
- ^ a b c Décès du directeur de la sécurité intérieure algérienne, le général-major Smain Lamari[permanent dead link], AP, mirrored by La Tribune, 28 August 2007 (in French)
- ^ a b c Le numéro deux du DRS victime d’une crise cardiaque - Smaïn Lamari enterré hier à El Alia, El Watan, 29 August 2007 (in French)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Le général-major Smaïn Lamari inhumé hier à El-Alia - Décès du numéro 2 du DRS Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Liberté, 29 August 2007 (in French)
- Rue 89, 29 August 2007 (in French)
- ^ Operation Boudiaf Archived 2007-05-09 at the Wayback Machine, MAOL (in English and French)
- ^ http://www.pharmalliance.dz/index.php?id_page=2, http://www.agirpourlalgerie.com/smain.htm, https://web.archive.org/web/20060614012829/http://algeria-watch.org/fr/article/eco/terres/gestion_foncier.htm
Sources
- "Algeria Interface: Smain Lamari". Archived from the original on May 13, 2004. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Mafia-DZ: Smain Lamari
- Smain Lamari: Blood and business