Algeria opens polling station in RI

JAKARTA: The Algerian Embassy in Jakarta has arranged a polling station in Jakarta for its citizens living in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam to participate in the referendum on the Charter Plan for Peace and National Reconciliation, Algerian Ambassador to Indonesia Hamza Yahia-Cherif said in Jakarta.

"The polling station has been opened at our embassy in Jakarta," Ambassador Yahia-Cherif told The Jakarta Post.

The polling station, which was established on Saturday, will close on Sept. 29, the day the referendum will be held in Algeria.

According to the Algerian Embassy's counselor Said Boudaoud, there are over 70 Algerian citizens -- mostly in Indonesia -- living in the three countries.

The main aim of the referendum will be to transcend the Fitna (discord) and its terrible consequences in order to restore peace and security as well as stability in the country.

It's other purpose would be to heal the wounds generated by the national tragedy through national reconciliation.

Clashes between Algeria's Islamic radicals and the government forces claimed thousands of lives in the 1990s. -- JP