by
Zighen Aym
On Thursday
June 25, 1998 Matoub Lounes was assassinated at a roadblock between Tizi-Ouzou
and his hometown of Taourirt Moussa, Ait Douala. This event sent tremors among the Amazigh communities in North
Africa, Europe and other parts of the World. His death has dealt another blow
to the Amazigh movement, which has been peacefully claiming the rights to its
language and culture.
Matoub, a very
popular Amazigh singer, spoke out on behalf of Amazigh culture and language and
denounced their discrimination and exclusion by the Algerian government. His
fans and followers count in thousands if not millions in Algerian and abroad.
His love for Tamazight was evident in his beautiful poems about Kabylia, the
mountainous region of Algeria. In one
of his songs titled “d idurar i d laemer-iw” (It is the mountains that are my life)1 he
expresses his hope of unity of Imazighen and promises that his voice will be
always be present to sing in Tamazight for Tamazight.
Not only was
Matoub a talented musician and great poet, he was also fearless because fear
did not stop him from speaking his mind. He was the first singer to denounce
the successive Algerian governments that have lead the country to the present
quasi-civil war that has been ravaging it for the past seven years. He criticized Ahmed Ben Bella, the first
Algerian president (1962-1965) who initiated the 1963 “Solidarity Fund”
program, which scammed Amazigh women of their jewelry sets during the early
days of independence. Matoub also denounced
Houari Boumediene (1965-1978) who set up a police state. Matoub became very
popular, reaching the top of his career during Bendjedid Chadli’s era
(1978-1991) when corruption and cronyism were widespread. Matoub targeted
specific events such as the 1985 London meeting and accords between Ben-Bella
and Ait-Ahmed, the present leader of the FFS political party and also a leader
during the Algerian war of independence2.
Themes in
Matoub’s songs generally focused on the political situation of the country. He
searched for music in the rich cultural heritage of Amazigh melodies. His poetic talent resulted in clear and
strong lyrics. A case in point is his poem titled “Kenza”3,
Oh Kenza
my daughter
Do not
weep
We have
been sacrificed
For a
new Algeria
Kenza,
Oh my daughter
Do not
weep
Tahar Djaout,
who was assassinated in 1993, speaks to his daughter Kenza, comforting her and
explaining that his death may not be a loss to Algeria after all.
Early in June
1998, Matoub had finished preparing his fourth CD since the start of Algeria’s
turmoil. The CD, title is “Lettre Ouverte à …” ( Open Letter to …) is his most
political work. Matoub chose to use
Amazigh lyrics set to the Algerian national anthem. Moreover, the apex of the
song is reached when Matoub sings “ Betrayal, Betrayal, and Betrayal”, replacing
the chorus of the Algerian anthem: “Become a Martyr.”
In addition,
Matoub purposely denounced the Algerian government’s close contacts and
dealings with the conservative religious parties. He sings:
You do
remember
Who was
Bouyali? 4
Whom he was
with?
Do not
bother to search
The door
of death and oppression
It is
Nahnah5
with
whom he sealed a pact
(against
the people) at Zbarbar6
And yes,
today,
We see
them in power7.
It is
them. They have turned coats.
They
have tiptoed into power
To them,
time has no limits
and when
they will gain full power, they will ….
In the CD
Matoub used both traditional music of Algiers and that of the mountains of
Kabylia to sing his profound poetry. In
addition, he enlisted his friend Ali Dilem, the young and famous cartoonist of
the Algerian newspaper Liberté, to help him design for the front cover of his
CD (see Page 11). The result was a set
of political messages and drawings that describes Algeria’s present dire
political situation. Using the Algerian flag as a background, Dilem’s cartoons
of conservative religious figures are drawn on the white vertical stripe and
are accompanied by their motto: “We live by it, We die for it.” On the green stripe, three cartoons depicting
the present Algerian president Zeroual, the Prime Minister Ouyahia, and a
military officer, are accompanied by the first letters of the Arabic alphabet,
representing the government’s program of forced arabization. To pay a special homage and tribute to the
Algerian artists who have suffered the losses of many of their colleagues
during the last seven years, Matoub chose to include cartoon of Amazigh
comedian, Fellag, holding a sign that reads “Algeriassic Park” on the lower
left corner. Moreover, the red crescent
and star of the Algerian flag are dripping blood and represent the bleeding of
the Algerian people whose blood has been shed as they have been falling victims
in political games.
The slaying of
Matoub in June is a reminder of his previous close encounters with death.
During the demonstrations of October 1988, he was critically shot at a close
range by a government gendarme as he was distributing leaflets calling people
to remain calm. He remained in a hospital for several months, and had to be
operated several times after his recovery. He immortalized the shooting in his
song titled “ajadarmi n leear” (the gendarme of shame). In September 1994, he was kidnapped by the
Armed Islamic Group, a militant group in Algeria that has been waging a war
against the government as well as writers, journalists, intellectuals, women,
and peasants. While in captivity, he
was tried and sentenced to death by his kidnappers. Amidst the popular
demonstrations and threat of reprisal against conservative religious leaders,
he was released fifteen days later in captivity.
Despite the danger, Matoub never accepted to
live in exile in Paris. He frequently traveled back to Kabylia to be among his
people and to see Kabylia: its numerous hills of olive groves and its majestic
Djurdjura mountains.
The killing of
Matoub sparked street demonstrations in many cities in Kabylia, opposing
militants of Tamazight to government forces.
It also inflamed the Amazigh population anger and heightened its
opposition to the Algerian’s government plan to impose Arabic as the sole
official language. The first demonstrations took place in the areas of
Tizi-ouzou and Bgayet, but spread to other regions. At least the government forces reportedly killed five people.
Matoub did not
survive his injuries. His burial took place on Sunday June 28 in his hometown
of Taourirt Moussa, in the backyard of his house, between a fig tree and a
cherry tree, in accordance to his wishes.
According to reports, tens of thousands of fans and Amazigh activists
poured from all of the villages of Kabylia and other Algerian cities and
attended the funeral. Addressing the
crowds, Matoub’s sister, Malika, emotionally said:” Today is a great joy. We
are welcoming the birth of Matoub Lounes." His mother, Aldjia, held a hunting rifle and fired two shots. A
few days later, several peaceful marches were held in Algiers, Tizi-ouzou and
Bgayet. In Paris many prominent Algerian, as well as French intellectuals and
journalists attended a meeting, organized by Amazigh associations in homage to
Matoub. In Montreal, the Amazigh
community held a peaceful vigil in his honor.
In the USA, the Amazigh Cultural association organized two events in his
homage: In New York, participants eulogized Matoub’s work and dedication. In San Francisco, Members paid a tribute to
Matoub in an evening event that included a performance of Matoub’s songs and a
display of his work, photographs, and articles.
Matoub Lounes
is the fifth Algerian singer to die in the last four years. His death is a
great loss to the Amazigh movement, which has suffered the loss of three
prominent Amazigh writers, Mould Mammeri, Kateb Yacine, and Tahar Djaout in the
last decade. However, the Amazigh movement will survive the tragedy, and the
Amazigh population’s relentless claim will prevail and the Amazigh language and
culture will triumph.
1. See Matoub’s
poem on Pages 7,8 and 9 of AV.
2. Ironically,
Ait-Ahmed was jailed by former President Ben-Bella in 1963. He escaped from
prison and went into exile.
3. See Matoub’s poem on page 9 of AV.
4. One the
first Islamic armed group who took arms against the government.
5. Leader of the religious party
MSP (Mouvement pour la Societé de Paix), Movement for a Peaceful Society
6. A forested
area where armed Islamic groups meet and find refuge.
7. The
government’s accords with religious political parties lead to the nomination to
ministerial position of at least three MSP officers. In addition, a former FIS (Front Islamic du Salut) leader was
also a minister in the previous government.