ALGERIA: FUNERAL OF MURDERED ABDELKADER HACHANI

(23 Nov 1999) French/Nat
The funeral of Abdelkader Hachani, a moderate leader of Algerian's banned Islamic Salvation Front was held on Tuesday.
Hachani, who was 43, was assassinated on Monday in Algiers. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
His killing is likely to deal a serious blow to efforts to reconcile the divided North African nation.
Al Abdelkader Hachani, one of the leaders of the Islamic Salvation Front has been buried in Algiers, the country's capital.
Hachani was shot twice in the head and once in the stomach as he entered his dentist's office on Monday.
Hachani's party, the Islamic Salvation Front, accused "eradicators" for the assignation.
It uses for those who want Islamic militants removed from Algerian life, but others speculated that the radical Armed Islamic Group could be behind the killing.
Hachani, the third-ranking leader in the Islamic Salvation Front, was seen as a force
for reconciliation in Algeria.
In December 1991, with the party's top two leaders, Abassi Madani and Ali Belhadj, already in prison, Hachani led the Salvation Front to victory in a first round of legislative elections.
The army then cancelled the second round, arrested Hachani and banned the movement, sparking an Islamic insurgency that has left 100-thousand people dead.
Hachani, a former petrochemical engineer and teacher, had maintained a low profile since being freed in July 1997.
However, he worked behind the scenes for the party's return to politics, and was said to have played a role in negotiations with the military that led to a truce declared in 1997 by the Salvation Front's military wing, the Islamic Salvation Army.
In October, he was among prominent Algerians who called for a summit to seek a global solution to the violence that has wracked the nation.
That position also put him at odds with Abassi Madani, the top leader of the Salvation Front who is under house arrest, and Rabah Kebir, the movement's exile leader.
The killing of Hachani has reinforced divisions in Algeria.
The lawyer for the Islamic Salvation Army said Hachani's death is a big loss for
the country.
SOUNDBITE (French)
"It's real sadness not only for his family and those who want peace but also for the people of Algeria. Because he was a very intelligent man for whom peace and the national reconciliation was important."
SUPERCAPTION: Ali Yhia Abdenour, Hachani's lawyer
Hachani's killing came amid a new surge of violence, with two massacres in a week leaving 25 people dead.
It is bound to further raise tensions as a January 13th deadline nears for Islamic insurgents to lay down their arms.
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