Saïd Sadi ( Kabyle: Saεid Seεdi) (born 26 August 1947) is an Algerian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who was President of the

Rally for Culture and Democracy The Rally for Culture and Democracy ( ber, Agraw i Yidles d Tugdut; ar, التجمع من أجل الثقافة والديمقراطية; french: Rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie, RCD) is a political party in Algeria. It promotes ...

(RCD) until 2012. He is founder of the first Algerian human rights league. Born at

Aghrib Aghrib or Aghribs ( ar, أغريب; ber, ⴰⵖⵔⵉⴱ) is a village and commune in the province of Tizi Ouzou in northern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , ...

s, now in

Tizi Ouzou Province Tizi Ouzou ( Kabyle: Tawilayt n Tizi Wezzu, ar, ولاية تيزي وزو) is a province (''wilayah'') of Algeria in the Kabylia region. Its capital is Tizi Ouzou. History In 1984, Boumerdès Province was carved out of its territory. Admini ...

, Sadi is a psychiatrist by profession. He was among the first Berber intellectuals who, from the early days of the country's independence in 1962, began to openly challenge by peaceful means the Algerian government policies of oppression and denial of the rights of the Berber population. He was jailed on several occasions for his political views. Following the collapse of the

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

in 1988, Sadi founded the RCD in 1989 on the basis of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

and

cultural pluralism Cultural pluralism is a term used when smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities, whereby their values and practices are accepted by the dominant culture, provided such are consistent with the laws and valu ...

; the party has found a niche as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

party espousing Kabyle Berber grievances. He was a candidate in the 1995 presidential election and received 9% of the vote. He boycotted the 1999 presidential election but participated in the 2004 presidential election, receiving 1.9% of the vote on that occasion. Sadi announced on 15 January 2009 that the RCD would not participate in the April 2009 presidential election, which he described as a "pathetic and dangerous circus", saying that to participate "would be tantamount to complicity in an operation of national humiliation". He decided to step down from the presidency of his party to become a simple activist. "With a serene conscience and full confidence in the future, I announce my decision not to stand for re-election as president of the RCD," he told the congressmen. On 9 March 2012 he officially resigned from the presidency of the RCD at a party congress. Mohcine Belabbes was elected as his replacement the following day, at the same congress. On February 9, 2018, Saïd Sadi announced his withdrawal from the RCD.

Bibliography

Dr Sadi is the author of several books and pamphlets, including ''Askuti'', which is generally acknowledged to be the first novel written in Berber. * 1982 : Askuti (éd. Imadyazen, Paris.) * 1990 : Le RCD, à cœur ouvert. (éd. parenthèses. Alger.) * 1991 : Culture et démocratie. (éd. parenthèses, Alger.) * 1991 : L'Algérie, l'échec recommencé. (éd. parenthèses, Alger.) * 1996 : L'Algérie, l'heure de vérité. (éd. Flammarion, Paris.) * 2010 : Amirouche : une vie, deux morts, un testament. (Imprimerie les oliviers Tizi Ouzou 2010 ()) et chez l'Harmattan Paris 2010 (). * 2017: ''Chérif Khedam: Abrid iggunnin'' (Le chemin du devoir). * 2019: ''Révolution du 22 février, un miracle algérien''.(éditions Frantz Fanon). * 2020: Mémoires(Tome I) : La Guerre comme berceau ( 1947-1967).(éditions Frantz Fanon).

References

External links

''Algeria's presidential challengers'', BBC News, April 9, 2004Blog
in

AlJazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a State media, state-owned Arabic-language International radio broadcasters, international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and o ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadi, Said 1947 births Algerian Berber politicians Algerian dissidents Living people People from Aghrib Kabyle people Rally for Culture and Democracy politicians Algerian psychiatrists Algerian secularists People of the 2010–2012 Algerian protests 21st-century Algerian people