Bouteflika continues governing from France

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika continues to give directives "everyday" for the management of national affairs, Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said on Monday in Algiers. Algerian Radio quoted the minister as saying that the president is following national affairs from France. Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, meanwhile, has urged Algerian citizens on Sunday to stop focusing on the health of Bouteflika, who has been hospitalised in France since late April. Sellal said other presidents get medical treatment for weeks and "nobody talks about it." He said he regretted that Algeria has come to the point where the public doesn't believe official statements. At a conference on institutional communication Sunday, Sellal said: "We have nothing to hide." The French and Algerian governments have said little about the condition of Bouteflika, 76, since he was rushed to France for treatment after suffering a mini-stroke on April 27. Academics, politicians, and civil society groups in Algeria have called for the implementation of a constitutional article that can relieve a president of his duties for health reasons.