Sant'Egidio platform

The Sant'Egidio Platform of January 13, 1995 was an attempt by most of the major Algerian opposition parties to put an end to the Algerian Civil War, which had begun in 1992 as a military coup d'état overturned election results that would have brought the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), an Islamic party, to power. It was brokered by the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio in Italy, and is sometimes also known as the Rome Platform or the Rome Accords. Its main importance lay in the unity displayed by the major opposition parties, and the fact that the FIS (through its exile leadership) was found among the signatories; the party had been banned and dissolved at the time of the coup.

The platform, which demanded a reinstatement of democracy, independent investigations of human rights abuse following the coup, the repeal of the dissolution of the FIS, and national reconciliation, was signed by:

* Ali Yahiya, representing the Algerian Human Rights League (LADDH).
* Abdelhamid Mehri, representing the National Liberation Front (FLN).
* Hocine Aït Ahmed and Ahmed Djeddai, representing the Socialist Forces Front (FFS).
* Rabah Kebir and Anwar Haddam, representing the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS).
* Louisa Hanoune, representing the Workers Party (PT).
* Ahmed Ben Bella and Khaled Bensmain, representing the Movement for Democracy in Algeria (MDA).
* Abdallah Djaballah, representing the Islamic Renaissance Movement (al-Nahda) party.
* Ahmed Ben Mouhammed, representing the Contemporary Muslim Algeria movement (JMC).

The original text of the accords, in French, can be found [http://www.santegidio.it/archivio/pace/algeria_19950113_FR.htm here] or [http://www.algeria-watch.org/farticle/docu/platform.htm here] (with a list of participants).