To the rebel leaders meeting in hurried conferences in Tunis last week, the referendum was nearly as stunning as to the frightened Europeans in Algeria. Most startling was the undeniable popularity of provisional Premier Ferhat Abbas, whose name became a rallying cry to the suddenly awakened Moslems in Algiers and Oran.
Though nominally Premier of the provisional F.L.N. government, Ferhat Abbas, 61, has been considered a convenient front man by top "Defense Committee" operatives, such as tough, secretive Abdulhafid Boussouf and Lakdar ben Tobbal.
Abbas joined the rebels only five years ago, after a lifetime as an Algerian moderate who seemed unable to...
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