The news was tersely stated on page 3 of Algeria's official government newspaper El Moudjahid: "On the occasion of the 17th anniversary of independence, the measures involving Mr. Ben Bella have been lifted." Thus last week ended the 14-year ordeal of Algeria's first President and its most charismatic revolutionary leader, the onetime hero of Third World leftists. Ousted from the presidency in a 1965 coup by his Defense Minister, Houari Boumedienne, Ahmed ben Bella had been held incommunicado with his wife and two adopted children in a variety of apartments, most recently in...
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