The Algerian army command warned on Sunday retired officers against mixing military affairs with politics shortly after a number of retired officers issued stances related to Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah’s position on President Abdulaziz Bouteflika running for a fifth term. In a strongly worded statement, the Defense Ministry, without identifying the officers, accused them of “completely disregarding their duty” and becoming embroiled in politics. “They claim to have a message and play a role that they are not qualified to assume,” it stated, adding that they were making assumptions about the chief of staff’s position on the presidential elections, which are set for April 2019. The statement appears to have been issued in wake of retired officer Ali Ghediri’s remarks last week in which he urged Gaid Salah against seeking Bouteflika’s reelection. The Defense Ministry statement implied that Ghediri does not even know Gaid Salah’s stance on the reelection. Military rules in Algeria stipulate that any member of the army, whether active or retired, must refrain from meddling in political affairs. The Defense Ministry deemed the officers’ discussion of politics and elections as a “gross and dangerous oversight that can only stem from their blind ambition.” The military, which respects the constitution, “can do without any lessons by individuals who would not exist were it not for the positions they occupy.” Some retired officers, after serving for long years in the army, have assumed such “suspicious positions” in order to pursue personal ambitions and interests that they were not able to attain during their time in service. These “suspicious positions,” said observers, probably refer to former intelligence chief Mohammed Mediene, whom supporters of the army commander said was “operating behind the scenes” in promoting Bouteflika’s reelection. Mediene was sacked from his post in 2015.