The
jailing of two Algerian journalists, Mohammed Benchicou,
publisher of the daily newspaper 'Le Matin' and Hafnaoui
Ghoul, a journalist and human rights activist, could
signal the start of "a wave of attacks on independent
journalism" following the recent re-election of
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika warned Algerian and international
media leaders in Brussels today.
A delegation
of media leaders from Algeria and international journalists'
groups called for an international action plan to counter
what they see as "a politically-motivated campaign
by Algerian politicians to deal with opposition newspapers
and opinions in the aftermath of the election."
According to the Brussels-based International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ), Algeria is currently suffering
from a "media crisis" that calls for international
action. The IFJ, which represents over 500,000 journalists
in more than 100 countries, organised a seminar in the
Belgian capital to organise international pressure against
the Bouteflika regime.
Among the proposals
is a decision by the IFJ to relaunch its media crisis
centre in Algeria, which was set up in the mid-1990s
to assist journalists in the midst of a murderous terror
campaign by fundamentalists who targeted journalists
among other professional groups. At that time, almost
100 journalists and media staff were killed.
The
latest crisis arises from actions against the country's
lively private press, which is often critical of
the authorities, IFJ says in a press release. During
the last months, incidents victimising the independent
press have increased dramatically in Algeria. 'Le
Matin' publisher Benchicou was sentenced to two
years in jail for a foreign currency offence, which
press freedom groups are convinced is an excuse
to penalise a persistent critic of the government,
and journalist Ghoul was sentenced to two months
for "defamation and outrage" after an
interview he gave to 'Le Soir d'Algérie'
about the national human rights situation.
We
have to build a new alliance of solidarity between
Algerian journalists and their colleagues in Europe
and around the world, said Aidan White, General
Secretary of the IFJ and chair of the discussion.
"These latest actions must be challenged, our
colleagues must be set free and the government must
respect international standards of press freedom,"
he added.
The meeting agreed
to seek support for a permanent structure, which is
to "monitor the progress of press freedom violations
and intimidation against journalists in Algeria,"
and to appeal directly to the European Union to protest
against "repressive measures taken by the Algerian
authorities against the freedom of the press in Algeria."
The meeting noted
that the actions against journalists flout agreements
signed between the EU and Algeria. "We must develop
an international action to defend press freedom in Algeria,"
said Mr White. "And that includes being on the
spot to respond when these attacks take place."
Staff
WRITER |
|
