Media Crisis
In Algeria: International Action Plan Over Jail Terms
and New Threats to Press
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 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.
Among the proposals is a decision by the International
Federation of Journalists 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. Benchicou
was condemned 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 Ghoul was sentenced to two months for "defamation
and outrage" after an interview he gave to Le Soir
d'Algérie about the 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."
The meeting agreed
to seek support for a permanent structure, which will
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 White. "And that includes
being on the spot to respond when these attacks take
place."
The media debate
was organised by Journalists at your Service, the Brussels-based
alliance of journalists' groups - the IFJ, the AGJPB/AVBB
(Belgian Journalists Union), the International Press
Association, the European Journalism Centre and the
Brussels branch of the United Kingdom's National Union
of Journalists (NUJ). Among the speakers were Omar Bellouchet,
Director of El Watan; Fatiha Benchicou, wife of journalist
Mohammed Benchicou; Rabah Abdallah, General Secretary
of the Algerian Journalists' Union, and Zoubir Souissi,
head of the Algeria Council of Media Ethics.
For further information,
contact the IFJ, International Press Center, Residence
Palace 155, rue de la Loi - Bloc C, B-1040 Brussels,
Belgium, tel: +322 235 2200 or +322 235 2207, fax: +322
235 2219, e-mail: robert.shaw@ifj.org, Internet: http://www.ifj.org/
The IFJ represents
over 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries
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