Journalists insulted and threatened because of visit to Israel

Algeria

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Centre algérien pour la défense et la promotion de la liberté de la presse

29 June 2000

2 minute read

(FIJALGER/IFEX) – The arrival of a delegation of Algerian academics and journalists in Tel Aviv on Sunday 25 June 2000 gave rise to a number of extremely violent reactions from the Algerian president, parties of the ruling coalition, organisations close to the circles of power and public and private media which are close to Islamic […]

(FIJALGER/IFEX) – The arrival of a delegation of Algerian academics and journalists in Tel Aviv on Sunday 25 June 2000 gave rise to a number of extremely violent reactions from the Algerian president, parties of the ruling coalition, organisations close to the circles of power and public and private media which are close to Islamic circles.

In an extremely harsh press release published the evening of 26 June by the official press agency, APS, the president noted that, with regard to the visit, “neither the Algerian people nor their government can accept this outrage, because it is a betrayal of our Lebanese brethren, a stab in the back of our Syrian brothers and shows complete contempt for the Palestinian people”. The press release also stated: “we state openly, both within the country and abroad, that they are not a part of us, and that we have no ties with them”, in reference to the journalists visiting Israel. The president added that: “This is another treasonous act (…) but the majority of Algerians see this as disgraceful behaviour in their battle for the freedom and dignity of all peoples.” On the evening of Monday 26 June, the public television station, which is the only station to broadcast nationally, dedicated about twenty minutes of its main news programme to the “event”, notably reading out all the reactions condemning the visit.

Among the reactions to the visit, an Islamist party which is a member of the ruling coalition urged that the participating journalists and academics be tried. On the morning of Tuesday 27 June, commentators in the private press expressed surprise at the speed and harsh tone of accusations against members of the visiting delegation, since the visit had been expected for some time and authorities had been aware of it. One Algerian newspaper and several Arab-language papers published in London announced the upcoming visit some time ago, and at no point did the authorities try to dissuade or stop members of the delegation from travelling to Israel.