HOME | north-of-africa.com

The superintendant principal of Police Station (Safety) of Tizi-Ouzou, certainely acted under the order of the Governor, made an "incursion" in the village hall "Aquastar" of Tizi-Ouzou where thirty press correspondants of the East of Algeria were in the seminary of the German Fundation "Friedrich Ebert", organized to their profit on the 27th of March 2007. The charged of regulation in Police Station of Tizi-Ouzou asked to see "the foreigner", then in fact, was only a swiss trainee of the Friedrich Fundation, Miss Hanna Schauffelberg, present in Algeria only for two months.

The seminary which wasn’t ended in the first day because around 4.30 pm, formed by Mrs Zohra Hamouri, charged in the programms of the Friedrich Fundation, and Mr Belkacem Mostefaoui, lecturer at the University of Algiers and Journalist in El-Watan.

The two organizers were legal but didn’t ask for authorisation to hold the seminary during three days. They showed the detailed programm which consisted in "Technical Writting". However, the Police Station didn’t hesitate to order them to the interruption of the seminary. In addition of that, she blams the employee to the village hall "Aquastar". Then, Mr Belkacem Mostefaoui said to the press correspondants: "We haven’t openened a "maquis".

What should be kept is that, once more, the press feedom is really rejected in the moment when they blame the lock of proffisionalism to the correspondants. This trainy is really benefic, would be useful to the press correspondants in their of traiting the news. The contradiction in what happened in Tizi-Ouzou is that the Friedrich Ebert Fundation is present in Algeria since 2002, organized seminaries of international trainies for benefity of journalists, syndicalists and human rights militants on all wilayas of Algeria except in Kabylia, this region which is called "The free territory" for Tizi-Ouzou and "Switzerland without visa" for Béjaia. No comments.

Because it is not only in Tizi-Ouzou where the authorization is required but, also in Béjaia. Morover, this seminary must be held in the Capital of Djurdjura, in one hand, because of the absence of authorization in Béjaia, in the other hand, anotherv seminary was organized in Tizi-Ouzou in the same "Hall Village" without the intervention of the authorities.

It is not the first time that a seminary of trainy, programmed in Béjaia, is transfered elswhere. In fact, in May 2006, "Modern Strategies of Communication" were canceled for the same reason and the seminary was held three months later in... Chéraga (Algiers).

The question that should be asked now is that: should we subject to the system of exception of Kabylia or do the best to reach the press liberty? By it should be underlined in the moment when the Algerian People don’t take advantage in the oil income, the Fundation foreigner, German, that give the chance to the Algerian journalists to improve theselves. Morover, ten days ago, the Friedrich Ebert Fundation organized a trainy of two days in its headquater in El-Biar (Algiers). The instractor, Maurice Decroix, a famous French journalist who has a career of 40 years and and, now, is instractor in the Superior School of Journalism of Lille (North of France).

The seminary which were stopped in Tizi-Ouzou by the Superintendant Principal of Police station was transfered to the organizators’headquater in El-Biar (Algiers).

But, concerning Kabylia, the warning bele is started. It’s true that when the Friedrich Ebert Fundation associate to the Algerian organization, the authorization is given by the authorities. Morover, on the 8th of March 2007, a seminary was organized in Akbou (Béjaia) with the collaboration with the LADDH (Human Rights) and an another seminary in Béjaia-City from the 11th to the 13th March 2007 with the collaboration of the UGTA.

At the end, the journalists will say to the Superintendant Principal of the security of Tizi-Ouzou that bthey don’t stop daily denoncing in the colunns of their Newspapers the assassinating of Policemen by the terrorists and themselves are threatened. morover, how much famous journalists were assassinated during the black decade?

Instead making the "incursions" like these of Tizi-Ouzou, the Superintendant Principal should interest better in the bad activities of "the Mafias" in the cabarets of Tizi-Ouzou. Unless the interests are shared with the "Barons". Know we really the truth?

Kamel SOUAMI