April 9, 1999
His Excellency Liamine Zeroual
President of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Lamamra Remtane
Embassy of Algeria
2118 Kalorama Rd., N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
Your Excellency,
On the occasion of Algeria’s upcoming presidential election next week, as the international media prepare to cover events inside the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), writes to express deep concern about ongoing government restrictions on foreign journalists who report from Algeria.
For several years, CPJ has documented continued government strictures on the freedom of movement of foreign reporters inside Algeria. Algerian authorities have systematically enforced a policy of providing mandatory armed government escorts for foreign reporters-a policy which has severely curtailed the ability of journalists to carry out their work.
Reporters have consistently noted that the presence of escorts, who accompany reporters to all destinations outside of their hotels, prevents them from conducting serious investigative journalism in Algeria, including carrying out sensitive interviews and meeting with opposition figures. CPJ views such limitations on the press as clear infringements on the universally accepted right of journalists to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers,” as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Algerian government has asserted that security escorts for foreign journalists are essential for their protection. Indeed, during the first half of the decade, Algeria was the most dangerous country in the world to practice journalism. CPJ has documented that 58 reporters and editors were killed by suspected Islamist militants between 1993-1996. Yet the Algerian government has asserted in recent years that the country’s security situation has improved markedly, and that “terrorism” has become a “residual” phenomenon.
Foreign reporters who travel to Algeria increasingly describe mandatory security escorts as a mechanism of government control-to monitor and restrict the reporting and movements of journalists-rather than a means of protection.
In April 1998, former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, in an address to the Algerian senate, rejected complaints that foreign journalists were being prevented from doing their work, saying “We have nothing to hide.” One month earlier, in March 1998, a delegation from the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers had secured unequivocal pledges from former Communications and Culture Minister Habib Chawki Hamraoui that foreign journalists would be able to refuse armed escorts within a matter of “weeks or months.” To date, this pledge has not been fulfilled, and foreign reporters continue to chafe under restrictions on their movement. Most recently, on October 27, 1998, representatives from CPJ raised our concern about this issue during a meeting with former minister Hamraoui in Algiers, urging the government to end its restrictions on the foreign press.
During that meeting we also raised our concern about the difficulties foreign journalists have experienced in obtaining journalist visas to work in Algeria. In numerous cases documented by CPJ, journalists have gone months, and in some cases years, without receiving a reply to their individual visa requests. Some believe that they have been “blacklisted” by authorities in response to what has been deemed the journalists’ unfavorable coverage of Algerian affairs. Others, who have no reason to suspect government reprisal, are unable to explain why they have not secured visas.
Unfettered access for journalists is essential for the functioning of a free press. While we acknowledge the Algerian government’s stated concerns for the protection and safety of journalists in Algeria, we also believe that, as professionals, journalists are entitled to make judgments about the risks involved in a particular journalistic mission and should be able to decide whether or not they require security or protection for such purposes.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-governmental organization of journalists devoted to upholding the rights of our colleagues worldwide, respectfully urges the Algerian government to end its restrictions on foreign journalists working in Algeria, including the use of mandatory escorts, and to ensure the right of journalists to carry out their professional duties freely without government interference. We also urge the Algerian government to facilitate the visa process for journalists wishing to work in Algeria, and to ensure that no journalist is denied access on the basis of his or her journalistic work.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters. We look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper Executive Director
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Send a letter to:
His Excellency Liamine Zeroual
President of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Lamamra Remtane
Embassy of Algeria
2118 Kalorama Rd., N.W.
Washington, DC 20008