Algeria has decided to withdraw its accreditation to the international French channel France 24. This decision is motivated, according to the Ministry of Communication, by “non-compliance with the rules of professional ethics, disinformation and manipulation as well as aggressiveness proven with regard to Algeria ”affirmed Ammar Belhimer, spokesperson for the government. Above all, it occurs the day after early legislative elections marked by a high rate of abstention.
Tensions around the opening of the hirak
The news fell at the end of the day on Sunday through a dispatch from the Algerian National Press Agency, APS. In this text, it is recalled that in March already the Ministry of Communication warned the television channel for its coverage of the hirak movement. “On March 13, a last warning before final withdrawal” of its accreditation was sent to France 24, questioning its “coverage of the Friday marches” a reference to the demonstrations of the hirak, the popular movement protesting the regime.
The news channel, which again covered the legislative elections live from Algiers on Saturday, reacted in the evening by saying it was surprised “not to have received an explanation” on this withdrawal of the accreditation of its correspondents.
“Our coverage of Algerian news is done in transparency, independence and honesty,” said France 24 in a message read on the air. Asked by AFP, the French Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
On March 13, France 24 had already assured to do its “job as honestly as possible”. “We just do our work as journalists in accordance with the rules in force,” Marc Saikali, director of France 24, told AFP.
In July 2020, Moncef Aït Kaci, correspondent for France 24, and cameraman Ramdane Rahmouni were placed in preventive detention, before being released 24 hours later. Moncef Aït Kaci is based in Algiers and covered the legislative elections for the French service of France 24.
For years, foreign media working in Algeria have been subjected to a bureaucratic, opaque and haphazard accreditation procedure. The director of Agence France-Presse (AFP) for Algeria, Philippe Agret, appointed in October 2019, has never obtained accreditation from the authorities. No reason was given in this regard.
All-out repression
And working conditions are difficult for Algerian journalists, against a backdrop of repression of the hirak by the authorities. Born in February 2019 from a rejection of a fifth term of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, aphasic president, the movement continued despite the ousting of ex-president Bouteflika and his clan, then the election of a new head of state, Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Algeria appears in the 146e place (out of 180) in the 2020 world press freedom ranking established by RSF. It has lost 27 places in five years.
The hirak calls for the dismantling of the system of governance in place since independence in 1962. The authorities say that the main demands of the movement have been met.
After having shunned the presidential election at the end of 2019 and the constitutional referendum at the end of 2020, the Algerian population again turned away from the polls during the legislative elections organized on Saturday in an attempt to strengthen the legitimacy of the government. According to official figures, the abstention rate was around 70%.
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