News from Algeria 2007

[Al-khiyal]

Samedi 27 Janvier 2007 - - Pour prendre part au 8ème sommet ordinaire de l’Union africaine (UA), réunissant lundi et mardi prochains une cinquantaine de dirigeants africains en présence du nouveau SG de l’ONU, Ban Ki-moon, le président de la République, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, est attendu aujourd’hui dans la capitale éthiopienne, Addis-Abeba.

Selon un communiqué de la présidence de la République, rendu public hier par le biais de l’APS, Abdelaziz Bouteflika prendra part également, avant cette huitième session, aux travaux de la 16ème session du Comité des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement chargé de la mise en œuvre du Nouveau partenariat pour le développement de l’Afrique (Nepad) et à la 6ème session du Forum du mécanisme africain d’évaluation par les pairs (MAEP). Le sommet de l’UA, précisément l’Assemblée des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement de l’Union selon le lexique interne à cette organisation qui a succédé à l’Organisation de l’unité africaine (OUA), devra notamment passer en revue les questions d’actualité en sus du thème retenu officiellement à ce rendez-vous, à savoir «science, technologie et recherche scientifique pour le développement et changement climatique en Afrique».

Par ailleurs, l’Union africaine a réitéré hier son soutien au droit à l’autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental. En effet, les travaux de la 10ème session du Conseil exécutif de l’UA, en procédant à l’examen du rapport du président de la commission africaine, Alpha Oumar Konaré, ont permis de prendre acte, rapporte l’APS, des derniers développements de la question sahraouie pour souligner l’appui de la communauté internationale, à travers la résolution 1495 (2005) du Conseil de sécurité, au droit à l’autodétermination du peuple du Sahara occidental. Il est à souligner qu’une délégation mixte du Haut commissariat aux réfugiés (HCR) et du Programme alimentaire mondial (PAM) est, depuis jeudi dernier, en mission d’évaluation de la famine qui sévit dans les camps des réfugiés sahraouis.

Le rapport du président de la commission, adopté à l’unanimité du Conseil exécutif, réaffirme, précise la même source, la responsabilité des Nations unies envers le peuple sahraoui et souligne que la solution du conflit du Sahara occidental réside dans l’exercice par le peuple du Sahara occidental de son droit à l’autodétermination. L’Algérie, par la voix du chef de sa délégation aux travaux de cette session ministérielle, le ministre délégué, Abdelkader Messahel, en l’occurrence, a rappelé, lors des débats, son engagement et sa contribution pour promouvoir la paix, la sécurité et la résolution des conflits en Afrique.

Dans ce cadre, ajoute l’APS, Abdelkader Messahel s’est félicité des développements positifs enregistrés en RDC (République démocratique du Congo), en Côte-d’Ivoire et en Somalie, qui appellent un effort concerté de tous les pays africains pour consolider ces acquis et tout mettre en œuvre en vue de la finalisation des processus de paix dans ces pays sous la supervision du Conseil de paix et de sécurité de l’UA, auquel l’Algérie continuera d’apporter toute sa contribution.

Bouteflika aujourd’hui à Addis-Abeba

[Al-khiyal]

La liste des témoins comprend Ouyahia, Benachenhou et Laksasi

BCIA trial begins in Oran court

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La première journée consacrée à la lecture de l’arrêt de renvoi

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS, Algeria: A police officer and a suspected Islamic militant were killed in clashes in a mountainous region of eastern Algeria, a report said Sunday.

Militants ambush a police station in the remote Skikda region, some 510 kilometers (317 miles) east of the capital, Algiers, on Saturday, Liberte newspaper reported. One officer was killed and four wounded in the attack on the town of Sidi Mansour, Liberte said.

Another attack Saturday on an army unit conducting a routine operation near the town of Oued Zeggar caused no casualties, the report said.

Algeria's security forces dispatched helicopters to find those responsible for the two attacks. One suspected militant was killed and another wounded in the sweep, Liberte said.

Algeria is trying to pull itself out of an Islamic insurgency that started 14 years ago and has killed an estimated 150,000 people: Islamists, civilians and military.

Large-scale fighting died down in the late 1990s, but sporadic violence continues to rattle the oil-rich North African nation.

Report: Police officer, suspected Islamist militant killed in clashes in Algeria

[Al-khiyal]

Algerian authorities are taking measures to curb the theft and illegal trade of highly prized archaeological artefacts.

In the second week of January, police in the wilaya of Algiers arrested three people caught in possession of 98 archaeological artefacts stolen from the Djebrine Museum in the Tassili National Park in the wilaya of IIlizi. The stolen items included cleavers, scrapers, leaf points, arrowheads and blades, some of which are over a million years old. These historic artefacts are classified by UNESCO as human heritage, but are being sold to foreign agents abroad.

The trafficking and forgery of works of art and archaeological artefacts are among the forms of organised crime which the Algerian authorities have decided to crack down on.

According to the police force information office, in 2005, Algerian police seized 444 archaeological artefacts, including statues and vases, and 111 coins which people were trying to sell in Tunisia. In November of last year, a gang was apprehended trying to smuggle canvases of Spanish paintings at the western border. Three out of seven items, including a bust of Picasso, were recovered in Medrissa in the wilaya of Tiaret - the others were sold in the capital. The police was able to identify the buyers, who will have to return them or face prosecution for receipt of stolen goods.

Police officers have made around 30 arrests in the last year. Four people are currently in custody awaiting trial and another four have been placed under restrictions.

Four regional police units have been set up in Oran, Constantine, Ouargla and Tamanrasset to track down people involved in this illegal trade. The units make inventories of archaeological sites and carry out aerial surveillance. In the future, the police plan to step up these efforts by recruiting students from institutes of archaeology.

Particular importance is being placed on making checks at airports and borders. A special squad to tackle the theft and illegal trade of cultural items and works of art - a special department under the control of the National Office for the Prevention of Organised Crime that was originally created in 1996 - has been brought back into operation and its resources boosted.

Last July, the squad arrested a craftsman in Khenchela who was illegally selling archaeological artefacts and works of art including coins from various periods, Neolithic flint arrowheads valued at $63,000 each, a sculpted marble column and fragments of pottery.

Algeria to protect archaeological heritage from looting

[Al-khiyal]

State Secretary at the Germany's Federal Ministry of Interior August Hanning arrived in Algiers on Saturday (January 27th) for a two-day visit. Hanning will hold talks with Algerian officials in charge of the fight against international terrorism and related security issues. "We will [discuss] a number of issues concerning the legal, police co-operation, as well as the exchanges of information and experience within the framework of the recommendations of the UN Security Council on the fight against the international terrorism, and bilateral relations," Mohamed Kamel Rezzag Bara, adviser to the presidency, told APS.

Algeria, Germany to boost security co-operation

[Al-khiyal]

Bouteflika aujourd’hui à Addis-Abeba

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, together with other African heads of state and government, will attend the 8th African Union (AU) Summit to be held Sunday (January 28th) through Tuesday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The forum will start with the 6th African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Forum and a conference on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiative.

According to the Algerian Press Agency, two Algerian projects for fighting desertification will be presented during the summit - a trans-African river channel and a 200MW solar power plant as solutions to fight global warming in Africa. Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and the Central African Republic, have already reached agreement for the construction of the 2,500km-long channel which will connect the Congo River and Lake Chad.

Algeria's Bouteflika to attend AU Summit in Addis Ababa