News from Algeria 2009

[Al-khiyal]

Alger, le 9 janvier 2009



Incidents aujourd’hui entre des manifestants et les forces anti-émeutes à Alger

Vendredi 9 Janvier 2009 -- Des incidents se sont produits, vendredi après-midi, entre les manifestants et des policiers anti-émeutes dans le centre-ville d'Alger, au cours de la manifestation de soutien au peuple palestinien. Cette vidéo amateur montre des moments de fortes tensions sur le boulevard du front de mer entre des manifestants, en majorité des jeunes, et les forces anti-émeutes. A l'heure actuelle aucun bilan n'est disponible sur d'éventuels blessés parmi les manifestants ou les forces de l'ordre. Le journal Ennahar, sur son site Internet, indique qu'un de ses journalistes a été blessé au cours de cette manifestation, la première d'une telle ampleur à Alger depuis le début des opérations israéliennes à Gaza, le 27 décembre dernier.

[Al-khiyal]

Manifestations en faveur de Gaza à Alger :
un journaliste grièvement blessé

Vendredi 9 Janvier 2009 -- Notre confrère Hocine Ben Rabii, journaliste qui quotidien arabophone Ennahar, a été grièvement blessé ce vendredi après-midi alors qu'il couvrait la manifestation en faveur de Gaza à Alger. Selon le site Internet du journal, le journaliste se trouve actuellement à l'hôpital Mustapha où il subit des soins. Ennahar affirme ignorer qui est à l'origine de cette «agression».

[Al-khiyal]

Arrests as Algerians march for Palestinians

ALGIERS, January 9, 2009: Hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police Friday in Algeria's capital during unauthorized demonstrations in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Tens of thousands of people, many waving Palestinian or Algerian flags, marched in at least two protests in Algiers, security officials said. Authorities banned any protests after Muslim prayers Friday for fear of violence or efforts by Islamist extremists to recruit support.

Police made several arrests during a protest that erupted Friday in an impoverished suburb, with youths pelting riot police with sticks and stones.

"Hamas, Hamas," cried one group of marchers. "USA, terrorists," shouted another. Many wore Palestinian headscarves.

Demonstrators brought also repeated slogans once championed by Algeria's Islamists. "Down, down with Bouteflika," some chanted, referring to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Some protesters clashed with police in Algiers' upscale El Biar neighborhood where many foreign embassies and the presidential palace are located. Islamists were heard calling people to converge on Egypt's embassy, but they were cut off by hundreds of riot police.

Youths spread into some side streets, pelting police with stones, traffic signs and trash cans. Some tried to set a barricade ablaze before a police truck hosed them down. Several bus stops were in tatters and some streets were littered with rocks.

But the demonstrations were largely peaceful.

It was the biggest protest yet in Algeria over the Israeli offensive in Gaza. People across many Arab countries have been outraged by the violence against Palestinians.

Israel started its campaign December 27 with the aim of halting rocket fire by Hamas militants on Israel. More than 700 people have been killed in the ensuing violence.

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Algerian cameraman wounded in Gaza offensive dies in Cairo hospital

IFJ condemns death of journalist, who succumbed to wounds from Israeli attack

January 9, 2009 (Ma’an) -- The International Federation of Journalists condemned the murder of Palestinian reporter Basel Farraj, who was wounded in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on 27 December and died of his wounds on Thursday.

Farraj worked as a reporter for the Algerian TV Channel (ENTV) as well as for the Palestinian Broadcast Cooperation (PBC).

The secretary general of the IFJ Aidan White expressed his strong condemnation of the act. “We strongly support our fellows in Palestine and condemn the Israeli attacks on reporters and media organizations,” he said. Israel mocks itself by ignoring Supreme Court decisions and at the same time calls itself a democratic country, he continued. “It also shows disrespect to the United Nations by denying its duties stated in the resolution # 1783 that orders the protection of journalists in conflict areas.”

[Al-khiyal]

Samy Naceri arrested over Paris stabbing

January 9, 2009 -- French actor Samy Naceri is facing a charge of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of a man in a Paris bar. The Indigènes (Days of Glory) star was at the central Paris bar to meet his ex-girlfriend and her pal. But a heated argument broke out between Naceri and the two women, and they retreated to the toilets where they called in help from the unnamed male friend. The actor is accused of pulling a knife on the man after being confronted about the earlier altercation. Naceri, 47, returned home to his apartment after the incident, but was arrested by police on Thursday evening and held in custody at a Paris hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for liver problems. The stabbing victim is recovering from his injury. According to reports, Naceri, who is a self-confessed alcoholic, is due to appear in court next week to be formally charged with the crime.

[Al-khiyal]

Cheb Khaled prêt à prendre les armes pour combattre à Gaza

Khaled ready to fight in Gaza

January 9, 2009 -- Khaled, the king of Raï said he was ready to take up arms to fight against the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, in an interview Thursday in Ennahar Arabic daily newspaper.

"I am ready to take up arms to fight in Gaza," said Khaled, who participated in Algiers Wednesday at a gathering of Algerian artists against the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Khaled said he was "distressed" by the "daily killing of civilians in Gaza," adding that he "regretted the silence of the Arab officials."

"The Arab countries should stop delivering oil and gas to the Jews and Americans and break diplomatic relations with the United States and Israel," said the singer.

The death toll of the Israeli offensive in Gaza rose sharply Thursday, amounting to 763, after new deadly raids and the recovery of many bodies by the emergency services during a pause in the bombing.

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Airstrike hits media building in Gaza

New York, January 9, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli military's bombing today of a Gaza City building that houses the offices of a number of international news organizations.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked the rooftop of Al-Johara Tower, an eight-story building located in Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, which houses more than 20 international news organizations, according to multiple news outlets.

Al-Jazeera reported that at least one journalist was injured while filing a report from the roof of the building. The journalist was not immediately identified. Staff at Al-Shifa Hospital, where the journalist was taken, said the injuries were minor, according to a statement on Web site of the Iranian Arabic-language Al-Alam TV. Satellite transmission equipment on the roof of the building was also damaged in the attack, the Iranian English-language Press TV said on its Web site.

Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, defended the strike in an interview with Al-Jazeera, saying that communications equipment in the building could have been used by Hamas.

At least one journalist has been killed in Gaza in direct relation to his work since the Israeli offensive began on December 27, CPJ research shows. Basil Ibrahim Faraj, an assistant cameraman for the Palestinian Media and Communications Company, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Egypt after suffering head injuries when his crew came under fire on the first day of the military campaign, according to multiple news reports. Atif Issa, director general of Palestinian Media and Communication Company, told CPJ that Faraj and three other three crew members were on assignment for Algerian TV when their car was hit during an airstrike near Al-Wa'd Association for Prisoners in Gaza. The other crew members were injured.

Turkish, French, and Iranian news organizations are among those located in the Al-Johara Tower, which is meters away from the Shawa and Hosari Tower, which houses a number of major media outlets. Coordinates for both buildings were provided to the Israeli military, and floodlights were kept on both roofs to identify the buildings, according to print and television accounts.

"The Israeli military knows the location of TV facilities houses and news bureaus in Gaza. It is simply unacceptable that working journalists and their offices should come under fire in this way," said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. "Journalists enjoy protections under international law in military campaigns such as the one in Gaza. Israel must cease its attacks on the media immediately."

Media facilities have come under Israeli fire in two other instances since the military campaign started. On January 5, the IDF bombed the offices of the Hamas-affiliated Al-Risala newsweekly, according to multiple regional news agencies. On December 29, the IDF shelled the headquarters of Al-Aqsa TV, destroying the facilities. The station continues to broadcast from a remote location.

The IDF has sporadically taken over the frequencies of Al-Aqsa and the Gaza-based Sawt al-Sha'b radio to call on Palestinians to abandon Hamas, according to Agence France-Presse and local news reports.

In two letters sent to Israeli Minister of Defense Ehud Barak since the beginning of the offensive, CPJ demanded an explanation for the targeting of Palestinian media and called on Israel to lift the restrictions it has placed on the entry and movement of journalists in Gaza and southern Israel. CPJ has not received a response yet.