|
Algeria
The Press
From national independence and until the late 1980s, Algeria
had almost no independent news media. Colonial legislation banned
all nationalist publications during Algeria's fight for independence,
and, although a few underground papers were circulated, independent
Algeria emerged with no significant national news source. Ben
Bella did not inhibit the freedom of the press in the immediate
aftermath of the war, but self-imposed limitations kept the press
rather prudently progovernment.
In 1964 government control tightened, and most Algerian news
publications were nationalized. All news media became subject
to heavy censorship by the government and the FLN. A union of
journalists was formed under FLN auspices but was largely insignificant
as an independent association until the late 1980s.
The primary function of the news media was not to inform or educate
but to indoctrinate--affirming and propagating the socialist tenets
of the national government, rallying mass support behind government
programs, and confirming national achievements. No substantive
and little surface-level criticism was levied against the regime,
although evaluations of the various economic and social problems
confronting the nation were available. Article 55 of the 1976
constitution provided that freedom of expression was a protected
liberty but that it could not jeopardize the socialist objectives
or national policy of the regime. The Ministry of Information
worked to facilitate government supervision and to inhibit circulation
of unauthorized periodicals. Almost all foreign newspapers and
periodicals were likewise prohibited. Television and radio news
programs escaped some of the more heavy censorship although they,
too, were expected to affirm government policies and programs.
Most news broadcasts were limited to international events and
offered little domestic news other than accounts of visiting foreign
delegations and outlines of the government's general agenda.
In the late 1980s, the situation changed under Benjedid. Independent
national news sources were encouraged and supported. The new constitution
reaffirmed the commitment to free expression, this time with no
qualifying restrictions. New laws facilitated and even financially
assisted emerging independent papers. Limitations on the international
press were lifted, resulting in a mass proliferation of news periodicals
and television programs presenting an independent position to
a nation accustomed to getting only one side of the picture.
The liberalization facilitated the creation and circulation of
a number of independent national French- and Arabic-language newspapers
and news programs. A 1990 law legislated a guaranteed salary for
the first three years to any journalists in the public sector
establishing independent papers. As a result of the explosion
of local papers, journals, radio and television programs as well
as the relaxation of laws inhibiting the international press,
the Algerian public has been educated and politicized. Journalists
have become an important and influential sector of civil society.
One program in particular, "Face the Press" (Face à la Presse),
appearing weekly and pitting national leaders against a panel
of journalists, has drawn immense popular enthusiasm. Among the
major newspapers are AlMoudjahid (The Fighter), the
organ of the FLN, published in Arabic and French; the Arabic dailies
Ach Cha'ab (The People, also an FLN organ), Al Badil
(The Alternate), Al-Joumhouria (The Republic), and An
Nasr (The Victory); and the French dailies Horizons
and Le Soir d'Algérie (Algerian Evening). As part of
the military crackdown following the January 1992 coup, the news
media have been restricted once again. A limited number of newspapers
and broadcasts continue to operate, but journalists have been
brought in by the hundreds and detained for interrogating. Tens
more have been arrested or have simply disappeared, or have been
killed by Islamists.
Data as of December 1993
|
