Broadcast journalists in Algeria protest censorship

By Hassan Jebril

ALGIERS (AA) – Journalists at Algeria’s state-run radio agency staged a sit-in at the agency’s headquarters to protest a ban on covering rallies against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s planned bid for a fifth term in office.

More that 150 journalists on Tuesday gathered outside the agency’s headquarters in Algiers, where they chanted slogans against media censorship and demanded the right to free expression.

Last Friday, Algerians demonstrated in several cities, including the capital, to protest Bouteflika’s stated intention to contest presidential elections slated for April 18.

According to local media reports, demonstrations were reported in a number of provinces, including Annaba, Setif, Kalime, Jijel, Bejaia,Tizi Ouzou, Buira, Bumerdas, Tiaret, Relizane, Vahran and Ouargla.

Some demonstrators chanted slogans against Bouteflika’s planned bid for a fifth term; others explicitly called for the overthrow of his regime.

Earlier this month, Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front officially nominated the 81-year-old Bouteflika -- who has ruled Algeria since 1999 -- to run in the upcoming poll.

Opposition leaders, for their part, have repeatedly urged the aging head of state -- who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in the brain -- to refrain from contesting the presidential election.