Lucrative Hypocrisy
Release of Amazigh Political Prisoners
Did Algeria’s earthquake last May have anything to do with the government’s release of the Amazigh political prisoners? Or maybe the release has to do with the upcoming presidential elections. Some of them, such as Belaid Abrika, had been jailed since October 2002, others even before. Most of them had been held on trumped up charges by a judicial system that waits for orders to come from those in power in Algiers.
· · · · · · ·
Algeria’s Earthquake
The earthquake with 6.7 on the Richter scale that struck Algeria on May 21, 2003 was centered in the northern region near Reghaia and Boumerdes. It left more 2,225 people dead, more than 10,000 injured and 200,000 thousands other homeless according to the latest government statistics. The inability of the Algerian government to manage any crisis was proved one more time. Whether the crisis is ideological, political or natural, the Algerian government has evidenced its bureaucratic process, its wait-and-see strategy, and its political games. While the people lay buried under their collapsed apartment buildings, help and relief were late to arrive. Even international help, that was quick to arrive at the airport in Algiers, was met with bureaucratic obstacles.
When President Bouteflika traveled to the disaster area, angry citizens lashed out by throwing stones at him, forcing him to leave the area in a hurry. Because most of the collapsed buildings were new constructions, questions have been raised about the lack of building code standards and/or the lax rules for construction permit delivery. Greedy construction companies that cheat on material quality and quantity to save a penny have caused the death of thousands of people.
· · · · · · ·
The New York Times Scandal
A scandal hit The New York Times newspaper on the first week of June when one of its reporter, Jayson Blair, was disgraced after the discovery of a trail of plagiarism and fraud. Two top editors were forced to resign in a move to limit the damages on an institution highly regarded by many.
Not me! When I read about the scandal in the New Times, I was not surprised at all. Many, including myself, who have read The New York Times’ articles and news accounts on Algeria have learned to detect censorship, fallacy and distortion of truth. In fact, I view The New York Times to be nothing but the American version of the Algerian daily EL-Moudjahid. The New York Times’ slogan “All the News fit to Print” equals to the El-Moudjahid’s “revolution by the people and for the people.” Many of us know how “truthful” El-Moudjahid was.
The Amazigh Voice and the Algerian monthly newspaper Izuran have reported several times on the US mainstream media such as The New York Times. Many ACAA members have written letters to The New York Times, The Chicago Tribunes, the Washington Post, and The Washington Times to draw the editors’ attention to erroneous information, distorted news reports about Algeria, as well as the lack of objective reports on political events in Algeria.
I am all too familiar with the pro-Algerian government reports being published in the US. The NY Times issue of December 9, 2002 published a 614-word article signed by Steven R. Weisman, defending the sale of arms to the Algeria military but not a word on the leaders of the grassroots movement, such as Belaid Abrika, arrested since October 2002. The next day, a tiny article of 115 words, buried inside, reported about 15 Berber protesters arrested in Algeria. Unlike its report on the arms sales, The New York Times gave not a single detail about either the grievances made by the protesters or the issues at hand. The article ended by stating that police officials have usually released detained protesters when they have been charged, failing to mention the inexistence of justice in Algeria. In addition, the news account did not mention any of the names of those arrested. There were no names, no family relations, and no human faces. The article did not even mention that Khaled Guermah, the father of Massinissa Guermah whose death at the hand of the paramilitary police sparked the Black Spring events, was one of the protesters.
Another example is the December 20, 2001 issue of The New York Times that reported on “Berber Anger.” The report attempted to create an ethnic problem in Algeria (“Berber accuse the Arabs of Oppression” was one sentence), purposely avoiding to indicate that Imazighen have a problem with the Algeria government whose policies are discriminatory and in violation of human rights. Still another report had the following headline, “Berber Unrest Threatens Algeria’s Government,” June 18, 2001. Let’s be serious here! Imagine if a person reads only the article titles. He/She will think that Berbers are angry and restless people who are threatening the “good” government of Algeria. A more true newspaper report title would have been “Algeria Dictatorship Kills Hundreds of Peaceful Berber Protesters.”
But we know that such title would never be printed by any mainstream media for one simple reason: After the paramilitary and police forces killed more than 100 people during the Black Spring events, Bush met Bouteflika on July 12, 2002, at the White House. Correctly reported by that the Los Angeles Times that day, the visit of Algeria’s military-picked president signaled a shift in foreign policy priorities towards business (meaning profits) over human rights. We knew about the Vice-President Dick Cheney’s cultivation of ties with Algerian Government when he was the CEO of Halliburton, an energy services company with many investments in Algeria. Last December, Kellog, Brown & Root, a Halliburton affiliate, was awarded a contract worth more than $700 millions dollars by the Algerian Government.
When the latest scandal is added to their subjective foreign reports, one cannot be anything but skeptic of anything The New York Times prints. Because scandals about The New York Times’ subjective foreign reports are rare, the interest of the generals in power in Algieria will continue to be protected and not criticized. American priorities in Algeria are unfortunately deals and profits for Corporate America. The buying of arms from American arms manufacturers and energy contract awarded to US energy companies are enough to buy Washington’s silence. I wonder what happened to the White House and the State Department’s talk about freedom, democracy and human rights. When it comes to Algeria, freedom, democracy and human rights are drowned in Algerian oil.
· · · · · · ·
532 CS in Tizi-Ouzou
The New York Times’ report on Algeria in its Dec 20, 2001 issue as an ethnic problem, is obviously to instill and nourish the ethnic rift just as the Algerian government has done for 40 years. Of course, this would be an opportunity for arms dealers to supply guns and bullets to both Amazigh-speaking and Arabic-speaking Algerians.
Even during the Black Spring events (Spring 2001), tear gas and bullet manufacturers made money by supplying riot equipment to the Algerian government. Last summer when I visited Kabylia, I was shown empty tear gas canisters bearing the following indication: 532 CS, Chemical irritating agent CS. May start fire. For outdoor use only must not be fired directly at persons as death or injury may result. Give medical aid to persons seriously affected. Warning danger: For use by trained personnel only.
In fact, my preliminary research seems to indicate that the NY-based company Combined Systems, Inc of, 226 Newtown Road in Plainview has sold model 532 C tear gas grenades to the Algerian government. During the events of 2001 Black Spring, several people in Kabylia, including babies and elderly, died because either the gas grenades were fired at their heads or into their homes.
· · · · · · ·
A Case of Double Standards or Lucrative Hypocrisy
Scene A: Algiers: June 14, 2001.
More than one million Imazighen march to Algiers to protest the killings of young Imazighen. More death occurs in Algiers that day.
Washington’s response: Bush said nothing.
Ari Fleisher: Nothing.
Scene B: Teheran, June 14, 2003.
Thousands of Iranians protest the government in Teheran. Government forces intervene. Not one death.
Washington’s response: Bush said, “This is the beginnings of people expressing themselves toward a free Iran which I think is positive.”
Ari Fleischer: “The United States views with great concern the use of violence against Iranian students peacefully expressing their political views".
In May 2002 and October 2002, just before parliamentary elections and the municipal elections, the US embassy sent several advisers to Kabylia to ask the political leaders to take part in the elections, which everyone knows are rigged. One embassy envoy even made a preposterous statement:, “If you are not going to vote, do you plan to take power by force?” If Kabylia had voted, the US state department would have hailed Algeria as a democratic country.
1—Amazigh Voice Vol. 10 No. 3 & 4
2 - Izuran No. 36, Nov. 2002; No. 38, January 2003.
Did Algeria’s earthquake last May have anything to do with the government’s release of the Amazigh political prisoners? Or maybe the release has to do with the upcoming presidential elections. Some of them, such as Belaid Abrika, had been jailed since October 2002, others even before. Most of them had been held on trumped up charges by a judicial system that waits for orders to come from those in power in Algiers.
· · · · · · ·
Algeria’s Earthquake
The earthquake with 6.7 on the Richter scale that struck Algeria on May 21, 2003 was centered in the northern region near Reghaia and Boumerdes. It left more 2,225 people dead, more than 10,000 injured and 200,000 thousands other homeless according to the latest government statistics. The inability of the Algerian government to manage any crisis was proved one more time. Whether the crisis is ideological, political or natural, the Algerian government has evidenced its bureaucratic process, its wait-and-see strategy, and its political games. While the people lay buried under their collapsed apartment buildings, help and relief were late to arrive. Even international help, that was quick to arrive at the airport in Algiers, was met with bureaucratic obstacles.
When President Bouteflika traveled to the disaster area, angry citizens lashed out by throwing stones at him, forcing him to leave the area in a hurry. Because most of the collapsed buildings were new constructions, questions have been raised about the lack of building code standards and/or the lax rules for construction permit delivery. Greedy construction companies that cheat on material quality and quantity to save a penny have caused the death of thousands of people.
· · · · · · ·
The New York Times Scandal
A scandal hit The New York Times newspaper on the first week of June when one of its reporter, Jayson Blair, was disgraced after the discovery of a trail of plagiarism and fraud. Two top editors were forced to resign in a move to limit the damages on an institution highly regarded by many.
Not me! When I read about the scandal in the New Times, I was not surprised at all. Many, including myself, who have read The New York Times’ articles and news accounts on Algeria have learned to detect censorship, fallacy and distortion of truth. In fact, I view The New York Times to be nothing but the American version of the Algerian daily EL-Moudjahid. The New York Times’ slogan “All the News fit to Print” equals to the El-Moudjahid’s “revolution by the people and for the people.” Many of us know how “truthful” El-Moudjahid was.
The Amazigh Voice and the Algerian monthly newspaper Izuran have reported several times on the US mainstream media such as The New York Times. Many ACAA members have written letters to The New York Times, The Chicago Tribunes, the Washington Post, and The Washington Times to draw the editors’ attention to erroneous information, distorted news reports about Algeria, as well as the lack of objective reports on political events in Algeria.
I am all too familiar with the pro-Algerian government reports being published in the US. The NY Times issue of December 9, 2002 published a 614-word article signed by Steven R. Weisman, defending the sale of arms to the Algeria military but not a word on the leaders of the grassroots movement, such as Belaid Abrika, arrested since October 2002. The next day, a tiny article of 115 words, buried inside, reported about 15 Berber protesters arrested in Algeria. Unlike its report on the arms sales, The New York Times gave not a single detail about either the grievances made by the protesters or the issues at hand. The article ended by stating that police officials have usually released detained protesters when they have been charged, failing to mention the inexistence of justice in Algeria. In addition, the news account did not mention any of the names of those arrested. There were no names, no family relations, and no human faces. The article did not even mention that Khaled Guermah, the father of Massinissa Guermah whose death at the hand of the paramilitary police sparked the Black Spring events, was one of the protesters.
Another example is the December 20, 2001 issue of The New York Times that reported on “Berber Anger.” The report attempted to create an ethnic problem in Algeria (“Berber accuse the Arabs of Oppression” was one sentence), purposely avoiding to indicate that Imazighen have a problem with the Algeria government whose policies are discriminatory and in violation of human rights. Still another report had the following headline, “Berber Unrest Threatens Algeria’s Government,” June 18, 2001. Let’s be serious here! Imagine if a person reads only the article titles. He/She will think that Berbers are angry and restless people who are threatening the “good” government of Algeria. A more true newspaper report title would have been “Algeria Dictatorship Kills Hundreds of Peaceful Berber Protesters.”
But we know that such title would never be printed by any mainstream media for one simple reason: After the paramilitary and police forces killed more than 100 people during the Black Spring events, Bush met Bouteflika on July 12, 2002, at the White House. Correctly reported by that the Los Angeles Times that day, the visit of Algeria’s military-picked president signaled a shift in foreign policy priorities towards business (meaning profits) over human rights. We knew about the Vice-President Dick Cheney’s cultivation of ties with Algerian Government when he was the CEO of Halliburton, an energy services company with many investments in Algeria. Last December, Kellog, Brown & Root, a Halliburton affiliate, was awarded a contract worth more than $700 millions dollars by the Algerian Government.
When the latest scandal is added to their subjective foreign reports, one cannot be anything but skeptic of anything The New York Times prints. Because scandals about The New York Times’ subjective foreign reports are rare, the interest of the generals in power in Algieria will continue to be protected and not criticized. American priorities in Algeria are unfortunately deals and profits for Corporate America. The buying of arms from American arms manufacturers and energy contract awarded to US energy companies are enough to buy Washington’s silence. I wonder what happened to the White House and the State Department’s talk about freedom, democracy and human rights. When it comes to Algeria, freedom, democracy and human rights are drowned in Algerian oil.
· · · · · · ·
532 CS in Tizi-Ouzou
The New York Times’ report on Algeria in its Dec 20, 2001 issue as an ethnic problem, is obviously to instill and nourish the ethnic rift just as the Algerian government has done for 40 years. Of course, this would be an opportunity for arms dealers to supply guns and bullets to both Amazigh-speaking and Arabic-speaking Algerians.
Even during the Black Spring events (Spring 2001), tear gas and bullet manufacturers made money by supplying riot equipment to the Algerian government. Last summer when I visited Kabylia, I was shown empty tear gas canisters bearing the following indication: 532 CS, Chemical irritating agent CS. May start fire. For outdoor use only must not be fired directly at persons as death or injury may result. Give medical aid to persons seriously affected. Warning danger: For use by trained personnel only.
In fact, my preliminary research seems to indicate that the NY-based company Combined Systems, Inc of, 226 Newtown Road in Plainview has sold model 532 C tear gas grenades to the Algerian government. During the events of 2001 Black Spring, several people in Kabylia, including babies and elderly, died because either the gas grenades were fired at their heads or into their homes.
· · · · · · ·
A Case of Double Standards or Lucrative Hypocrisy
Scene A: Algiers: June 14, 2001.
More than one million Imazighen march to Algiers to protest the killings of young Imazighen. More death occurs in Algiers that day.
Washington’s response: Bush said nothing.
Ari Fleisher: Nothing.
Scene B: Teheran, June 14, 2003.
Thousands of Iranians protest the government in Teheran. Government forces intervene. Not one death.
Washington’s response: Bush said, “This is the beginnings of people expressing themselves toward a free Iran which I think is positive.”
Ari Fleischer: “The United States views with great concern the use of violence against Iranian students peacefully expressing their political views".
In May 2002 and October 2002, just before parliamentary elections and the municipal elections, the US embassy sent several advisers to Kabylia to ask the political leaders to take part in the elections, which everyone knows are rigged. One embassy envoy even made a preposterous statement:, “If you are not going to vote, do you plan to take power by force?” If Kabylia had voted, the US state department would have hailed Algeria as a democratic country.
1—Amazigh Voice Vol. 10 No. 3 & 4
2 - Izuran No. 36, Nov. 2002; No. 38, January 2003.
