Tunisian and Algerian officials are attempting to put the lid on tensions between the countries that have erupted over the US recognition of Western Sahara as Moroccan territory.

Tunisia’s foreign minister, Othman Jerandi, and the Algerian ambassador to Tunis, Azzouz Baalal, met on Tuesday in a bid to calm tensions following heated exchanges in recent days.

Jerandi reiterated the country’s “excellent relations” with Algeria and reinforced Tunisia’s position that relations between Tunisia and Algiers cannot be altered because of “unofficial positions which do not commit Tunisia in any way”.

The meeting came a day after comments made by former Tunisian foreign minister, Ahmed Ounaies, to a private radio, where he criticised Algeria’s role regarding developments in Western Sahara. Algeria is a supporter of the Western Sahara independence movement. …

This piece was first published on Middle East Eye at: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/algeria-dinar-record-low-economic-collapse

Decades of failed policy and reform drives that have amounted to little more than kicking the can down the road are catching up with the Algerian economy, as the dinar hit a new low this week and experts heralded more pain to come.

The decline of Algeria’s currency continues apace. On Thursday, the dinar was trading at 158.76 to the euro, and more than 200 on the black market.

The news has come as no surprise to many economists, who have been serving warnings of the perilous state of the economy since 2014, when global oil prices first started to plunge. …

This story was published on Middle East Eye https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/al-qaeda-maghreb-new-leadership-decline

The death of its leader is a severe blow to any militant group. But in succession, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) may have revealed its true weakness.

In a video posted online on 21 November, AQIM confirmed senior Algerian commander Abu Ubayda Yusuf al-Annabi would take leadership following the death of Abdelmalek Droukdel, who was killed in June by a French-led operation in Mali.

Annabi’s lack of operational and combat experience, compared with Droudkel, who rose to the head of AQIM in 2004 as an experienced battalion leader, has led observers to believe he may struggle to deal with the militant group’s problems. …

This article was published on the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy web: https://timep.org/commentary/analysis/algerias-worsening-crackdown-on-the-press-amid-transition-and-pandemic/#.X7RG458RSnM.twitter

In an interview with French daily l’Opinion last month, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stated how “no journalist has been arrested for being a journalist” — only for “the breaching of public order.”

The recent spate arrests and incarceration of journalists is a reality that is not reflected by Tebboune’s comments, and his crackdown — since taking office in December 2019 — has led to unprecedented restrictions on freedom of expression in the country, according to Amnesty International.

Following a largely-boycotted election, there was increased pressure to silence dissent through the censoring of many online news outlets and the imprisoning of a number of journalists over their social media posts and coverage of the Hirak protest movement. …

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/prominent-algerian-war-veteran-and-hirak-activist-passes-away

Condolences have been pouring in for a prominent Algerian war veteran after news of his death broke on Wednesday evening.

Lakhdar Bouregaa, a revered veteran of the war of independence against France and a figure in Algeria’s popular Hirak, died at the age of 87 after he was hospitalised in Algiers on 21 October after testing positive for Covid-19.

Earlier media reports stated that he would be buried in the El Alia cemetery in the capital, where prominent figures of the war of liberation and former heads of state are interred. …

This story first appeared on Middle East Eye https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/news/algeria-journalist-hospitalised-threats-online-abuse

An Algerian journalist was hospitalised at the weekend after receiving numerous online threats over her work.

Abir Benrabah was transferred to intensive care on Sunday after feeling unwell.

Her ill health was reportedly due to the stress she was under after receiving a number of threats and blackmail over her work, which included uncovering online harassment faced by women and girls in the country.

Benrabah had been conducting a series of investigations on the subject and had written a report about a Facebook page called “Bnat Bladi (Girls of my Country)”, which she said had been exploiting and blackmailing minors. …

This story first appeared in Middle East Eye https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/algeria-new-constitution-breakdown

The campaign for Algeria’s constitutional amendment bill got going on 7 October, with the slogan: “November 1954: Liberation. November 2020: Change.” It was hoped the catchy phrase would convince Algerians to vote in the referendum on 1 November.

At his inauguration in December 2019, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, whose current hospitalisation makes it doubtful whether he will be overseeing Sunday’s vote, had pledged to revise the constitution. But he has been unable to convince the opposition, lawyers and ordinary frustrated Algerians of the sincerity of the proposals.

Back in January, a hand-picked committee of experts formulated proposals to revise the basic law within the space of three months. The first draft of the proposals was published on 7 May, having been postponed following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. …

This article first appeared on Middle East Eye https://www.middleeasteye.net/algeria-constitution-amendments-minister-disagree-change-country

The Algerian minister of youth and sport has come under fire for making “unacceptable” remarks during the final week of campaigning ahead of next month’s referendum on proposed constitutional amendments.

“We will build a state in accordance with the declaration of 1 November (the day Algeria began its war of liberation from France); a democratic and social state within the framework of the principles of Islam,” Sid Ali Khaldi declared on Thursday.

“For the first time since independence, we have constitutionalised the declaration of 1 November and whoever is not happy can change countries,” he said, twice reiterating the sentiment. …