North African leaders mixed criticism of journalists who allegedly sidestep the law with promises of more press freedom on Tuesday.
The presidents of Tunisia and Algeria — countries that have faced criticism from media advocacy groups — made the comments to reporters as part of the worldwide observance of World Press Freedom Day.
Algeria’s Abdelaziz Bouteflika accused journalists of a lack of professionalism, but praised reporters who were often targeted in the country’s bloody insurgency during its peak in the 1990s.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, meanwhile, marked the day by promising support for the news media to help the country along the ”road to democracy and modernity”.
Bouteflika, who has often been a target of Algeria’s vibrant newspapers, called on journalists to respect ethics and ”refuse that their talents be manipulated in a way that harms Algeria”.
In remarks to reporters, he faulted ”political, economic, financial and criminal interest groups that push journalists to contravene the law and attack people”.
The state was ”not against freedom of the press”, he said, adding that his comments do not mean that reporters ”must keep quiet about the deviations of institutions and the malfunctions of other state powers”.
The International Press Institute, based in Vienna, criticised Algeria for a lack of press freedom ahead of presidential elections last year, and a two-year prison term given to a well-known reporter, Mohamed Benchicou, in June.
Dozens of journalists were killed in the early stages of Algeria’s Islamic insurgency that erupted in 1992. Many were hunted down and killed by militants as they left their homes and offices.
French media advocacy group Reporters sans Frontiéres, issuing its 2004 press freedom report on Tuesday, faulted the Tunisia’s government for its lock-hold on the press. It said the country’s media was ”docile and subservient to the government”. – Sapa-AP