Algeria rejects EU's call for openness

Hundreds of peasants flee massacre area

January 27, 1998
Web posted at: 2:14 p.m. EST (1914 GMT) In this story:

• Algeria rejects EU comments
• Report: Rebels ambushed
• Frightened farmers flee
• Other developments
• Related stories and sites

ALGIERS, Algeria (CNN) -- Hundreds of peasants had abandoned farms in massacre-stricken areas of Algeria, it was reported on Tuesday, as the government rejected Europe's call for more openness in the violence-torn North African country.

The developments came as the European Parliament announced it would send a fact-finding delegation to Algeria, where a six-year civil war has killed tens of thousands of people.

The nine-member mission, due next month, follows a similar visit by a European Union delegation which was in the capital, Algiers, last week.

A European Parliament spokesman gave no details of the delegation's agenda.

Algeria attacks EU comments

On Monday, the EU urged Algeria to allow international help to combat "terrorism," to reconsider its rejection of outside support and give unrestricted access to United Nations representatives and the media.

But the EU's request got a frigid response on Tuesday, with the newspaper closest to the government accusing Europeans of once again trying to meddle in domestic affairs.

The government-controlled newspaper EL Moudjahid said the EU statement mirrored a Socialist-influenced Europe bent more on seeking to interfere in Algeria's internal affairs rather than on helping it fight "terrorism."

"Europe, no matter what, wants to meddle in our internal affairs because they construe transparency through the presence of foreign observers on our soil," it said.

Report: Rebels ambushed

Algeria's wave of violence began in 1992 after the cancellation of a general election in which Islamic fundamentalists had taken a commanding lead.

In recent weeks alone -- since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on December 30 -- more than 1,200 civilians, including women and children, have died in massacres.

No one has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, which the Algerian government blames on rebels. It rejects claims that it directed any of the attacks -- some of which have occurred in the vicinity of army barracks -- to discredit Muslim fundamentalists.

The Al Khabar newspaper said government forces shot dead six Muslim rebels and wounded another in an ambush overnight Sunday in Bouira province, 90 km (55 miles) east of Algiers.

The rebels were suspected of belonging to a group that massacred 13 villagers in the region early this month, it said.

Frightened farmers flee

The newspaper also reported that hundreds of frightened peasants in the rich farming province of Chlef, 150 km (95 miles) west of Algiers, were fleeing homes and streaming into more secure towns, leaving farms untended and cattle abandoned.

It said the exodus was triggered by the killing of three shepherds and a 60-year-old man in the region six days ago.

Government-run television showed government officials urging local authorities to help peasants return to their farms.

But Al Khabar said the government had not taken significant measures to help villagers.

Earlier this month, local officials in Relizane province said they had told people living in isolated villages to leave for their own safety.

Other developments

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in Paris that he had contacted the Algerian government to discuss ways of bringing an end to violence. Annan, who made the remark following a meeting with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine, declined to specify the nature of his contacts with Algiers.

Denel, a South African arms manufacturing firm, said it had signed a $20 million sales contract with Algeria for a remote-piloted reconnaissance aircraft. The company said the pilotless aircraft, equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment, would be delivered within two years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• EU-Algeria talks focus on massacres - January 20, 1998
• EU mission heads to troubled Algeria - January 19, 1998
• Algeria's insurgency enters 7th year amid brutal killings - January 10, 1998
• Two European delegations to go to Algeria - January 9, 1998
• Report: More than 400 massacred in Algeria - January 2, 1998
• Algerian election comes off without violence - October 23, 1997

Related sites:

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• Algeria - CIA World Factbook
• ArabNet - Algeria
• Window on Algeria
• Algeria Watch International

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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