“Le Monde” Accuses Algeria of Authoritarianism over El-Kadi Affair

The Algerian regime recently showed an excess of repression and authoritarianism to silence free speech, especially after the arrest of Ihsane El-Kadi on Dec. 29, 2022, wrote French daily “Le Monde”.
Le Monde drew a gloomy picture of Algeria after it arrested El-Kadi and shut down “Radio M” and “Maghreb Emergent”, which he founded.
The article wrote that the military dictatorship is reckless and does not care about the consequences of its actions on the geopolitical realm. It also overlooks the peaceful masses of the Hirak movement.
Democracy and freedom appear to have reached a deadlock after the recent mass arrests of those who are pro-Hirak, mainly journalists.
The movement’s leaders have been forced into exile in order to avoid imprisonment, as any criticism of the ruling system is termed as terrorism.
For the newspaper, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is trying to exchange social peace with the rebound of oil prices on the back of the Russia-Ukraine Crisis.
The card of Sahel security cooperation and historical ties with France is also outdated as the latter is losing ground in this area.
Le Monde addressed Algerian Democrats by saying that they should not expect much from European diplomacy, except for asylums for the opponents.
Algerian arrogance promotes an illusory desire to “consolidate its internal front,” by stifling citizenship, a crucial component of every nation, concluded Le Monde.