Algeria ends state monopoly of broadcast media

[September 13, 2011]  ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Algeria has passed sweeping media reforms, ending a state monopoly on the broadcast sector and the imprisonment of journalists for libel.

The move is part of the president's political reforms announced on April 15, the Cabinet said in a statement issued late Monday at the end of a marathon session.

While Algeria has long had a vigorous print media scene, radio and television were tightly controlled by the state and until recently President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had said the time was not "ripe" to liberalize it.

Since the beginning of the year, Algeria has struggled to contain popular demonstrations protesting unemployment, corruption and lack of political freedoms.

Unlike in neighboring Tunisia and Libya, however, the scattered unrest never snowballed into a widespread popular movement to unseat the government, though Bouteflika has still pledged to pass several political reforms to defuse public anger.

Television and radio will now be governed by a regulatory authority to be created by a new law.

No timetable has been announced for its passing, however, putting on hold any new television or radio stations for now.

The Cabinet has also created a new commission composed of journalists and lawmakers to supervise the approval of new press licenses and administer the penalties for libel.

Previously the Ministry of Justice handled libel cases, which could result in the imprisonment of the journalists. They can now be fined between $680 and $1,360. Cases involving threats to the security of the state, however, can result in the suspension or permanent ban of the publication.

Half of the commission will consist of journalists, while the rest will be appointed by the president and the heads of the two houses of parliament.

Newspaper licenses were previously only issued by the Justice Ministry after a police investigation and were often withheld arbitrarily.

[Associated Press; By AOMAR OUALI]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.