EU to send coded offer of aid to Algeria

Date: 23/10/1997

By Mark Turner

EU FOREIGN ministers are expected to give Algeria a coded offer of mediation when they meet in Mondorf-les-Bains this weekend.

Although under strong pressure from the Algerian government not to intervene, the Union hopes to avert growing criticism of its inactivity in the face of horrific violence just across the Mediterranean.

A declaration expected to be agreed by foreign ministers at their two-day meeting, which begins on Saturday (25 October), will condemn recent massacres but will also hint that the Union would be willing to do more.

The move comes at a time of high tension in the North African country. Despite a cease-fire called by the Islamic Salvation Army last month, armed forces have continued to commit atrocities around the capital Algiers in the run-up to this week's local elections.

But efforts to improve the situation in the United Nations and other international fora have so far failed to produce any concrete results.

In response, Amnesty International and other human rights bodies have called on the UN to establish the basic facts in a special session on Algeria, and have specifically called on the EU to support the initiative.

“The last year has seen the longest, most intense spell of violence since the beginning of the conflict in Algeria five years ago,” said Amnesty International in a statement. “Up to 80,000 people have been killed behind a virtual wall of silence on the part of the international community.”

The EU, however, is in a difficult position. At a recent meeting, the Union's political directors admitted they could no longer bury their heads in the sand, but were wary of taking any decisive action given Europe's fraught history of relations with the country.

The Algerian government remains adamant that the Union should not get involved. “For us there is a golden rule. We do not accept foreign interference,” said Hisham Kafi, spokesman for Algeria's mission to the EU. “Any mediation would put the government and the terrorist factions on the same footing. That would be unacceptable.”

Despite this, Lotte Leicht, from Human Rights Watch in Brussels, feels that the Union should at least push for an investigation. “You cannot find a solution without having some kind of accountability,” she said. “Algeria's position is not unique. We have investigated before in countries where the authorities did not cooperate - look at the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or ex-Yugoslavia.”

Kafi, who insists the cycle of violence is coming to an end, said that Europe could help most by pursuing economic ties, easing visa restrictions and handing over fugitives who prolong the carnage.

“There are many political refugees in Europe who reject the recent cease-fire and support terrorist networks in Algeria,” he said.