Algerian massacres and other issues to be looked at by international delegation
Algeria-UN, Politics, 7/22/1998

The United Nations fact-finding delegation will arrive in Algiers today to get acquainted with conditions in Algeria as a result of grotesque massacres, due to internal fighting waged by Islamist groups opposed to the government, which had drawn the concern of the international community.

The conflict started when the government canceled elections in 1992 in which Islamic parties had taken a commanding lead, which sparked the fighting.

The government has also been accused of being involved in some of the massacres that were being attributed to these Islamist groups as a means of discrediting support for the Islamist groups. Other accusations said the government soldiers were late in arriving to the sites of the crimes when they occurred. But the government categorically denies this and had said that it is impossible for its forces to be at the sites of the many crimes that were being committed, as that would have demanded resources that were not available.

Highly credible Algerian sources had told ArabicNews.com that the Algerian government was not involved in these massacres, but rather, the government did not show, at one time, utmost concern in fighting these terrorist acts since the victims of these massacres were the ones that had voted for the Islamist parties that are accused of being involved in the massacres. This was seen as a message to those voters to show them the kind of government they would have had if the Islamic parties had won if the elections were not canceled in 1992.

The official spokesman for the Algerian Foreign Ministry has stressed that the Algerian government will make available all means necessary to facilitate the work of the UN information team. This, he added, will be in the context of the laws of the Algerian state. It will include meetings with government officials, political parties, civil society representatives and representatives of the press, as well as field tours in several areas.

The visit of the international team comes at a time when security conditions in Algeria have improved in comparison with previous years. It also comes at a time when Algeria has made progress in building its institutions and witnessed the birth of its first multi-party parliament and coalition government.

These teams were the subject to controversy between Algeria and the US, the Europeans and others who had sought to send "investigation missions" to Algeria, which were rejected by Algeria as they were seen to infringe on the country's sovereignty, and thus changed their mission to "information gathering" missions.

This international team was formed in consultations between the Algerian government, UN organizations, the Arab League and the Organization of African Unity. It is headed by former portuguese President Mario Soares and its task is to gather information rather than conduct an investigation. Out of this, Algeria seeks to give a true picture and supply facts about the internal situation in Algeria.

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