Call for the Respect of Freedom of Artistic Expression and of Cultural Action in Algeria

For many years now, the cultural sector in Algeria has suffered from the hegemonic control of a single authority which stifles creation, takes over the spaces of artistic expression in their entirety and locks up the field of cultural action: the Ministry of Culture.

Institutionalization of artistic events, limitation of broadcast licenses for cine films and licenses for events organizers, patronage policy and invitation cards, are examples of the many actions undertaken by this ministry which have shaped, in a decade, a really restrictive public policy that destroys all independent action.

Without any cultural policy and endowed with a very important budget, this ministry, instead of playing its role of regulation of the sector and of support to the activities undertaken by the cultural associations, has become a machine of exclusion and intellectual repression generating an “official culture” which the Algerian citizen cannot relate to.

Even more dangerous, in the last few months, the Ministry of Culture doesn’t hesitate to threaten and intimidate directly any citizen who carries an action that isn’t officially “approved”. Many examples occurred just last month: intimidation of the instigators of the project of the cultural policy in Algeria, threats against the journalist who published a case on the scandal of heritage renovation in the daily newspaper El Fadjr, etc…

We, Algerian intellectuals, journalists, cultural activists, artists and writers, the majority of whom are young, ring the alarm and request from the ministry to lift its control over the cultural sector and let the
independent/civil cultural artistic stakeholders undertake their projects freely.

In addition we urge international organizations, towards which Algeria committed itself to respect the right of freedom of artistic expression and cultural action of the citizens, to take the measures necessary to press the Ministry of Culture to loosen the tight net around the forces of creation in Algeria.

Algiers, May 2012

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You can sign this call by sending an email to icosium222@yahoo.fr . Please mention your first name, last name and your occupation.

Last changed: 27/06/2012 at 13:26