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7 Hum. Rts. Defender 1 (1998)

handle is hein.journals/hurighdef7 and id is 1 raw text is: DIPLOMACY TRAINING PROGRAM Affiliated with the University of NSW I-Iluman Rights , L3'efendc-er Austran Human Rights Centre, Faculty of Law UNSW March 1998, Volume 7, Number 1 ISSN 1039-2637 The massacres of innocents in Algeria An intemal matter or an international issue? By Hossein Esmaeili During the last five years more than 75,000 helpless civilians have been brutally massacred in Algeria. The Algerian government claims that the conflict is an internal affair of a sovereign state. However, the intervention of Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General, in August 1997, gave the Algerian crisis an international aspect. Comparing the Algerian crisis with a number of similar situations in which the United Nations has taken action may lead to the conclusion that an international intervention is required to prevent more bloodshed in Algeria. The current wave of violence started when the Algerian army staged a coup to prevent the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) from ganing power at an election in 1992 Following the coup, a High Council was established. The FIS was dissolved by the authorities and a state of emergency was declared, The military government was more or less supported by a number of Arab countries and France. The United States maintained a conspicuous silence and issued a mere statement remarking its regret. Fear of the estabhshment of an Islamic state appeared to be the ground on which the West justified its silence when the first democratic election in the Arab world was overthrown by a military backed government In recent months further innocent civilians have been slaughtered in an mucreasingly savage manner The military- backed government of Algeria accuses the opposition Islamist group for the massacres. Muslim opposition groups and some -f the world press point the finger at the hardline generals and divisions in the security forces for either participating in the massacres or being reluctant to confront the perpetrators. It is obvious the military regime of Algeria has been either unable or unwilling to stop the massacres. The world community has turned its attention to the Algerian situation. The UN Secretary-General condemned the continuing massacre as a brutal act ofterrortsm and called for tolerance and dialogue between all parties in Algeria. The UN human fights officials have shown a willingness to visit Algeria However, the Algerian Government refuses to allow the UN human rights officials to visit the country. The government of Algeria considers the conflict an internal affair of a sovereign state Accordingly it rejects any intervention by international organisations and by foreign States. Human Rights Defender, March 1998

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