PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron urged a tougher line from Paris in an intensifying standoff with former north African colony Algeria, saying France’s stance needed to “command respect.”
Tensions have grown in recent months to new levels between Paris and Algiers, with Macron’s hopes of the historic post-colonial reconciliation that he espoused at the start of his presidency now appearing a distant dream.
Algeria is holding in prison French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal and also the prominent French football journalist Christophe Gleizes, while Paris has accused pro-Algiers influencers of inciting hatred inside France.
“France must be strong and command respect,” Macron said in a letter to Prime Minister Francois Bayrou published by the daily newspaper Le Figaro online late Wednesday and in its print edition Thursday.
“It can only obtain this from its partners if it itself shows them the respect it demands. This basic rule also applies to Algeria,” he writes.
Among the measures requested from the government, Macron called for the “formal” suspension of the 2013 agreement with Algiers “concerning visa exemptions for official and diplomatic passports.”
Macron also asked the government to “immediately” use a provision in a 2024 immigration law, which allows the refusal of short-stay visas to holders of service and diplomatic passports, as well as long-stay visas to all types of applicants.
To prevent Algerian diplomats from being able to travel to France via a third country, France will ask its EU partners in the Schengen free travel space to cooperate.
Macron pointed in the letter to the cases of Sansal, sentenced to five years in prison for “undermining national unity,” and Gleizes, sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria for “apology for terrorism.”
Supporters of both men say they are entirely innocent and victims of the current political tensions.
But Macron insisted that his “objective remains to restore effective and ambitious relations with Algeria.”
Macron angered Algiers in July 2024 when he backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Meanwhile, atrocities committed by both sides during the 1954-1962 Algerian war of independence have long strained relations — even half a century later.
Upping tensions further, Algerian consulates in France have suspended cooperation with French government services on returning Algerians deemed dangerous back to Algeria after being ordered to leave by Paris.
The French government fears that it will have to release Algerian nationals currently detained in detention centers due to the inability to keep them there indefinitely.
Macron urges tougher line in standoff with Algeria
https://arab.news/w3k2r
Macron urges tougher line in standoff with Algeria
- Tensions have grown in recent months to new levels between Paris and Algiers, with Macron's hopes of the historic post-colonial reconciliation now appearing a distant dream
Homeless Muslims in southern Philippines observe Ramadan as month of trial
- Thousands lost their homes when parts of Bongao in Tawi-Tawi were burnt to ashes
- Many trying to fully observe the fasting month say they are grateful to be alive
Manila: As Annalexis Abdulla Dabbang was looking forward to observing the month of Ramadan with her family, just days before it began they lost everything when an enormous fire tore through whole neighborhoods of their city in the southernmost province of the Philippines.
Bongao is the capital of Tawi-Tawi, an island province, forming part of the country’s Muslim minority heartland in the Bangsamoro region. The city experienced its worst fire in years in early February, when flames swept through the coastal community, leaving more than 5,000 people homeless.
“We were swimming for our lives. We had to swim to escape from the fire ... We swam in darkness, and (even) the sea was already hot because of the fire,” Dabbang, a 27-year-old teacher, told Arab News.
“Everything we owned was gone in just a few hours — our home, our memories, the things we worked hard for, everything turned to ashes.”
Trying to save their 2-year-old daughter and themselves, she and her husband left everything behind — as did hundreds of other families that together with them have since taken shelter at the Mindanao State University gymnasium — one of the evacuation centers.
Unable to secure a tent, Dabbang’s family has been sleeping on the bleachers, sharing a single mat as their bed. When Ramadan arrived a few days after they moved to the makeshift shelter, they welcomed it in a different, more solemn way. There is no family privacy for suhoor, no room or means to welcome guests for iftar.
“Ramadan feels different now. It’s painful but at the same time more real. When we lost our home, we began to understand what sacrifice really means. When you sleep in an evacuation center, you understand hunger, discomfort in a deeper way,” Dabbang said.
“We don’t prepare special dishes. We prepare our hearts.”
While she and thousands of others have lost everything they have ever owned, she has not lost her faith.
“Our dreams may have turned to ashes, but our prayers are still alive,” she said.
“This Ramadan my prayers are more emotional than ever. I pray for strength, not just for myself, but for my family and for every neighbor who also lost their family home. I pray for healing from the trauma of fire. I pray that Allah will replace what we lost with something better. I pray for the chance to rebuild not just our house, but our sense of security.”
Juraij Dayan Hussin, a volunteer helping the Bongao fire victims, observed that many of them were traumatized and the need to cleanse the heart and mind during Ramadan was what kept many of them going, because they are “thankful that even though they lost their property, they are still alive.”
But the religious observance related to the fasting month is not easy in a cramped shelter.
“It’s hard for Muslims to perform their prayers when they do not have their proper attire because they usually have specific clothes for prayer,” he said. “Sanitation in the area is also an issue ... when you fast and when you pray, cleanliness is essential.”
For Abdulkail Jani, who is staying at a basketball court with his brother and more than 70 other families, this Ramadan will be spent apart from their parents, whom they managed to move to relatives.
“The month of Ramadan this year is a month of trial ... there will be a huge change from how we observed Ramadan in the past, but we will adjust to it and try to comfort ourselves and our family. The most important thing is that we can perform the fasting,” he told Arab News.
“Despite our situation now, despite everything, as long as we’re alive, we will observe Ramadan. We’ll try to observe it well, without missing anything.”
