BERLIN: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged his Algerian counterpart to pardon the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who was given a five-year jail term in March for harming national unity.
Steinmeier’s office said he had asked Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to pardon Sansal as “a humanitarian gesture.”
“Given Sansal’s advanced age and fragile health condition” Steinmeier also “offered Sansal’s relocation to Germany and subsequent medical care in our country.”
“It would reflect my long-standing personal relationship with President Tebboune and the good relations between our countries.”
The Algerian presidency confirmed that Steinmeier has asked Tebboune to pardon the writer as a “humanitarian gesture” — and the request was also reported on Algerian television.
According to observers in Algeria, the fact that both the president’s office and public television are echoing Steinmeier’s request can be seen as a positive sign for Sansal.
Paris has also called on Algeria to show leniency to Sansal and the writer’s conviction has further strained tense France-Algeria relations.
The writer’s family has highlighted his treatment for prostate cancer.
A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
The case arose after Sansal told the far-right outlet Frontieres that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial period from 1830 to 1962 — a claim Algeria views as a challenge to its sovereignty and that aligns with longstanding Moroccan territorial assertions.
German president asks Algeria to pardon writer Boualem Sansal
https://arab.news/8fxan
German president asks Algeria to pardon writer Boualem Sansal
- Sansal was given a five-year jail term in March for “harming national unity”
Sri Lanka doubles troops for flood disaster recovery
- Sri Lanka is expecting further heavy monsoon rains, topping 75 millimeters in many places, including the worst-affected central region, the Disaster Management Center said
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has doubled its military deployment to regions struck by a cyclone that has killed 635, sending tens of thousands of troops to help areas hit by a wave of destruction, the army said Monday.
More than 2 million people — nearly 10 percent of the population — have been affected by the disaster caused by Cyclone Ditwah, the worst on the island this century.
Sri Lanka is expecting further heavy monsoon rains, topping 75 millimeters in many places, including the worst-affected central region, the Disaster Management Center said. It has also issued warnings of further landslides.
“Given that mountain slopes are already saturated with rain water since last week, even slight showers could make them unstable again,” an official said, urging those evacuated from high-risk areas not to return.
The center has confirmed 635 deaths, with another 192 people unaccounted for since Nov. 27, when intense rains brought on by Cyclone Ditwah triggered landslides and floods.
The disaster management agency warned residents to “take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.”
Army chief Lasantha Rodrigo said 38,500 security personnel had been sent to boost recovery and clean-up operations in flood-affected and landslide-hit areas, nearly doubling the inital deployment.
“Since the disaster, security forces have been able to rescue 31,116 people who were in distress,” Rodrigo said in a pre-recorded statement.
Army spokesman Waruna Gamage said additional troops were deployed as the rescue efforts turned into a recovery operation.
