Algeria’s President Bans Officials From Discussing Military Issues with the Press.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has issued a decree banning military and government officials from speaking to the press about military issues without prior permission from him.
On Monday, President Tebboune affirmed during a cabinet meeting “restricting any media statements in issues related to national defence (…) without a license from the Minister of National Defense,” reported The New Arab‘s Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
In Algeria, the President of the Republic occupies also the positions of Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
It remains unknown whether this decision also includes the statements of the Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Al-Saeed Shangriha, who constantly speaks on state television on army-related activities.
The new law also reiterates the 2016 decree that bans retired army officers from speaking to the media or disclosing any information about their past.
During the same meeting, President Tebboune also called on the government to enrich the draft of military justice law, stressing “the need to take into account the privacy and the secrecy military activities require within the framework of protecting the supreme interests of the state.”
The Algerian presidency shows remarkable strictness regarding preventing any discussions or presenting information for public debate related to military issues
This year, President Tebboune also presented a draft law regulating the relationship between the government and parliament, which included preventing deputies from interrogating the government on defence and foreign issues.
