Algeria’s government called on foreign media correspondents working in the country to cover the deportation of hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants, which will take place this week, from cities in the north to the border with Niger.
Authorities aim to “show” international media waves of deportation, hoping to deliver an alleged ‘tolerance’ they practice in dealing with illegal immigrants, and is a response to sharp criticism of international human rights organizations on this issue.
A French newspaper correspondent told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Algerian Ministry of Information had asked him for the first time foreign media to directly cover the process of deportation.
The correspondent explained that he will be travelling with the Algerian Red Crescent Society, which oversaw preparations for the deportation of about 400 migrants to the border with Niger, coming from several countries on the African coast, including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
He said the ministry had invited him to prepare for the trip to document the process of deporting asylum seekers, but did not mention the exact date. “I was informed that the process will be before Thursday,” he said.
An Interior Ministry source said the call to cover the new deportation did not include local press.
“We wanted the foreign press, which takes what foreign rights organizations publish as an absolute fact, to be a witness against serious allegations,” referring to accusations facing Algeria for the ill treatment of migrants.
The source defended Algeria’s right to maintain its national security, especially in light of the phenomenon linking unregistered immigration to drugs, human trafficking, terrorism and arms trade.
International reports condemned Algeria's abandonment of migrants in the Algerian Sahara.
Algerian officials said the deportation process has cost the national treasury some 12 million dollars while pointing out that more funds will be allocated within days to finance new deportations.
It is worth mentioning that Algerian authorities did not heed calls made by international organizations and the UN Human Rights Council to stop the mass deportation of migrants, especially asylum seekers and construction workers, who are in the thousands.
Algeria provides no figures for the expulsions. But the number of people crossing on foot to Niger has been rising steadily since the International Organization for Migration (IOM) started counting in May 2017, when 135 people were dropped at the crossing, to as high as 2,888 in April 2018.
According to the IOM, a total of 11,276 men, women and children survived the march.
