A coordination of Algerian diaspora collectives will organize an online concert on Saturday to support the detainees of "Hirak", the popular anti-regime movement, and to denounce the attacks on freedom of expression in Algeria. Under the title Songs of Freedom , the musical event will be broadcast on Saturday from 9 p.m. Algiers time (10 p.m. in Paris) online on YouTube and on several Facebook pages, according to the organizers. It will coincide with Eid-El-Fitr, the feast that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Among the artists who will participate in the initiative, the Algerian-Quebec group Labess, the rocker Cheikh Sidi Bémol and the Amazigh pop singer, Amel Zen. The star Souad Massi, who is committed to the "Hirak", also promised to join the event.
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The idea for the concert was born at the initiative of a collective of Algerians from the American diaspora, Free Algeria, joined by other associations of Algerians based in France and by the alternative media Radio Corona Internationale. “ I participate in solidarity with the detainees. We must release them! It is not normal to continue to suppress freedoms, "Amel Zen told AFP on Thursday. " We have two viruses: corona and repression, " she said.
According to the Labess group, " freedom of expression and respect for human rights are in danger in Algeria ". “ The media are muzzled, young people are arrested for simple publications on social networks. We have to support them, show that they are still in our thoughts, ”he wrote on his Facebook page. The names of around sixty “Hirak” prisoners and the photos of some of them appear on the poster for the concert which is circulating on social networks.
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The organizers chose as slogans in Arabic and French: “ We will not stop! We will not be silent! For the rule of law! For freedom of expression! " Despite the forced cessation of "Hirak" protests since mid-March, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, repression continues to befall political opponents, journalists, independent media and Internet users.
Fifteen activists were sentenced to firm prison terms this week, including three for their social media posts. The “Hirak” calls for a change in the “ system ” in place since the country's independence in 1962. In vain, until now, even if it obtained in April 2019 the head of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after 20 years of reign .
