Algerian official: Cairo-Algiers ties deep-rooted, media triggered crisis
An Algerian state official said here Friday that the media was the main cause behind the crisis erupted between Algeria and Egypt last November against the backdrop of a football match dispute.
- Abdulaziz Belkhadim, Special Envoy of the Algerian president, also Secretary General of the National Liberation Front party which enjoys majority in parliament and government, said that “the crisis, whatever was its size, cannot rip the two brotherly peoples apart as they are united by the ties of brotherhood and shared history and future.” Belkhadim added that “relations between the two countries are gradually returning to their normal course and the visit paid by Egyptian president Muhammad Honsi Mubarak to Algeria early last July and his meeting with Algerian president Abdulaziz Bouteflika have eased the crisis.” Answering a question on the difficulties facing the Egyptian Orascom Telecom company in Algeria, Belkhadim said that “Orascom is like all other companies operating in Algeria, either it complies with laws, or laws are thrust upon it.” He also denied that Algerian authorities deliberately put hurdles before the activities of the Egyptian company’s subsidiary in Algeria, also known as Gizi, which provides mobile and internet services.
- A severe crisis erupted in bilateral ties between the two countries due to an attack by some Egyptian youth on the bus boarding Algerian football selection who was going to play its last match in the latest world cup qualifiers against the Egyptian selection on Nov. 14, 2009.
- Further, the crisis renewed with Cairo’s claiming that Egyptians were attacked by Algerian fans on Nov. 18, 2009 during a playoff in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in what led to a mutual recall of the two countries’ambassadors and an exchange of notes of protest.
- However, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak visited Algeria on July 7, to pay condolences to Bouteflika on the death of his brother Dr. Mustafa Bouteflika and the trip helped defuse the crisis between the two countries.