Cops thwart the sit-in of “anger”, arrest 400 teachers in Algiers

Security forces thwarted a sit-in of teachers, who belong to the NAPEST and Education Workers’ syndicates, in front of the headquarters of the Education Ministry in Ruisseau, in Algiers.

Cops dispersed them by force, as they started in the early hours of the morning in arresting the protesters as soon as they stepped off in the bus stations, tramway and metro stations, bringing the number of arrested to 400 people.

Once the coordinator of the National Council of Secondary and Technical Education, Naouar Arbi, started his speech near the headquarters of the Ministry of National Education, the ant-riot police came to disperse the protesters by force, and thwarted the sit-in during a quarter of an hour, and teachers were not even allowed to get closer to each others, as ports leading to the headquarters of the ministry, were cordoned by security services.

According to the National Secretary in charge of Information and Communication at CNAPEST, Messaoud Boudiba, the series of arrests in the ranks of teachers began at six am, and a number of them were taken to the police stations in Bache Djarrah, Beaulieu, Les Annasers, Bir Touta, Kouba and Cheragua, at the time the spokesman added that seven members of the national Office were arrested, including the National Coordinator.

“CNAPEST organized this sit-in to encourage the higher authorities of the country to intervene and end the abuses and harassment of syndicalists, and the reintegration of the fired, and respect for the free exercise of the syndicalism right, through respecting laws and establishing a new phase based on openness and mutual trust.

For his part, National Secretary in charge of organization at the syndicate of workers of Education, told Echorouk, cops foiled the “sit-in of anger” and did not allow them to organize the protest, so has they been dispersed violently and they arrested hundreds of teachers, professors technicians, teachers and assistants of Education, including the National Secretary of the Syndicate and the coordinator of the National Coordination for education assistants.