Agence France Presse (AFP) looks like it has deserted its professional, ethical and deontological obligations in the handling of Algerian news and persists, on the contrary, in reserving an incriminating and tendentious coverage against the Kingdom of Morocco, writes the daily “Le Matin” in its Monday edition.
In an editorial under the title “Flagrant offence: the French State News Agency (AFP) persists in exonerating the Algerian regime and charging Morocco”, the newspaper stresses that it is increasingly worrying to note that AFP persists in sparing Algeria by reserving it, unlike Morocco, a preferential and most accommodating treatment and this, despite the adoption, Thursday in Strasbourg, of a resolution condemning the Algerian regime.
Recalling that the European Parliament (EP) condemned, last Thursday, by an overwhelming majority of votes (536 for, 4 against and 18 abstentions) pronounced Algeria guilty of repressing the freedoms of the press and expression, as evidenced by the case of journalist Ihsane El Kadi, sentenced last April 2 to five years in prison, the publication writes that AFP had, in its news article on the incongruous EP resolution on Morocco, deliberately used very critical language towards the Kingdom, through presenting the MEPs as having “strongly criticized” and “demanded” action against the country.
On the other hand, adds the newspaper, the French Agency slips, in its news article on the resolution of the EP condemning Algeria, in a grid of language more watered down, merely stating that the MEPs “have requested” and “called” Algeria.
“This different treatment in the choice of terms is intended to lead to a misperception of the real situation in the two countries,” says the daily.
The newspaper notes that the contrast between the said resolution and the AFP article aroused the astonishment of observers, who point the finger at this systematic relentlessness and this blatant bias of the Agence France Presse against Morocco and its interests and wonder, once again, about the reasons for its bias while handling the Moroccan news.
According to the publication, AFP’s biased treatment of Morocco is in line with the French political and media pressure to soften the content of the EP resolution against Algeria.
In this regard, “Le Matin” explains that the usual maneuvers carried out in the halls of the legislative institution and in some European capitals have not had the expected success, to the great displeasure of some MEPs and other French political and media circles, which have visibly spared no effort.
The editorial, which recalls that French media of reference had stated, without being contradicted, that the presidency of the Renew group in the EP, close to the French power, managed, initially, to withdraw the draft resolution against Algeria from the agenda of the EP, specifies that this information has been confirmed to other media by two political sources within the European institution.