Algerian journalists press for change

ALGIERS — Algerian journalists gathered in the capital Algiers on World Press Freedom Day Tuesday, pressing for better salaries and training.

Lamenting what they deemed the "catastrophic situation" of journalists in the north African country, the group staged a sit-down protest outside Press House, which houses several newspapers.

"The profession is in total disorder," said the Algerian National Initiative for the Dignity of Journalists, which organized the protest and put the number of demonstrators at 200.

It cited the absence of press cards, poor salaries and inadequate training.

On Monday, the cabinet approved a series of measures to help journalists and to scrap a 2001 law that allows for their jailing.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced steps after the cabinet meeting to modernize the media and boost professionalism and ethics.

The protesters said these measures "are but a first step on the long road to rehabilitating the profession."

Students and riot police clashed in Algiers on Monday, leaving more than 20 injured as protesters took to the streets demanding political change.

Demonstrations are currently banned in the north African country.

Algeria has been largely unaffected by the wave of popular uprisings in north Africa that has already toppled the leaderships of Tunisia and Egypt.

However, students demanding political change and better study and living conditions have demonstrated several times in Algiers and been forcefully stopped.