Politics

Algeria sacks Air Algerie Marketing Director over Morocco-linked advert campaign

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2022

The Algerian government has sacked the Marketing Director of Air Algerie, Bekhouch Elach, following a marketing campaign based on the country’s checkered history with neighbours Morocco.

The ministry cited mismanagement of resources days after the airline shared a post showcasing Tlemcen’s Moroccan heritage in the marketing campaign which Algeria sees as promoting the Moroccan heritage.

Also terminated were the contracts of two senior officials working at its flag carrier Air Algerie, following the scandal brought about by the advert campaign.

The First Ministry on Monday, announced the news of the sacking of the Air Algerie’s president and general director and another official whose name was not disclosed in the report.

Days before the decision, Air Algerie had come under fire for posting a Facebook advertisement explaining Tlemcen’s Spanish and Moroccan heritage, but the airline retracted the post hours later after a lot of backlash from the public.

As part of its marketing campaign, Air Algerie had shared an initial Facebook that read:

“Proud of its prosperous, glorious history, its Spanish-Moroccan runes, and its Andalusi style, Tlemcen is a city of art and history earning her the nickname of the ‘Pearl of the Maghreb.’”

But following public outrage, the airline put up another post hours later taking out all parts mentioning Morocco or Spain, were scrapped hours later, with a new post reading:

“Proud of its prosperous history, Tlemcen is a city of art and history earning her the nickname of the ‘Pearl of the Maghreb.’”

The adverts was seen as being offensive as it was not the first time Algeria has appeared to be attempting to rewrite history with the country notoriously claiming parts of Morocco’s heritage as its own, including Moroccan cuisine and traditional outfits, acts that have brought about tensions between the two countries.

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Politics

Mozambique: Ruling FRELIMO announces Chapo as presidential candidate

Published

17 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Daniel Chapo has announced that he will run for president in the October election on behalf of the ruling FRELIMO party in Mozambique.

Since achieving independence in 1975, FRELIMO has ruled the nation in southern Africa, and the party is hoping that Chapo can lead it to another win in the election on October 9.

“The soap opera of speculation is over, including speculation about the third term,” President Filipe Nyusi said on state television on Sunday, dismissing the prospect of contesting elections again.

“We must all unite around comrade Daniel Francisco Chapo, in the demanding march towards electoral victory next October,” Nyusi said.

The president of Mozambique is limited to two terms of five years by the constitution. Nevertheless, following his reelection as party leader in 2022, there had been conjecture in the media that Nyusi may run for a third term.

Chapo, a relatively unknown person in national politics, is the governor of the province of Inhambane in southern Mozambique. As to the party announcement, he secured 225 votes (about 94%) from the central committee of the party.

“We are going to work with all social strata,” Chapo said on television after his win.

Chapo, a former radio host, was born in 1977, making him the first candidate for FRELIMO to be born since the nation gained its independence.

He has served in many governmental capacities, most notably as an administrator of the districts of Nacala and Palma. He also has a master’s degree in development management and a law degree.

Politics

Again, Rwanda denies it attacked displaced persons in DR Congo

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

For the sixteenth time, Rwanda refuted US charges on Saturday that its troops attacked a camp for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), placing the blame instead on militants it claimed were backed by the military of the Congo.

The US State Department released a statement in which it vehemently denounced the incident that claimed at least nine lives on Friday.

There have been persistent accusations against Rwanda of providing support to the armed organizations, which has resulted in diplomatic tensions between the neighbours in East Africa.

Citing the threat that Rwanda’s surface-to-air missile systems posed to civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, aid workers, and commercial aircraft operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the US demanded in February that Rwanda remove its systems and all of its armed forces from the DRC immediately. Rwanda denies providing any assistance to the rebels.

According to the U.S. statement, the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda supports, and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) held the positions from which the attack was launched. The United States is “gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion” in eastern Congo.

Speaking on behalf of the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo refuted claims that the RDF was responsible for the attack, blaming instead rebels backed by the Congolese military.

“The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for this kind of atrocity,” she said in a post on X.

Wazalendo is a Christian sect, while the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu organization that was founded by Hutu officials who left Rwanda after planning the 1994 genocide.

Thousands of people from the surrounding areas have fled to Goma in eastern Congo as a result of the M23 rebels’ two-year offensive, which has advanced toward the city in recent months.