Algeria has provisionally frozen the activities of Qatar-based Aljazeera TV, it was reported Wednesday.
"I was informed of the freeze, which is valid until further notice, of the station's activities, but was not given any explanation," the station's correspondent in the capital Algiers, Muhammad Dahu said on Wednesday.
According to AFP, local newspapers had speculated that the station's Algerian branch would be temporarily closed down, saying that the authorities had "not appreciated" a debate aired on Aljazeera lately, questioning President Abd al-Aziz Butaflika's national reconciliation program.
Other newspapers speculated that the suspension of Aljazeera's activities was due to the coverage it gave to a blast at the Hamma power station in Algiers on 21 June. The authorities claimed the explosion was probably accidental but it was later claimed by the GSPC, the country's largest Islamist group. (albawaba.com)
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