Tehran critical of "slow" response by Algiers on atrocities

Iranian radio has criticized the Algerian government for its "slow and limited" reaction over the continuing acts of violence in the country and said that if it did not take steps to punish "the real perpetrators", the international community should take steps to bring this about.

"The release of shocking reports about the killing of over 400 more Algerian civilians has injured the feelings of Islamic communities and forces world Muslims to react strongly to the current atrocities in Algeria," the radio said in a commentary broadcast on Saturday.

It said the news had caused "a wave of regret and sorrow among world public opinion".

"Undoubtedly, world Muslims demand that the main perpetrators of Algerian atrocities be identified, arrested and punished after being tried in competent courts, while Islamic communities are seeking to analyse and explain reasons for the Algerian government's slow and limited reaction to prevent recent massacres," the radio said.

"What is certain is that the Algerian government and army, despite their close and joint cooperation, have failed so far to prevent the intensification of atrocities in Algeria or, at least, make any significant effort to prevent the continuation of these killings.

This is where various circles stress the need for international forums to intervene to prevent the continuation of the massacre of Algerian civilians, and consider their silence - despite the passage of two years from the start of these massacres - to be inappropriate." The radio said that two solutions remain for preventing the continuation of the violence: "Firstly, the Algerian government should give appropriate guarantees for identifying, arresting and punishing the real perpetrators of massacres in that country.

Alternatively, international forums should dispatch special envoys for this purpose."

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.