by KARIMA BENNOUNE
Today the Algerian government tried to hold back the winds of change blowing westward from neighboring Tunisia by besieging its own capital city.
A peaceful protest called by the Algerian opposition party, the Rassemblement pour la culture et la démocratie (RCD), on the Place du 1er Mai was forcefully disrupted by large numbers of heavily armed riot police. One report claimed that 10,000 police had been deployed. Meanwhile, as many as 42 people were injured, several seriously, and others arrested, including a photojournalist.
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(Thanks to Harsh Kapoor of SACW)