Algerian publishers to boycott Cairo book fair

Algerian publishers to boycott Cairo book fair

 CAIRO: Maybe the war between Algeria and Egypt is not quite finished. The Cairo International Book Fair, to be held this January, has already experienced the fallout of the recent football row that saw Egyptians and Algerians attack one another in the street. Publishers are pulling out of the region’s largest book fair.

The Algerian National Union of Book Publishers has decided, after the meeting of the Executive Board in its regular session held December 17 last, to boycott the Cairo International Book Fair to be held in January.

The union said in a statement that the decision was taken after long discussions and debates between the officers and also correspondences between the office and the Union of Arab Publishers, after the media campaign which was conducted by the Egyptian institutions against Algeria.

After analysis of irresponsible statements detrimental to the dignity of the Algerians, the Shuhada (martyrs) and the symbols of the revolution, the Algerian flag that was burned by an institution of association without being questioned by any Egyptian official parties, the doubt raised about the membership of Algeria to the Arab and Muslims nation and the insults uttered against the Algerian people and their Amazigh roots.

All these things happened, despite the cultural and economic interests between the two countries. The National Union of publishers decided to boycott the book fair to be held in Cairo next January.