Bloc president: "Algeria is not built on discord but on unity" after online slurs against Tizi Ouzou

Algeria is not built on discord… but on unity and respect.

It is regrettable that the pursuit of views and followers should become a means of insulting a historic Algerian wilaya such as Tizi Ouzou or its people, while the content creator travels there in safety and enjoys the hospitality for which its people are known.

I say this as a testimony for history, as president of the Hisn Al-Mateen Bloc: I have visited the wilaya of Tizi Ouzou and met many of its people, and found them kind, respectful and generous, an educated elite proud of their national belonging, with great love for all things Algerian and a belief that Algeria's strength lies in the unity and cohesion of its people.

I found the same in our Great South among our Tuareg brothers, in whom I saw honour, generosity and authenticity; they are an integral part of Algeria's national fabric, like all the nation's people from east to west and from north to south.

It is therefore unacceptable for anyone to use social media to incite against a tribe, a region or a social group because of its customs, traditions or way of life. Algeria has known painful experiences caused by strife in the past, which obliges us all to act responsibly and not to reproduce hate speech and division.

As for offering advice on religious matters, it belongs to those qualified to give it and has its rules; it should be given with wisdom and good counsel, not through provocation or by turning differences into a means of gaining fame or material profit.