Friday, May 03, 2002

More from Islamic peace and freedom lovers in Algeria

"From boxes to boxes" is the chilling slogan of a fundamentalist Algerian underground organization known as the Armed Islamic Group that has stepped up its attacks against civilians recently to discourage people from voting in the May 30 general elections.

Their graphically conveyed message is: Anyone who is tempted to drop a vote in the electoral boxes is likely to end up in another kind of box -- a coffin. The group is blamed for the killing of 31 Algerians in a remote village in the province of Tiyarat, 60 miles west of the capital, Algiers. On April 24, gunmen killed 16 people, and two days earlier, four Algerians were also killed. Both incidents were attributed to the group, though none of the attacks is publicly acknowledged. The latest shooting raised to 460 the number of people killed in similar attacks since the beginning of the current year.

Gee, maybe this is where the Palestine Authority learned about democracy and freedom of speech?