Khalida Toumi rejects the accusations of the writer Benchicou
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ALGIERS - Algerian Ministry of Culture has denied the involvement of Minister Khalida Toumi in an eventual ban on publishing in Algeria of the novel of the writer and journalist Mohamed Benchicou "The lie of God" to be published in May 5 in France and Canada.
- In a mail sent to AFP late Monday, the Ministry neither confirmed nor denied that the book has been censored in Algeria, as the author said Monday. "The Minister of Culture Khalida Toumi demanded that the ISBN number to the novel and the legal deposit of the book are not granted, which is to ban its publication," said Benchicou to AFP.
The cabinet of the Minister, in his mail Focus, said that Mrs. Toumi" has never refused to grant an ISBN to the book by Benchicou entitled "The lie of God". "This is not within the powers of the minister in charge of Culture," it added.
Benchicou, head of the opposition daily Le Matin that he founded in 1991 and been suspended since 2004, said he had filed his request for publication on January 19.
"The lie of God" is a novel of 650 pages, a large mural recounting the romantic destinies of a family of fighters which takes the reader on the trail of the Algerian people from 1870 to today.
"No explanation accompanies this censorship because it is contrary to Article 38 of the Algerian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of creation," said the writer. - Ennaharonline/ M. O.
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