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Algerians waged a roaring war against French imperialism in 1954. In 2011, it's among the quietest nations in the MENA region.
If an Algerian democracy movement exists today, it lives in newsrooms, according to the journalists bargaining with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's administration for freedom of expression in emailed petitions and Facebook groups.
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"My family members died for the self-determination of the Algerian people [in the revolution], and I am still fighting for self-determination," said prominent Algerian journalist and free press activist Chafaâ Bouaiche.
Bouaiche's popular blog Algérie-Politique has launched campaigns to free imprisoned journalists and lambast media outlets acting as mouthpieces for the government.
Struggling to keep Algerian authorities honest, members of the press have been engaged in wart for press freedoms for nearly a decade. During that time, they have moved to repeal articles 144 and 144bis1 of the 2001 Algerian penal code threatening up to five years imprisonment for "journalistic offenses," namely defamation-- a term without a clear-cut definition in the Algerian legal system-- of public officials and civil servants.
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It's been a good year to make demands of the Bouteflika administration.
Hopped up on the scent of jasmine, Bouteflika appeared on state television in April, announcing new legislation to decriminalize press activity.
The announcement came after a mass-email circulated among Algerian journalists late last month, detailing a "National initiative for the dignity of the press."
Behind the movement are members of the government's own official press organ, Algérie Presse Service (APS).
"We just want fewer constraints in the accomplishment of our work and to be able to make a living with dignity," said one APS reporter charged with disseminating the email. He asked to remain anonymous for job safety.
The reporter said members of the initiative and the Ministry of Communications are still in talks.
President Bouteflika's new legislation has faced a mixed response from the Algerian press.
Until April, the 2001 Penal Code has meant a daunting journalistic process for Fatma Baroudi of Algérie News, a member of a Facebook group called For the decriminalization of journalistic offenses in Algeria, created in support of Bouteflika's recent measures.
"Access to information has been difficult. With the penal code, the state has monopolized official information, and the journalist is expected to content themselves with information given by public institutions," she said.
