BERBER rights activists condemned the media’s silence after a wave of attacks and arrests of those seeking autonomous and cultural freedom in the Kabylie region of Algeria over the weekend.

The Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie (MAK) warned today that police showed their true faces after “arbitrary arrests, forced kidnapping … and physical violence” against young activists in Tizi Ouzou to “prevent them from expressing their opinion.”

A statement from the group, which seeks self-government for the Berber-populated region east of the capital Algiers, claimed activists were subjected to hours of “forced interrogation” at police stations after authorities broke up a gathering at the University of Tizi Ouzou.