Tunisian journalists union crisis threatens national press

15/05/2009

The National Union of Tunisian Journalists leadership accused the government of standing behind efforts to unseat it. Some union members countered with a claim that the board is working against their interest.

Jamel Arfaoui in Tunis contributed to this report– 15/05/09

[Jamel Arfaoui] A National Union of Tunisian Journalists press conference erupted into physical and verbal confrontations between union members.

Discord continued for a second week between the leadership of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) and other union members over recent allegations of poor representation, raising concerns that the conflict would negatively affect the country's press industry if left unresolved.

The crisis erupted during a SNJT press conference on World Press Freedom Day on May 4th, when the union’s executive board presented the annual report on the state of press freedom in Tunisia. The report criticised authorities for harassing journalists and restricting their work by limiting their access to information. The report also called for improving the working conditions of journalists.

During the conference, SNJT president Neji Bghouri accused the information ministry of stonewalling and failing to address the "miserable" state of Tunisian journalists, even after the Tunisian president vowed to resolve it last March.

Some in the union viewed the report as inflammatory and "resorting to clashes with the Tunisian authorities". The accusations escalated to a verbal and physical confrontation during the conference.

"The current leadership of the union is disappointing," Kamel ben Younes, head of the union’s ethics committee, told Aljazeera.net. "[I]t obstructed the negotiations with the ministry of information to resolve the problems of journalists, instead of opening dialogue."

In a May 12th statement, Younes accused Bghouri of "stalling the resolution of the file of more than 200 temporary journalists in spite of the existence of political decision in this regard." Younes accused the SNJT president of obstructing the negotiations with the authorities because of "political positions towards the presidential election and towards certain members in the government".

Head of the freedoms committee Jamel Kermaoui also accused the union's leadership of siding with the opposition and failing to defend the rights of journalists.

As a sign of protest against the union and its report, three members of the executive board resigned their positions, while a fourth reported resignation has not been confirmed. According to union bylaws, the board will be dissolved if the number of resignations exceeds four. An extraordinary meeting for the union would have to take place within 60 days.

Bghouri defended the report and the union, accusing the authorities and the information ministry of standing behind a petition to discredit the executive board. "The Tunisian authorities have incited certain pro-government journalists to stage a coup against legitimacy," he told reporters.

Samira Ghannouchi, one of the members who resigned, said she did not feel pressured by officials to resign. "The cause of my resignation is clear," she told Magharebia. "It became impossible to deceive the journalists into believing that we’re doing something in their interests."

Ghannouchi accused the executive board of "lying to journalists under the pretext that there are other entities that impede us from progressing. "

"I wonder why we were elected. Wasn’t it to serve the interests of journalists? However, I didn’t feel at any moment that we were doing so, or that we were moving in the right direction."

Meanwhile, journalists are concerned that this problem is going to negatively affect the media in the country.

"I think that the issue has gone beyond the evaluation of the executive board’s work," said journalist Nejla Bensalah, who feared the crisis could result in restriction of press freedom and further marginalise journalists, especially young ones.

"The victims are the marginalized journalists. The new crisis will certainly affect our conditions since the attention will be diverted attention away from the basic issues concerning freedom of expression and opinion, " she said.

Journalist Sofiene Chourabi agreed, saying that this latest crisis is a reflection of the problem that has long plagued unions. "All efforts and energies should have been rallied to improve the conditions of journalists. However, the fears of tutelage and monopoly felt by a number of journalists have impeded such a goal. I call on all parties to bypass marginal differences and to bring their views closer for the benefit of the journalists."

Noureddine Mbarki, a journalist for opposition Al Watan newspaper, defended the SNJT report.

"I think that the report has positively addressed the most important social and financial concerns of Tunisian journalists," Mbarki said. "This was shown through noting the fragile conditions and the lack of respect for labour laws in many press institutions. This is important, especially when we know that the independence of the journalists and their abilities to carry out their mission are linked to the stability of their financial and social conditions."

A statement released by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on May 11th denounced what it viewed as an organized campaign from the authorities to undermine the SNJT, "which is another piece of evidence of the absence of political tolerance and enmity against the defenders of freedom of expression and human rights."

The Brussels-based organisation backed the position of SNJT and its "right to publish independent reports."

"We should stand in the face of this last attack against the courage and integrity of our colleagues who defend the freedom of press," said Aidan White, Secretary-General of FIJ.

On May 11th, International Freedom of Expression Exchange, Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), an alliance comprising 18 regional and international organizations, sent a message to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in which it expressed "deep concern over the steps taken by your government to undermine the independence of SNJT and interfere in its affairs".

On May 3rd, President Ben Ali sent a message to the Tunisian press community on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day in which he expressed his respect for "all the men and women working in this sector".

In his message, Ben Ali said that the Tunisian government recognizes the efforts made by journalists in "performing their noble mission and adhering to the national values and principles, as well as the ethics of the profession".

"We renew our call to them to do more research, creation and diversification of initiatives and efforts in all that would help to lift the Tunisian press to the highest levels," the president said.