Tunisian bloggers react to Arabicca's arrest
2009-11-17
The charges levelled at blogger Arabicca, the question of French reparations to Tunisia and the Egypt-Algeria World Cup match are sparking many posts in the Tunisian blogosphere.
By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 17/11/09
 [File] Fatma Arabicca faces libel charges in a case that is arousing the ire of other bloggers. |
Tunisian bloggers have been chronicling the trial of Fatima Arabicca, while demanding that France apologise for its history of colonising Maghreb countries and adding their voices to the feverish build-up to the Algeria-Egypt World Cup match.
The blog Miadeen outlines the lessons bloggers can take from her case.
"Among the lessons, which it never hurts to recap, are: We are all targets. None of us is safe from what Arabicca was made to go through. What Arabicca went through only makes the road clearer before us, and [clearer for] whoever wishes to talk and vent on this small virtual community of ours, which continues to grow despite everything."
Scribbles posted the slogan "Free Fatma Arabicca", saying: "We learned that blogger Fatma, under arrest since November 2nd, has been released and is now free, as announced by her attorney Ben Debba."
"We're hoping that the measure means that the case has been indefinitely closed, since the alleged 'Z' continued to post while Fatma was behind bars," continues Scribbles' post. "This proves that she is not responsible for what was written before, as indicated by her lawyer. We hope that this is the end of it. Congrats to Fatma, and Fatma – 'welcome back' from your friends and students. May you continue to be a beacon of light, freedom and honest expression of opinion."
Blogger Saber Oudi seems more concerned with damages France should pay Tunisians for colonising their country, and includes a poll on his blog asking readers what should be done.
"In return for [the colonial] period, some voices in the Tunisian political arena demand that France compensate Tunisia for 75 years of occupation," reads the poll, which comes as a reaction to the Unionist Democratic Union's push to make France apologise for colonising Tunisia. "Do you think France owes us damages?" So far, 43% of respondents do.
On another front, Tareq Kahlaoui from Nocturnal Thoughts took an interesting angle, bemoaning the state of Tunisian blogging itself. He points to the decline of the Tunisian blogosphere, a slump which he believes began about a year ago. In his blog post "Tunisian Blogosphere: Anything New?" Kahlaoui observes that his early observation "can be attributed to a number of reasons, some of which are beyond bloggers' control, such as concerns and competing with everything new (particularly Facebook, which includes a section for blogging that is more interactive than regular blogging), as well as other things related to our own choices".
"I think there is a growing tendency toward libels and insults, cloaked by 'criticism of creeds', driving us down a phobia slope which, in turn, caused (i) some people to react violently, as can be expected, and (ii) the party that is principally responsible in our country is striving to push the blogosphere in that direction. Eventually, true power lies in the hands of those who have power," he concludes.
Finally, the match between Egypt and Algeria could not be ignored, as sport fever swept across the Maghreb. The blogger of Revolution Tunisie describes skirmishes between Algerian and Egyptian fans, writing: "The critical game between Egypt and Algeria crossed the limits of sport, and turned into a confrontation between the two nations and a battle of words that found fertile soil on the Internet and on TV."
"The squabbles between both sides on Facebook and Twitter, as well as in newspapers and TV stations, brought to mind old memories of the rivalry of the two teams back in 1989, during the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup," adds the blogger. "Algerian fans have composed a new song which they play online, in which they address Egyptians, saying 'Hey listen, you Pharaohs, the curse is cast on you.'"
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Anonymous Posted 2009-11-18
For his new five-year term, Chef Ben Ali has seen fit to revise his menu without abandoning the traditional cuisine such as the famous “roast bird”, as Amnesty International described. After having skewered the famous blogger Fatim Arabicca, he is serving himself a new international dish: Kadhafi-stuffed Turkey. His electoral farce was not to the international community’s taste and does not have any arguments to defend itself against the journalists’ persecution. Ben Ali thus got the bright idea to stuff the election with Kadhafi. He conferred upon Kadhafi the task of imposing silence on the international community, saying that his wacky neighbour will fall into a trap. However, it was shocking that Kadhafi’s verbal solidarity manifested in a new D-Day and an African landing on the beaches of Normandy to punish Kouchner, who dared criticise Ben Ali’s human rights violations. So, there is nothing to hear on the Libyan front.
Khmaies Bandi Posted 2009-11-19
You joined this comment to the photo above : " Fatma Arabicca, a Tunisian who blogs under the name "Blogue de Z", faces libel charges in a case that is arousing the ire of other bloggers. ", which is not correct. Fatma Riahi, school theater teatcher, is the author of the blog "http://fatma-arabicca.blogspot.com". She blogs under nickname "Fatma Arabicca" and not _Z_. _Z_ is an anonymous Tunisian blogger. His blog DEBATunisie (debatunisie.canalblog.com), known for his famous satiric caricature and considered "politically very incorrect" by the Tunisian authorities is censored in Tunisia.
عمروش Posted 2009-11-24
I hope the author verifies the accuracy of the information; this falls under media fallacies and creating confusion in the minds of readers. The blogger Arabicca is, by the way, female. She's totally different from the blogger Zed, the author of the blog Tunisian Debate, who's a man. It's a pity the Maghrebia site doesn't seek precision in information presented by its reporters and publishes them without taking the trouble to verify it. Please correct this.
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