Tunisian government promises increased media co-operation

2007-05-15

Media professionals have put pressure on the Tunisian government to open up communications with government agencies and ministries. In response, the Ministry of Communications has promised certain improvements.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 15/05/2007

[Jamel Arfaoui] Rafaa Dekhil (right) during a press conference

One week after the Association of Tunisian Journalists (AJT) released a report calling for increased access for all media to the nation’s news sources, the Ministry of Communications responded by promising improvements in the media sector.

Communications Minister Raafa Dekhil called for the rapid implementation of a series of recommendations agreed upon at a national seminar on access to news sources held last November. Dekhil said the government was keen to promote the media and communications sector "to enhance its performance" and "establish freedom of expression and the press", in support of the country's efforts towards "democratic pluralism".

Dekhil made this appeal on Thursday (May 10th), during a meeting between the communications ministry and directors of public and private media bodies, in addition to media attachés from other ministries and government offices.

During the meeting, Abdelhamid Riahi, editor-in-chief of privately-owned newspaper Al-Chourouk, asked about the real mission of media attachés in the ministries and other public institutions: "Is the purpose of their work to offer information to media professionals or to polish the image of the official for whom they work?"

Imed Guetata, editor-in-chief of the news bulletin on government television, complained about the slowness in obtaining information from government agencies. "Sometimes they ask us to wait until the following day," he said, a fact he finds "unacceptable in these fast-moving times". Guetata called for the separation of journalism and politics: "It’s up to the political official to understand that the media professional in his office is more knowledgeable than he is on communicating information that journalists require". Unfortunately, however, according to Guetata, "Press attachés are still passing on what they have been told to convey to journalists".

Mohammed Missaoui, Director-General of Information, acknowledged the many complaints about delays in information, suggesting they could be solved by "resorting to modern means of communication, such as the internet… [to] speed up the process, instead of waiting hours to reach those directly concerned".

The AJT’s annual report, issued on World Press Freedom Day, affirmed "the importance of information flow and increased access to news sources". The report also warned against the dangers to public order in the withholding of information by the government, pointing out that experience "shows that withholding information is more harmful than publishing it, since its absence opens the way for rumour, conjecture and damage to credibility".

Dekhil confirmed that his ministry has taken decisions "regarding the need to incorporate press attachés in the periodic meetings of ministries and public bodies, with the aim of facilitating their obtaining of information."

In order for the decisions to be properly implemented and made to work, Dekhil announced that his ministry "instructed the Directorate of Information to intervene whenever media professionals are not successful in gaining access to the information they requested from the relevant sources".

Commenting on this decision, former AJT president Mohammed Ben Salah said in a statement to Magharebia that he considers the proposed solution a "positive step", but that it will be "tested in practice". Ben Salah concluded by saying "We will wait and see for two months or even three".