Press freedom group conducts Tunisia visit
2008-07-08
The Committee to Protect Journalists recently visited Tunisia to evaluate the current state of press freedom in the country. Despite a refusal by state media and government officials to meet with the delegation, the group will prepare a report to convey its findings.
By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 08/07/08
 [cpj.org] The Committee to Protect Journalists recently concluded a visit to Tunisia. The press freedom group plans to release a detailed report on its findings. |
Responding to growing concerns over the decline of press freedom in Tunisia, a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recently conducted a week-long visit to the country to assess the current state of affairs.
In a statement to Magharebia, Joel Campana, a programme co-ordinator with CPJ, said that the goal of the visit was to get acquainted with the real conditions of press and freedoms in Tunisia. "We had so many concerns that the press freedom was besieged in Tunisia. We have previously issued detailed reports on a number of violations against some opposition newspapers or journalists who dared to criticise the performance of the government," he said.
Campana was accompanied by Cheryl Gould from the CPJ executive board in New York. The two met with members of the Tunisian press as well as officials from various other institutions.
The visit allowed the CPJ "to have an accurate idea on the status of press freedoms; something which confirmed our concern one more time," Campana told journalists at a press conference on July 1st.
"We were also hoping to meet with officials from the Tunisian government or with editors of government newspapers... [but] they told us that they didn't have enough time," he added.
Campana said that some newspapers such as Al Mawkif suffer from many restrictions, "including distribution and advertising. In some cases, individuals are used in these attempts, such as in filing lawsuits against the newspaper, accusing it with baseless charges."
In Tunisia, all opposition parties publish their own newspapers. Some choose an editorial line favourable to the government, while others employ a more critical, provocative approach.
The CPJ delegation met with Neji Bghouri, Secretary-General of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), on the last day of the visit
"The SNJT is a newborn to which we are confidently looking forward, especially as the elections that were held to choose its leaders were democratic and transparent; something that indicates that it will be able to defend the rights of journalists," Campana said after the meeting.
Campana continued, "I share [Bghouri's] concerns over pressures against the SNJT, such as the attempt to establish parallel unions or pushing the Social Insurance Authority to claim old debts due on SNJT."
On June 19th, Bghouri announced what he considered a crackdown on the SNJT through the establishment of parallel unions inside some private and government media institutions. He accused the government of conspiring against his group with the help of the Tunisian General Labor Union (TGLU), which both parties have denied.
The Ministry of Communication responded in a statement issued June 20th, saying the government is observing full neutrality and the principle of dialogue with all parties, including the SNJT. "The authorities in all public media institutions, including Tunisian radio and television, don't intervene with the journalists' rights to practice their union work pursuant to the laws of the country."
According to Campana, the CPJ will continue to monitor the situation in Tunisia and will issue a report on the results of its current mission. Campana said it is unacceptable for Tunisian media to remain at the bottom of the international ladder while the country is full of competent, educated journalists.
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مختار الدبابي Posted 2008-07-09
It's easy for any independent organization to accuse the regime of attempting to hinder its work and entering with it in an intimidation battle. But we want as Tunisian journalists that the Union of journalists be an effective union and not a political organization. Everyone knows that lifting the slogan of clash with any region in the world will push it to choose the clash in its turn. If we make bids and accuse the other of plotting against us, it means that we break the ties with it. The Union of journalists has begun the game by accusing the administration of hindering it and creating parallel bodies to hold back it and marginalize it. The union has not even started its work or programmes to say that it is hindered or that there are plots against it. It should rather open dialogues with its bases and with journalists who want to join it. It should also present its programme and vision to develop the sector and convince them of it. It should mainly draw an ethics code as a political and conceptual structure of the union. This is a certain claim because in the media scene in Tunisia there are many professional mistakes and violations which impede the respect of the professionals in the sector. It is also supposed that the new-born union presents a paper to its members about its position towards the authorities and the way to deal with it. This paper should be put forward for debate and approval. It is true that the discourse of the union leadership is immersed in ideology to the point that you would think that the declarations of some of its prominent figures were made in the 1960’s or 1970’s. However, the base of the union doesn’t want in clash or slogans. It wants practical and viable solutions to develop its social condition. This can be achieved through calm dialog with authorities who have welcomed the union and opened dialog doors with it. We don’t want a union in the pocket of the authorities, in the pocket of the opposition or even in the pocket of its chairman Mr Naji El Baghouri.
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