Post by Bozur on Feb 26, 2005 19:26:27 GMT -5
Freedom of Expression Under Siege in Tunisia
Highway Africa News Agency (Grahamstown)
February 23, 2005
Posted to the web February 23, 2005
Angella Nabwowe
Geneva
If the Tunisian government is to host, peacefully and successfully, the second and final phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005, it will have to beef up efforts to improve its poor human rights record.
A 60-page report [pdf] released at a press conference this afternoon at the second preparatory meeting of the WSIS in Geneva, details the imprisonment of individuals, blocking of news and information websites, police surveillance of emails and internet cafes, lack of pluralism and press censorship among others.
The report was prepared by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group after a 6 day fact-finding mission in Tunisia in January 2005.
IFEX is a global network of 64 national, regional and international freedom of expression organisations.
The mission was made up of the International Publishers Association (IPA), World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), World Press Freedom Committee, World Association of Newspapers (WAN), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Centre for Human Rights and Democratic studies among others.
According to the report, "Tunisia must greatly improve its implementation of internationally agreed freedom of expression and other human rights standards if it is to hold the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in November 2005."
Addressing the media at the prepcom, Steve Buckley of AMARC, emphasized that civil society will only take a decision in November about the nature of its participation in the Tunis phase. "Between now and then we shall continue to monitor the situation and the progress by the Tunisian government, the situation is grave. Civil society will decide whether to participate and endorse documents close to the summit."
Mark Bench, Executive Director WPFC told reporters that IFEX members involved in the WSIS process took the decision to establish the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group to observe and report on freedom of expression in Tunisia at their annual meeting, held in Baku, Azerbaijan in June 2004. At that meeting, 31 members of IFEX signed an open letter to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, expressing serious concerns about the second Summit in Tunis and setting out a series of freedom of expression benchmarks.
He said, "These concerns were reinforced by experiences at the Tunis Summit preparatory committee meeting held in Hammamet, Tunisia in June 2004 when Tunisian government officials and Tunisian government sponsored "NGOs" sought to suppress any discussion of human rights in Tunisia.
"Publication of newspapers is delayed by 72 hours because of censorship and when you wake up in the morning stressed and you read a newspaper, the impression you get is that everything is fine in Tunisia."
The report assesses the current state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and makes a series of recommendations for improvement. It says government should stop blocking websites and putting internet cafes and internet users under police surveillance, release banned books, end censorship, and conform to international standards for freedom of expression, release prisoners of freedom of expression and end harassment and assaults on human rights.
Members of the delegation say they were monitored by plain-clothes police. throughout their mission.
Alexis Krikorian of the IPA noted with dismay how their phone conversations were tapped.
The group underscored the need to monitor Tunisia before and after the November WSIS meeting, expressing the fear that "the Tunisian government, which heavily invests in public relations campaigns and in establishing groups it falsely calls NGOs, would use the WSIS to improve its image while continuing to conceal its poor human rights record."
Highway Africa News Agency (Grahamstown)
February 23, 2005
Posted to the web February 23, 2005
Angella Nabwowe
Geneva
If the Tunisian government is to host, peacefully and successfully, the second and final phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005, it will have to beef up efforts to improve its poor human rights record.
A 60-page report [pdf] released at a press conference this afternoon at the second preparatory meeting of the WSIS in Geneva, details the imprisonment of individuals, blocking of news and information websites, police surveillance of emails and internet cafes, lack of pluralism and press censorship among others.
The report was prepared by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group after a 6 day fact-finding mission in Tunisia in January 2005.
IFEX is a global network of 64 national, regional and international freedom of expression organisations.
The mission was made up of the International Publishers Association (IPA), World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), World Press Freedom Committee, World Association of Newspapers (WAN), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Centre for Human Rights and Democratic studies among others.
According to the report, "Tunisia must greatly improve its implementation of internationally agreed freedom of expression and other human rights standards if it is to hold the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in November 2005."
Addressing the media at the prepcom, Steve Buckley of AMARC, emphasized that civil society will only take a decision in November about the nature of its participation in the Tunis phase. "Between now and then we shall continue to monitor the situation and the progress by the Tunisian government, the situation is grave. Civil society will decide whether to participate and endorse documents close to the summit."
Mark Bench, Executive Director WPFC told reporters that IFEX members involved in the WSIS process took the decision to establish the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group to observe and report on freedom of expression in Tunisia at their annual meeting, held in Baku, Azerbaijan in June 2004. At that meeting, 31 members of IFEX signed an open letter to Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, expressing serious concerns about the second Summit in Tunis and setting out a series of freedom of expression benchmarks.
He said, "These concerns were reinforced by experiences at the Tunis Summit preparatory committee meeting held in Hammamet, Tunisia in June 2004 when Tunisian government officials and Tunisian government sponsored "NGOs" sought to suppress any discussion of human rights in Tunisia.
"Publication of newspapers is delayed by 72 hours because of censorship and when you wake up in the morning stressed and you read a newspaper, the impression you get is that everything is fine in Tunisia."
The report assesses the current state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and makes a series of recommendations for improvement. It says government should stop blocking websites and putting internet cafes and internet users under police surveillance, release banned books, end censorship, and conform to international standards for freedom of expression, release prisoners of freedom of expression and end harassment and assaults on human rights.
Members of the delegation say they were monitored by plain-clothes police. throughout their mission.
Alexis Krikorian of the IPA noted with dismay how their phone conversations were tapped.
The group underscored the need to monitor Tunisia before and after the November WSIS meeting, expressing the fear that "the Tunisian government, which heavily invests in public relations campaigns and in establishing groups it falsely calls NGOs, would use the WSIS to improve its image while continuing to conceal its poor human rights record."