HUNGER STRIKE BY TWO TUNISIAN JOURNALISTS NOT A

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001021

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO (GRAY),NEA/MAG (GERMAINE,LAWRENCE),
NEA/PPD (FERNANDEZ, SMITH, AGNEW),NEA/PI (MULENEX, KIRBY),
NEA/PA, NEA/IPA, I/GNA, DRL, CWG-PD
PARIS FOR ZEYA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2016
TAGS: PREL KDEM KPAO EAID PHUM KMPI TS
SUBJECT: HUNGER STRIKE BY TWO TUNISIAN JOURNALISTS NOT A
CLEAR CUT HUMAN RIGHTS CASE


Classified By: Ambassador William J. Hudson; reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)

1.(C) Summary: Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) recently
released updates on two Tunisian journalists on hunger strike
in protest of their dismissals from the nominally private,
but GOT-controlled, Arabic language daily newspaper "Ash
Shourouq." Although RWB and IFEX identify these journalists
as human rights activists, their cases are, in reality, much
less clear cut given the fact that they are both on hunger
strike in hopes of being reinstated at a newspaper that is
known for its close alliance with the GOT and its consistent
attacks on Tunisian opposition and human rights activists.
End Summary.

A Word about "Ash Shourouq"
--------------
2.(C) "Ash Shourouq" is the most widely read Arabic-language
daily newspaper in Tunisia. Boasting a circulation of 80,000
(the closest competitor has only half that circulation),"Ash
Shourouq" has an editorial line that is pro-GOT and extremely
anti-American. At the same time that its daily headlines
praise Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi "resistance," "Ash
Shourouq" also frequently publishes editorials containing
scandalous attacks on Tunisian opposition and human rights
figures. Sources at the newspaper report that most of these
editorials are sent to the newspaper directly from the
Presidential Palace. While it is nominally private, it is
widely known to receive editorial direction from GOT
officials; its editors are frequently decorated by President
Ben Ali and serve in a variety of quasi-official entities,
such as the Electoral Observatory (a body created by the GOT
to respond to public inquiries about Tunisian elections).

Journalists on Hunger Strike
--------------
3.(C) Two former journalists at "Ash Shourouq" are currently
on hunger-strike. Slim Boukhdir began his hunger strike on
April 4, 2006, in protest of his dismissal from "Ash
Shourouq," as well as the confiscation of his passport and
his press card. In August 2004, Boukhdir came to
international attention when he posed a question during a
local press conference implying that relatives of the
President had pressured the judiciary to influence the
outcome of a legal case. Following the press conference, he
was allegedly assaulted by two police agents and subsequently
received threatening phone calls from unknown sources. In
September 2004, Boukhdir claimed that his house was also
broken into. His case was documented in the State Department
2004 Human Rights Report as an example of GOT intimidation of
journalists.

4.(C) According to journalists and human rights contacts,
after his run-in with the Tunisian authorities, Boukhdir
found himself unable to work in Tunisia and sought assistance
from noted Tunisian human rights activist, author and
journalist Sihem Ben Sedrine. Ben Sedrine confirmed that she
was aware of his case and invited him to work with her at her
unauthorized on-line newspaper, "Kalima;" unfortunately, as
"Kalima" has a minuscule budget, she could not offer him the
salary that he needed to support his family. Journalists who
know Boukhdir report that, at the same time, he was
approached by journalists close to the GOT, who negotiated a
deal in which Boukhdir would refrain from joining the ranks
of the human rights activists in exchange for employment at
"Al Hadath," a weekly newspaper generally considered to be
the mouthpiece of the Tunisian Ministry of Interior. After a
few months, again with reported GOT assistance, Boukhdir
transferred from "Al Hadath" to "Ash Shourouq."

5.(C) Despite his decision to negotiate with the GOT,
Boukhdir continued to have problems. Boukhdir also claims
that the GOT has refused to issue him either a passport or a
press card. The Tunisian Journalists Association (AJT)
additionally refused to grant him a membership card, claiming
that he lacked the appropriate educational qualifications for
participation in the association. Characterized by other
journalists as a "loose cannon," Boukhdir apparently
vacillated between following the "Ash Shourouq" pro-GOT
editorial line and submitting more independent articles that
the "Ash Shourouq" editor refused to publish. Boukhdir
meanwhile published a number of articles on Alarabiya.net
that included stories on the Tunisian opposition and the
October 18 hunger strike. Boukhdir reported varying examples
of harassment at his work place, including being barred from

entering his office and the suspension of his salary as of
November 2005. The matter came to a head on April 1, 2006,
when Boukhdir published an article on Alarabiya.net that
discussed "Ash Shourouq's" close ties to the GOT. He was
subsequently fired (or, as some sources report, his contract
was not renewed) by "Ash Shourouq," prompting him to go on
hunger strike.

6.(C) On April 18, 2006, another journalist, Sheherazade
Akacha, began a hunger-strike in protest of her dismissal
from "Ash Shourouq." Tunisian journalists appear mystified
at her sudden activism, as she has been gainfully employed at
the newspaper for a few years, during which time she even
denounced other journalists who were speaking out against the
abusive behavior of the "Ash Shourouq" editors. According to
sources at the newspaper, Akacha was dismissed last year from
"Ash Shourouq" when the owner and director decided to fire
staff as a cost-saving measure. The AJT intervened on her
behalf and she was reinstated. According to the RWB and IFEX
releases, Akacha declined to write an article for the
newspaper's November 7, 2005 supplement, noting her refusal
to have stories "dictated to her." A source at "Ash
Shourouq" explained that Akacha refused to complete her
assignment of interviewing Tunisian parliamentarians, citing
her leftist political beliefs as the reason that she could
not participate in such an exercise. As a result, the "Ash
Shourouq" editor-in-chief asked her to fill out a
questionnaire explaining her decision; Akacha refused to
complete the form and instead sent it to "TunisNews," an
independent opposition website based in Europe. The source
at "Ash Shourouq" explained that a decision was then taken by
the "Ash Shourouq" editorial staff to allow Akacha's contract
to run its course without renewing it. Akacha's contract
expired on April 18, when she began her hunger strike.

Comment
--------------
7.(C) Ben Sedrine, RWB, and IFEX maintain that these ongoing
hunger strikes are a direct result of the lack of freedom of
expression in Tunisia. This is true to the extent that the
GOT control of the press forces local journalists to conform
strictly to pro-GOT editorial lines at the same time that it
restricts the creation of new media outlets that could serve
as alternatives for Tunisian media professionals who wish to
change jobs. This situation is also exacerbated by the fact
that "Ash Shourouq" is controlled by officials in the GOT and
ignores any ethical responsibility of allowing diversity of
opinion or a separation of reporting and editorial lines.

8.(C) It is important to note that both of these journalists
are in a delicate position of having waited until their
contracts expired to begin protests against "Ash Shourouq"
and hoping to be reinstated at this newspaper known for its
close relations with the GOT and attacks on human rights
activists. Tunisian journalists and outside observers,
including those members of IFEX who recently visited Tunisia,
additionally note that it is not unusual that a newspaper
would refuse to renew the contract of journalists who do not
wish to write in accordance with the media outlet's editorial
line and that journalists cannot realistically demand to have
contracts renewed under such conditions.
HUDSON