AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL WITH MINISTER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000132

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

NEA/MAG FOR HARRIS/HOPKINS
DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KMPI PREL TS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL WITH MINISTER OF
JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS TEKKARI

REF: 06 TUNIS 2523

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for Reasons 1.4 b & d

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Summary
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1. (C) During a December 15 courtesy call on Minister of
Justice and Human Rights Bechir Tekkari, Ambassador focused
on Tunisia's record on political freedom and human rights,
noting that these issues would be a key component of a
broader strategic dialogue between the United States and
Tunisia. The Minister staunchly, and stubbornly, defended
Tunisia's record on freedom of expression and association,
blaming most problems on a "small group of activists" that
wanted to harm Tunisia. END SUMMARY.

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Tekkari: "Tunisians proud of their sovereignty."
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2. (C) The Ambassador met with Minister of Justice and Human
Rights Bechir Tekkari on January 24. Tekkari, in his current
position since 1999, is known as a faithful technocrat,
without significant political influence in the Palace.
Tekkari opened by referring to Tunisia's long history of
cooperation and good relations with the United States. He
said that in the judicial arena, the GOT had benefited from
cooperation in several areas, including in bankruptcy and
commercial law. Tekkari emphasized several times during the
meeting that this cooperation was welcome, and could be
strengthened further. Referring to the SOFA currently under
negotiation (reftel),Tekkari expressed a desire to finalize
the agreement, but acknowledged delays due in part to the
fact that "Tunisians are very proud of their sovereignty."

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"No Human Rights Problem," says Tekkari
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3. (C) The Ambassador replied that further cooperation, both
in the judicial sphere and beyond, could be explored through
a wider strategic dialogue, including commercial, cultural,
as well as political components. The Ambassador continued
that cooperation on any of these fronts would be subject to
progress on political and human rights, particularly freedom
of expression and association. Referring to GOT rhetoric and
stated plans for progress on democracy and human rights, the
Ambassador expressed hope that the United States could assist
in these areas. He mentioned, as an example, the possibility
of increasing exchange programs that dealt with these issues.



4. (C) Tekkari, in turn, launched a staunch defense of
Tunisia's human rights record. He stated, "There is no a
human rights problem in Tunisia. And each year there is a
new law further consolidating our progress in human rights."
He said that a small group of people who "don't want to
conform to the law, and who want to harm Tunisia" were
responsible for "exaggerating and amplifying the problem of
human rights." He defended Tunisia's record on freedom of
association, claiming that groups that had not been able to
obtain the receipt from the MOI necessary to register as an
association had not filed applications. He said they did not
file because if they were legal, they would be insignificant,
but if they can claim that they are discriminated against
then they increase their stature. Tekkari said similarly
that the GOT promoted free expression, which could be seen in
the diverse content, some of which was directed against the
GOT, in Tunisian papers. Tekkari parroted a familiar GOT
line that progress on human rights must be undertaken
"slowly, prudently," so as not to "risk one liberty for
another."

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Ambassador Pushes Back on Tekkari's Human Rights Rhetoric
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5. (C) The Ambassador countered that there were some
unauthorized NGOs that had sought association status, but
were refused. He said it was important that "the bureaucracy
not prevent the creation of an NGO because people have
another idea or objective. The system should be transparent
and easy." The Minister, clearly becoming uncomfortable,
tried to change the subject, noting that the Ambassador had
not raised specific cases. When the Ambassador continued,
Tekkari asked, "Why are you raising these issues?" The

Ambassador then noted the need, as a new Ambassador in Tunis,
to gather as much information as possible. He also said that
in some quarters in the United States, Tunisia had a bad
reputation on freedom of expression and association, and
needed to address this poor image. Tekkari then gave a long
list of Tunisia's political and human rights accomplishments:
a multi-party system, a Parliament that criticized Ministers,
opposition papers, etc. The Ambassador asked why certain
politically oriented websites were blocked in Tunisia. The
Minister replied that sites that were blocked were either
pornographic or blocked for security reasons, for example
"terrorist sites." The Ambassador noted that certain
sections of the Amnesty International website were blocked,
and that certainly it did not constitute a security threat.


6. (C) The Ambassador emphasized that with progress on
democracy and human rights, Tunisia could be a model for the
region. "This is what we want," said Tekkari, "to
consolidate what we have done." Th Ambassador moved on to
several specific areas o past and potential cooperation,
listing many aras, such as IPR and commercial law, in which
Tunsia could benefit from judicial training programs ad
exchanges. The Minister readily agreed, visibl relieved to
talk about something besides Tunisi's human rights record.
Finally, the Ambassador hanked Tekkari for assistance on
several issues,including consular access and meetings hosted
by OJ officials with several recently visiting U.S.delegations.

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Comment
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7. C) There was little surprise in Tekkari's scripted
defense of the GOT's human rights record, which ncluded
clearly erroneous characterizations of GO policies and
actions, e.g. only blocking pornogaphic or jihadist
websites, or blaming the lack f opposition-minded NGOs on an
unwillingness of hese NGOs to apply for authorization. END
COMMET.

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Bio Note
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8. (C) As i previous meetings Tekkari was friendly, and took
pride in slipping a few phrases of English into hs
conversation. He said he understood slowly spken English,
but could not speak it well. He wa defiant,and somewhat
uncomfortable when discussng human rights issues, and on
several occasionstried to steer the conversation to less
sensitiv topics. Despite the tense tone of the meeting, a
the meeting drew to a close, Tekkari spent seveal minutes
showing Ambassador around his office, escribing historical
paintings of Tunisia.

GODEC