JOURNALISTS: TUNISIA'S MOST WANTED?

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001566

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL (JOHNSTONE/KLARMAN)
NEA/MAG (HOPKINS/HARRIS) AND NEA/PPD
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO TS
SUBJECT: JOURNALISTS: TUNISIA'S MOST WANTED?

REF: A. 06 TUNIS 1658

B. TUNIS 939

C. TUNIS 595

D. TUNIS 1329

E. TUNIS 1378

F. TUNIS 1225

G. TUNIS 1486

H. TUNIS 1525

I. TUNIS 1531

J. TUNIS 1555

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary and Introduction
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1. (C) From its actions, one might think Tunisia's
governing regime regards independent journalists as threats
to stability. In the past six months alone, journalists have
been followed, harassed, assaulted, prosecuted, and jailed;
all apparently for the "crime" of writing articles for online
publications, most of which are blocked in Tunisia. These
articles have tackled such "dangerous" topics as promoting
freedom of expression, opposing corruption, and advocating
increased political participation. Several recent events
concerning journalists have underscored the GOT's
antagonistic attitude towards freedom of expression. The
result is a vacuum of credible critical domestic reporting,
and an increasingly apathetic public that is turning to
international satellite television for domestic commentary
and news. End Summary and Introduction.

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The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword?
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2. (C) A most wanted list, by its nature, mirrors the
concerns of society. In the United States such a list would
be composed of fugitives, terrorists, or drug smugglers. To
Tunisia's governing regime, however, threats to domestic
stability do not come solely from criminals, but also from
journalists. Most reporting on controversial national issues
takes place in the opposition or international press (access
to which is restricted in Tunisia). Given the very limited
reach of the small, weekly opposition papers, one would think
that such journalists pose little threat to regime stability,
but judging from its reaction the Government of Tunisia takes
the power of the pen very seriously. The following examples
represent typical GOT responses:

-- On multiple occasions, plainclothes police reportedly
confiscated the copies of opposition newspapers carrying
articles critical of the GOT (Refs C and D).

-- Plainclothes police have reportedly assaulted Al Jazeera
correspondent and President of the Tunisian Journalists'
Syndicate (SJT) Lotfi Hajji on several occasions, one of
which was captured on video and posted on YouTube.com and
Dailymotion.com (Ref E, www.dailymotion.com/video/x3302i
lotfihajji 27092007tunisie politics). Both video hosting
sites were subsequently blocked in Tunisia.

-- On December 4, journalist Slim Boukhdhir, author of
several articles on government corruption, was sentenced to
one year in prison on charges of insulting a police officer,
not presenting his national ID card, and using foul language
(Ref J). The arrest came soon after Boukhdhir concluded a
two week hunger strike protesting GOT travel restrictions
(Ref G). Boukhdhir has previously reported being beaten by
police officers, allegations which have been echoed by
international human rights groups. Reporters Without Borders
said in a December 4 press release about Boukhdhir's
conviction that, "Tunisian journalists are often jailed on
grounds unrelated to their work so that the authorities
cannot be accused of censorship."

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The State of the Fourth Estate
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3. (C) Government officials routinely explain that in order
to maintain stability, reform must be undertaken slowly.
Judging from its track record, however, one wonders how the
GOT defines progress. International NGOs such as the
Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without
Borders (RWB) have long denounced the GOT's limits on free
speech. RWB ranked Tunisia at 145 out of 169 countries in
its 2007 World Press Freedom Index, placing it below
countries such as Azerbaijan and Sudan. President Ben Ali
is on RWB's list of the world's 34 worst press freedom
predators. The GOT says it only blocks internet sites that
promote violence or are pornographic, but blocked sites in
Tunisia include the websites of the Arabic Network for Human
Rights Information and the Maghreb Alliance for Democracy as
well as portions of the Amnesty International and Human
Rights Watch sites.


4. (C) Government action limiting freedom of expression is
not limited to the harassment of specific journalists who
cover human rights, corruption, or political participation.
Several institutional mechanisms also limit freedom of
expression and encourage self-censorship. For example,
Tunisian law allows sentences of up to five years in prison
for offensive statements against the President, and up to
three years in prison for defamation of constitutional bodies
(for example the high-profile prosecution and conviction of
Mohamed Abbou for "defamation of the judicial system," see
Ref A). Though formal censorship does not extend to
newspapers, the GOT informally censors publications by
controlling authorization to print. Print media is required
to request copyright registration from the Ministry of the
Interior (MOI),which then grants official permission to
publish (valid for one year). This permission must be
obtained prior to printing, effectively banning any
unlicensed publications. The penalty for violating these
rules is a substantial, per copy, personal fines. The
ability to censor international publications and books
outright rests with the judiciary.


5. (C) The dismal state of Institute for the Press and
Information Science (IPSI) -- the under funded national
journalism school which has no student newspaper, radio or
television station -- is another example of the GOT,s
deliberate undermining of journalism as an institution. Even
more striking is the long-standing GOT obstruction of labor
protections for journalists. While national salary standards
and other rules governing the treatment of journalists are
spelled out in the national Press Code, they are patently
ignored by many employers, and Tunisian journalists do not
have a recognized independent union to defend their rights
(Ref I). Of the eight mainstream daily newspapers, two are
government-owned, two are owned by the ruling Democratic
Constitutional Rally (RCD),and two are nominally private but
GOT-influenced. Only two seem to retain some measure of
independence. Four opposition party newspapers have
editorial independence from the government, but very limited
circulation and readership. Journalists at all the papers
practice self-censorship to varying degrees, or risk their
losing their jobs (or worse).

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The Big Picture
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6. (C) In a December 7 lunch hosted by the DCM, several
prominent journalists discussed the impact of real and
self-censorship on the domestic media scene. The general
consensus was that Tunisian journalists had the most freedom
fifteen to twenty years ago, at the beginning of the Ben Ali
years, and that conditions today are the most restrictive
they have ever experienced. Sofiane Ben Farhat (editor and
commentator at French-language daily La Presse) worried that
his reporters were too timid and too deferential to
authority, including both their editors and the
powers-that-be. Zyed Krichene (editor-in-chief at private
French-language weekly Realites) admitted that Tunisian
journalists today can,t offer anyone lessons on press
freedom, not even Mali, though he emphasized that many
Tunisian journalists are pushing the envelope within the
limited openings available to them. Krichen said that he
often calls to congratulate reporters at other publications
for an especially courageous piece, and points out such
pieces to his reporters to help them identify and emulate
good journalism.


7. (C) Moncef Ben M'Rad (director of Arabic-language weekly
Al Akhbar Al Joumhouria and perhaps the doyen of Tunisian
journalists) criticized reporters from across the political
spectrum, opposition and pro-government, for using the press
as a platform for personal attacks. He opined that dialogue
between opposing viewpoints is impossible unless the parties
exhibit a certain level of respect for each other. He made a
point of singling out Ben Farhat and Rachid Khachana
(editor-in-chief of PDP opposition weekly Al-Mowqif) as
examples of thoughtful, responsible journalists. Despite the
compliment, Khachana countered that such personal attacks are
in fact one-sided; the justice system does not take
complaints from civil society seriously, and activists have
no recourse for defamation. Khachana also pointed out the
very negative roles played by national press agency Tunis
Afrique Press (TAP) and the Tunisian Agency for External
Communication (French acronym ATCE) in stifling press
freedom. TAP controls the flow of information, and even when
journalists are at an event they often do not report aspects
not reported in the TAP news releases for fear of straying
from "safe" ground. Despite its name, ATCE among other
duties controls the placement of state and state-affiliated
advertising.


8. (C) The impact of the two institutions on Tunisian
journalism is clear. Even without a call from a minister or
more ominous forms of intimidation, the result is
self-censorship and a tendency to mediocrity among the
mainstream press for fear of losing this critical source of
income. Just such privation of government support occurred
earlier this year to the Dar Assabah publishing house, home
of Tunisia,s oldest independent paper As Sabah and sister
publication Le Temps, following daring reporting and
commentary of the Hammam Lif and Soliman terrorist incidents.
While advertising was later restored, the incident served as
a reminder for all publications just how short the leash can
be.

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Comment
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9. (C) The vacuum of credible critical domestic reporting
in Tunisia, attributable in large part to direct and indirect
GOT pressures on individual journalists and journalism as an
institution, is creating an increasingly apathetic public.
Educated Tunisians find little of interest in the local
press, and many say they do not read the local papers except
for sports, culture and classifieds. Their primary source
for commentary and news comes from pan-Arab and European
satellite television. This has the effect of shifting focus
away from domestic events towards an often critical take on
US foreign policy. Stifling debate on pertinent domestic
issues can also alienate and polarize segments of the
population. In the medium-term, the lack on an independent
media and limits on access will hamper the efforts of
opposition parties to campaign during the 2009 presidential
and legislative elections.


10. (C) Tunisia's best hope of sustaining a domestic push
for increased freedom of expression lies with a
legally-recognized independent journalists union, but this is
not likely to happen anytime soon (Ref I). Freedom of
speech, freedom of association, and access to the media for
opposition groups are now and are likely to remain
significant issues in Tunisia. While a cadre of dedicated
journalists is attempting to shine a spotlight on human
rights and corruption issues, their task is a difficult one.
Recent events do not indicate that independent journalists
will fall off Tunisia's "Most Wanted" list anytime soon. End
Comment.
GODEC