[WSIS CS-Plenary] Tunisia and Human rights: REPORT
karen banks
karenb at gn.apc.org
Tue Sep 13 12:39:48 BST 2005
Dear all,
Further to my last..
Apologies for the duplicate post, i hadn't noticed meryem's posting of two
days ago, but the post does include an updated list of endorsing organisations.
please find below a report from Sean O' Siochro, who was in Tunis,
representing the CRIS campaign. we are hoping to translate at least a
shortened version, into spanish and french.
karen
=====
From Seán Ó Siochrú, CRIS Campaign
Human Rights in Tunisia: The Grip Tightens in the Lead up to The WSIS.
I am of the generation that on hearing that someone has been on a
‘mission’, immediately thinks either of ‘Mission Impossible’ or of the many
Irish missionaries that plied the world with Christian ideology, mostly
well-intentioned, in the name of helping poor people. I am just back from a
human rights mission to Tunisia. This is my report. I cannot say which of
the above it more closely approximates, if any, but my firm intention is to
add another voice to those who argue that civil society must take strong
action at the upcoming WSIS PrepCom 3 and Tunis Summit on the human rights
situation in Tunisia.
------------------
I travelled to Tunis last week on behalf of the CRIS Campaign as part of an
international group of human rights related NGOs. We were to participate in
a planning meeting about the WSIS and the human rights situation in Tunisia
hosted by the Ligue Tunisienne des Droits de l’Homme (LTDH) – Tunisian
League for Human Rights – and I personally was eager to assess the
situation for myself. The schedule included a session on the 8th of
September with LTDH members to discuss the situation and options, meetings
with government officials to listen to their positions, followed by
attendance as observers at the Sixth Congress of the League.
Human rights advocates under siege
The deterioration of the situation in Tunisia was evident even before we
set off. On the Monday before travelling a court order was issued
prohibiting the LTDH from holding its Congress, and indeed from even
discussing and planning the event at a later date. On arrival on Wednesday
evening, we went straight to the League’s office to find the street at both
ends cluttered with plain clothes police, presumably intended to deter
visitors and intimidate those inside. The atmosphere in the office was
siege-like, non stop convening of meetings and huddled discussions. But
messages of support from the German ambassador, the Canadian Attaché and EU
diplomats were encouraging; and the news that the President of the European
Parliament had issued a strong statement in their favour, drawing attention
also to the WSIS, was greeted with some appreciation. [1]
There is strong evidence that the human rights situation in Tunisia is
deteriorating in many respects, including in relation to the internet. The
first assembly of the Tunisian Journalists Association, scheduled for the
Wednesday the 7th of September, was also cancelled by the authorities. And
the imprisonment in April of lawyer Mohamed Abbou to three and a half years
for a website article comparing torture in Tunisian prisons to Abu Graib
[2] is still fresh in everyone’s minds– as is the sad death of the young
Zouhair Yahyaoui, editor of TuneZine, who had been imprisoned and tortured
for publishing his critical Web journal [3]. All this in the country that
will soon host the Information Society Summit. E-mails of suspect
individuals are systematically monitored – a joke here is that faxes
usually arrive the next day! The LTDH is itself infiltrated by many
government agents, who barely conceal their efforts to hamper its
activities and undermine its credibility (the suspended Congress being a
case in point).
Many in Tunis and outside had hoped the security-obsessed President Ben Ali
might concede to pressures to improve the human rights situation in the run
up to the WSIS in November. On the contrary: Systematic and orchestrated
efforts appear to be ongoing to prevent the LTDH and independent
non-governmental organisations from casting a spotlight on the ugly reality
of human rights in Tunisia when the heads of state, ministers,
intergovernmental organisations and NGOs converge on the Summit in November.
Apart from words of comfort from some governments, offered mostly by local
diplomats who can appreciate the facts with their own eyes, there is scant
evidence that the rest of the international community is at all concerned
where it matters most – in the context of the WSIS itself. International
relations being what they are, it seems none amongst them is as yet willing
to spoil the party, even those who privately believe that the party itself
– the WSIS - will achieve little.
Thursday: Meetings commence
In a tense but defiant atmosphere, the meeting between the international
NGO observers and the LTDH went ahead on the 8th in their offices – they
had been unable to find hotel willing to host it. I arrived just as it
started, having awaited a phone call from the BBC world service – who
unfortunately felt the issue was not newsworthy at this time, though they
are willing to look at it again. (My taxi driver finally found the building
thanks to directions from one of the innumerable plain clothes police
hanging around). In a packed room that included many members of the press,
we had a morning of short speeches from the international NGOs, followed by
impassioned appeals of LTDH members and other national organisations. In
the circumstances, not a lot of practical work was done. It was a time to
express mutual solidarity among LTDH members and supporters, the only time,
given the cancellation of the much-anticipated Congress. There was a
palpable sense that disrupting the LTDH Congress, and the journalists’
meeting, was a new low in government tactics, and the speeches came from
the heart. Human rights, journalist groups, prisoner support and justice
groups described their experiences and made their demands – all were
determined to show they would not be intimidated.
Over lunchtime (lunch itself finally arrived in paper bags in mid
afternoon), a smaller group from the LTDH and those from outside most
involved in the WSIS discussed the processes of PrepCom 3 and the Summit,
and how something positive could come from it all. After that a drafting
group sat together to draw up a statement, expressing our genuine outrage
at what appeared to be happening. [4] Many of the international
organisations had already been here several days and had had extensive
discussions with the government, who made themselves readily available -
including the Minister of Justice - to gain their perspectives and hear
their explanations first hand. On the overwhelming balance of evidence,
however, the situation could not be clearer. [5] There is no denying
significant evidence of orchestrated efforts to shut down criticism of the
government, efforts perpetrated mostly through third parties but certainly
under the direction of government, and facilitated by a judiciary much of
which is clearly acting on behalf of the government. There is no denying
also the ubiquitous presence of the police, mostly plain clothes, who
reportedly number 140,000 in this country of under 11 million people and
who were ever present throughout our stay.
Thursday ended with a two hour meeting at the offices of the Tunisian
Association of Women for Democracy offices. It turned into another series
of impassioned pleas, but from different perspectives. Women of all ages
expressed their anger at the fact that the WSIS was being held in Tunis at
all. “What does it bring for women struggling for their rights here?” “How
will it ease the censorship and control we already put up with?” They
desperately wanted to go to PrepCom in Geneva, to tell everyone about the
reality of Tunisia today and present their image of the ‘information
society’ – but though they fought long and hard for NGO recognition and are
accredited at the WSIS, they are not amongst those favoured with government
(or any other) funding to travel to Geneva. I promised, feeling pretty
inadequate by this stage, to try and raise funds for them.
The official view
The next day, Friday, a few of us (myself for CRIS, the International
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Rights and Democracy) had a meeting
with Mohamed Habib Cherif, the Human Rights Coordinator in the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights, lasting almost two hours. We raised issues
concerning imprisonment of government critics, the apparent lack of
independence of parts of the judiciary, and the harassment of the LTDH and
the Union of Journalists. I also raised and we discussed at some length the
presence at WSIS meetings everywhere of a large number of well organised
Tunisian ‘NGOs’ whose clear goal was to disrupt any efforts to highlight
Tunisia’s poor human rights record, to harass and intimidate those
involved, and which in some cases had been responsible for the theft and
destruction of publications (including those of IPS) that are critical of
the Tunisian government. This is in clear violation of the right to free
expression and association of those they target – in this case, anyone
criticising the human rights record of the Tunisian government. At the
World Forum on Communication Rights, organised by CRIS and others alongside
the Geneva Summit in December 2003, we could see this with our own eyes.
Only three genuinely independent Tunisian NGOs are accredited to the WSIS
process; the only three that are legally recognised as NGOs by the Tunisian
government (government recognition is a requirement of accreditation, a
fact used by other governments, such as China, to stifle critical voices).
I pointed to the widespread perception in Geneva, especially among civil
society, that many of the other accredited Tunisian NGOs are funded by and
acting under the direction of the Tunisian government.
The Tunisian Human Rights Coordinator’s response on most issues had a
certain consistency: The suspension of the LTDH was a result of internecine
struggles, and the government has nothing to do with them; the judiciary is
entirely independent of the government, and the government does not and
cannot interfere; and of course the NGOs in Geneva and elsewhere that
consistently harass and disrupt those critical of the government do not act
under the direction or with the support of the government - it is rather a
case of civil society holding different positions. I am not sure if he
expected us to believe this, to accept his word against the wealth of
evidence. But there is no prospect of the government owning up to its huge
network of agents, spies and stooges paid for and acting directly in their
interests. All the evidence that points in this direction is, they claim,
simply wrong. The WSIS, he insisted, was being manipulated by partial
interest. Indeed, but in whose interests, I asked him.
We concluded the meeting with an assurance from him, at my request, that he
will personally accept, look into and respond to any concerns that we might
have regarding unfair treatment of any group from civil society during the
Summit and to any threats to the rights of association and free speech of
any of them. Whatever we think about other matters, I believe we should
take him at his word on this.
An issue for all of civil society
There have been some small improvements in Tunisia in recent months, for
instance the removal of some of the obstacles facing publishers of
periodicals. These are certainly welcome, and perhaps further minor
concessions may be forthcoming as the WSIS approaches. But these must be
set against the deteriorating overall situation and the severe obstacles
faced by critics of the government. A few concessions are easily offered
with such a mounting litany to choose from. They do little to counteract
the overall environment of thoroughgoing repression.
The government cannot be allowed to get away with this. Their efforts to
use the WSIS to project a picture globally of a modern liberated state that
values and respects human rights is an insult to all those who know and try
to disseminate the truth. The CRIS campaign, and civil society in general
at the WSIS, has a compelling obligation to take a stand. The official
activities of the WSIS may yet produce some minor but useful outcomes. And
of course civil society has already gained hugely in terms of our capacity
to organise globally and interact effectively around information society
issues. But it is time we used this influence to achieve a concrete and
useful goal.
The Tunisian government can be pressured to respond, to make meaningful
concessions and reverse the worsening situation. They have been presented
with concrete proposals to rebuild human rights, nothing hugely radical,
from international human rights organisations as well as from those
struggling nationally. Such concessions will not, as the government
sometimes informally suggests, play into the hands of fundamentalists and
terrorists. To the contrary: Supporting and deepening human rights in
Tunisia, as it does everywhere, will significantly undermine the tiny basis
of support for such extremism. Failure to do so could lead to the disaster
that the government claims to be trying to avoid.
Is this Mission Impossible? Do I delude myself that we can really help the
situation? I think the answer to both is no. Something can be achieved
here. There is still the possibility of progress before and during the
Summit. It will take a concerted effort to mobilise the international
media, and especially to persuade other governments to put pressure on the
government of Tunisia. PrepCom 3 offers us a great opportunity to do this.
[1] See
<http://www.europarl.eu.int/president/defaulten.htm?agenda>http://www.europarl.eu.int/president/defaulten.htm?agenda
The President expressed his 'deepest concern at the decision taken on 5
September to 'suspend' the holding of the Tunisian Human Rights League
congress' and that the decision 'is particularly damaging, given that
Tunisia is to hold the World Summit on the Information Society, a symbol of
freedom and tolerance.'
[2]
http://www.indexonline.org/en/news/articles/2005/2/tunisia-threat-of-boycott-increases-as-anoth.shtml
[3] http://www.tunezine.com/ and
<http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12852>http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12852
for a brief account of his case and death at 36 years of age.
[4] see
<http://www.crisinfo.org/content/view/full/941>http://www.crisinfo.org/content/view/full/941
[5] See reports of human rights missions earlier this year, and other
links.
<http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=2418>http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=2418
and also
<http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66552/>http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66552/
Seán Ó Siochrú sean at nexus.ie
More information about the Plenary
mailing list