It is possible, rather it is imperative, for the international community to use the summit to turn a spotlight on the problems that have afflicted Tunisian society and led to an all-time high in internal tensions. As the summit will be held in Tunisia, the international community must at least use that opportunity to apply its recommendations both to faraway countries and to the host country itself.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=19531#

Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star
 
Monday, October 24, 2005
Use the information summit to pressure the Tunisian authorities

By Bassam Bounenni 
Commentary by 
 

The choice of Tunisia to host the November 16-18 second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has provoked much controversy. The idea behind the summit is to bridge the gap between rich and poor countries in a field that has proven to be one of the focal points of present and future progress. Tunisia, however, excels neither in informatics and related fields nor in allowing freedom of expression and respecting the rights of civil society. A September 26 report by the Tunisian Monitoring Group stated specifically that "Tunisia is not the appropriate country to host the Information Society summit," especially in view of escalating measures targeting free speech.
The Tunisian authorities have been working for months on creating a "new look" for the world, exploiting preparations for the summit to improve the image of the country in terms of the media, human rights and civil society. A regulation requiring all newspapers to submit editions to the government in advance of publication, which led to widespread self-censorship, was revoked in May. Numerous other problems remain, however, for opposition newspapers such as the weekly Al-Mawqif, mouthpiece of the Progressive Democratic Party. Opposition newspapers still suffer from frequent confiscations and lack of access to public sector advertising revenues.
As part of their cosmetic efforts, the Tunisian authorities loosened restrictions on television and radio and created new radio stations such as Mosaic FM and Al-Jawhara, as well as the satellite television station Hanbal. These stations are run by individuals close to the government, while members of the independent media wait to obtain licenses to form new stations. Independents will not obtain licenses, in view of the fact that the legislation for loosening restrictions on television and radio media is riddled with loopholes.
This "new look" for Tunisia amounts to no more than an effort to mislead the world into missing the forest for the trees. The Tunisian authorities continue to repress all those who dare question the legitimacy of the political authority as well as its respect for public freedoms and rights.
In April, a Tunisian court sentenced Mohammad Abbou, a lawyer and human rights activist, to three-and-a-half years in prison. Abbou was sentenced after publishing two articles, one of which compared the situation of Tunisian prisons to Abu Ghraib, and the other that compared President Zein al-Abedin ben Ali to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (in reference to the expected visit of the latter to Tunisia for the summit). The International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners described the decision against Abbou as "a thunderbolt," adding that "for the first time in the history of Tunisian justice, a defendant was overtly denied his right to defend himself."
Measures against free expression escalated further when the Tunisian authorities cancelled the first conference of the Tunisian Journalists Syndicate, founded by independent journalists, to have been held in early September. Human rights organizations expressed surprise at this decision, especially as syndicate activities are a right provided for in the Tunisian Constitution as well as in international agreements to which Tunisia is party. Authorities also took measures to restrict the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the Association of Tunisian Judges.
Even if one sets aside the concerns of those in the politically-active elite, ordinary Tunisians are also deprived of information because only a single point of view and limited sources of information are tolerated. Even surfing the Internet is fraught with obstacles because many foreign sites are banned.
What is strange is that Tunisia has been at times a pioneer in many fields such as media and human rights, especially in terms of its legislation and organizations. The Tunisian League for Human Rights, for example, was the first non-governmental organization in the Arab world charged with defending human rights. But like many other such organizations it is now barely surviving, hoping for deeper political reforms or foreign pressures that will strike a balance between economic interests and the need for democracy.
Tunisian civil society organizations, along with those in media and human rights groups, are hoping to use the WSIS as an opportunity to demand their foremost right: to exist. So far Tunisian authorities deny this right and continue their harassment of such forces. The silence of Western countries - or even in some cases their approval of repressive Tunisian policies, in light of the so-called war on terror - has only exacerbated the situation.
It is possible, rather it is imperative, for the international community to use the summit to turn a spotlight on the problems that have afflicted Tunisian society and led to an all-time high in internal tensions. As the summit will be held in Tunisia, the international community must at least use that opportunity to apply its recommendations both to faraway countries and to the host country itself.
Bassam Bounenni is a Tunisian journalist and researcher based in Paris. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star

Technorati Tags: Tunisia, WSIS

Citizens’ Summit on the Information Society (CSIS)
Tunis, November 16-18, 2005
First announcement and call for support
CSIS Press release – October 24, 2005

A Citizens' Summit on the Information Society (CSIS) will be held in Tunis, on November 16-18, 2005, coinciding with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

The CSIS will be another milestone in the long tradition of UN conferences and Summits being complemented with events organized by citizen groups. Previous such events met with great success, for example during the Cairo Conference on Population and Development (1994), the Beijing Conference on Women (1995) or the Monterrey Summit on Financing for Development (2002).

The CSIS objectives are twofold:
- To send a strong message of support and solidarity from international civil society to the local civil society and citizens;
- To address the main issues being debated at the WSIS, from the perspective of citizen groups and the public.

Based on earlier precedents, this event will offer an excellent opportunity to promote the Information Society and the basic principles on which it must be based, as articulated in the first phase of the World Summit on the Information, namely: human rights and social justice.

Invitation and Call for support:
Citizen groups, Civil society organizations, National, Regional and International Institutions, Government Delegations, and all other interested parties and individuals are invited to participate in the Citizen’s Summit on the Information Society.  All are strongly encouraged to express their support for and solidarity with the CSIS by, e.g.:
- Signing-on as a supporter,
- Offering a donation,
- Proposing a contribution to the CSIS program,
- Reading a statement of support to CSIS, in a WSIS parallel event they may organize
- Disseminating CSIS news through websites and mailing lists,
- Or any other means of support they may suggest.

Practical information:
The Citizen's Summit on the Information Society will begin on November 16th at 16:00, with an opening ceremony, continue all day on November 17th, with the closing session on November 18th morning. The CSIS program will consist of a series of panels and conferences addressing main WSIS issues from the public perspective.

The detailed program and practical information will be circulated by early November, together with a list of CSIS supporters.

First list of CSIS organizers and supporters:
AMARC (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters), ANND (Arab NGO Network for Development), APC (Association for Progressive Communications), Article 19, CJFE (Canadian Journalists for Free Expression), Comunica-ch (WSIS Swiss Civil Society Coalition), CPSR (Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility), CRIS Campaign (Communication Rights in the Information Society), FIDH (International Federation of Human Rights Leagues), FrontLine (International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders), HR Caucus (WSIS Civil Society Human Rights Caucus) HRW (Human Rights Watch), ICHRDD (Rights and Democracy), Index on Censorship, IteM (Instituto del Tercer Mundo), Norwegian PEN, OMCT (World Organization against Torture), WAN (World Association of Newspapers), WPFC (World Press Freedom Committee), in coordination with independent Tunisian civil society organizations.

CSIS International Organizing Committee:
Pablo Accuosto, Karen Banks, Roberto Bissio, Steve Buckley, Rikke Frank Jørgensen, Wolf Ludwig, Antoine Madelin, Meryem Marzouki, Seán " Siochrú, Chantal Peyer, in coordination with independent Tunisian civil society organization representatives.

Contact:
Expressions of support: support@citizens-summit.org
Press enquiries: press@citizens-summit.org
General contact, questions: contact@citizens-summit.org

Technorati Tags: Tunisia, WSIS

A Citizens' Summit on the Information Society (CSIS) will be held in Tunis, on November 16-18, 2005, coinciding with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).