29 Mar 2012 | Middle East and North Africa
The Tunisian Ministry of Interior has issued a ban on protests on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, the capital’s main avenue. The ministry claims that it took such decision following complaints received from commercial and touristic businesses located on the avenue, as well as from citizens “over violations committed during some protests”.
“The Ministry of Interior has decided to prohibit protests, marches, and all forms of collective expression on the entire Habib Bourguiba Avenue as of the release of this communiqué”, said the ministry on 28 March.
The decision of the Ministry came few days after a group of Islamists calling for the implementation of Islmaic law gathered on the avenue on 25 March, not far away from a cultural gathering of Tunisian artists, and actors who got together to celebrate World Theater Day. The artists claim that they were assaulted by some of the Islamist protesters, something the Ministry of Interior denies. “During these two manifestations, no acts of violence were registered”, said the ministry in a communiqué released on 25 March.
The prestigious Habib Bourguiba Avenue, once a touristic and commercial attraction, turned into an epicenter of protests in January 2011 when thousands of protesters demanding the fall of the regime of Zeine el-Abidin Ben Ali assembled there. Right after the ousting of former President Ben Ali, a protest culture flourished all over the country, and Habib Bourguiba Avenue has been regarded as a symbol of rebellion.
27 Mar 2012 | Middle East and North Africa
Living in a conservative society, where homosexuality is illegal, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in Tunisia faces enormous pressures. Gays and Lesbians in Tunisia often keep quiet about their sexual orientations, and it is challenging for them to freely express themselves.
The 2011 uprising has had little effect on the status of the LGBT community. It has nevertheless allowed them to express themselves via Gayday Magazine, the first magazine dedicated to gay issues in Tunisia.
“It was difficult to have such venture prior to the revolution due to censorship. Key words used on the magazine could be easily picked up by the censor’s filters”, said Fadi Krouj, editor in chief of the magazine, who prefers not to use his real surname.
The magazine which was launched in March, 2011, seeks not only to combat homophobia, and offer support to the LGBT community in Tunisia, but also aims at bringing change at the legal level.
“Among our main objectives are abolishing the law criminalizing homosexuality and drafting another one that criminalises discrimination and homophobia”, explained Fadi to Index. The magazine has received threats in the shape of emails and Facebook comments. He adds:
“They claim that gay rights are not among the demands of the revolution and that we are opportunists. The last thing we want to do is distract the nation from achieving its democratic transition. We just want to make sure that we will have a place in the new Tunisia, because we’ve had enough with living in closets
Though there is still a long way to go for the LGBT community in Tunisia, Gayday magazine can be considered as a step forward. Silenced for so long, this community now has the opportunity to express itself freely, at least for the moment.
14 Mar 2012 | Digital Freedom, Middle East and North Africa
Yesterday was Tunisia’s first National Day for Internet Freedom, the day also commemorates the death of cyber dissident Zouhaier Yahyaoui, who died seven years ago at the age of 37.
Via his website TUNeZINE, Zouhair criticised the corrupt and autocratic regime of former president Zeine El Abidin Ben Ali. Despite using a pseudonym Ettounsi (The Tunisian in English) he was tracked down and arrested on 4 June 2000 and a court in Tunis later sentenced him to two years in prison for “publishing false information”, “non-authorised use of an Internet connection” and “theft from an employer.”
In November 2003, as a result of international pressure, authorities granted him conditional release but Yahyaoui had already spent 18 months behind bars. He faced serious health issues after suffering torture and abuse during his imprisonment and on 13 March 2005 he passed away following a heart attack.
Yahyaoui won numerous international awards for his fight for net freedom. In his memory, and in recognition of his cyber activism, and his sacrifices for a more democratic Tunisia, 13 March is now the National Day of Internet Freedom in the country.
Since the 2011 uprising, Tunisia has come far when it comes to net freedom. Netizens are enjoying an uncensored web, and they are free to say whatever they want without fearing any government censorship, or repression. Restrictions on launching websites and obtaining domain names have also been loosened. But Tunisia is still “under surveillance” on Reporters Without Borders’ “enemies of Internet List”.
Indeed, a military order issued in May, 2011 demanding the filtering of Facebook pages criticising the army (the pages are no longer censored now for technical constraints), and the legal action taken to force the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) to filter pornographic content on the web have launched a heated debate about whether red lines should be drawn for net freedom. Earlier this year Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said:
There should be red lines limiting freedom of speech…these red lines should not be used as pretexts for censorship…the lines should be debated and accepted by all
In an interview given to Index on Censorship, Moez Chakchouk, CEO of the Tunisian Internet Agency admitted that there have been demands to filter around 50 FaceBook pages for “defamation”, and for “spreading false information”.
While Tunisia celebrates its first national day for net freedom, the fight for an uncensored web seems far from over.
23 Feb 2012 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
A Tunisian court today released Nasreddine Ben Saida, general director of the Arabic-language daily Attounissia, who was arrested on 15 February after his newspaper published a photo German-Tunisian footballer Sami Khedira with his naked girlfriend. Rim Boukriba, a journalist for Attounisia, expressed her discontent about the arrest. “He was treated like a criminal … did he kill someone? Is he too dangerous to stay at large?” she said. “The authorities who jailed Ben Saida are seeking to silence us … their problem is not with the picture itself … but with the newspaper, which is popular, and widely read”, she told Index. “The picture is only an excuse,” she added. The court is expected to issue a verdict on the case on 8 March.
