IFEX : TUNISIA - MEMBERS OF JOURNALISTS' UNION FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE

The National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) continues to fight for its independence, having been illegally taken over by government supporters last month, say members of the Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), the Observatoire pour la liberté de presse, d'édition et de création (OLPEC) and other IFEX members.

On 8 September, a Tunisian court recognised the new members of the board, after pro-government journalists were illegally elected on 15 August and filed a lawsuit seeking to take over the union. Following the court decision on 8 September, police physically evicted members of the board (who had been democratically elected last year) from the union offices, say the TMG, OLPEC, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Police evicted Nejiba Hamrouni, three syndicate staffers, and "Al-Jazeera" correspondent and human rights activist Lotfi Hajji, according to CPJ. SNJT told IFJ, of which it is a member, that ousted union president Neji Beghouri was barred from entering the offices, assaulted and taken away by police.

Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary, said, "This is heavy-handed and violent interference in journalism. It is unacceptable and demonstrates the intolerance of a regime which puts power politics before democracy."

The democratically elected Board members of SNJT held a press conference at the offices of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) on 12 September, says the TMG, where representatives of ATFD and other NGOs strongly condemned the blatant violations of the law and the right to trade unionism and the political police interference in the internal affairs of SNJT. A representative of IFJ was also present to support the right of Tunisian journalists to belong to an independent syndicate.

According to the TMG and OLPEC, the Tunisian judiciary's lack of independence has been often used to target critical journalists and human rights and political activists. OLPEC says it "is gravely concerned by the increasing intolerance of public authorities to any independent association, and particularly by the recently orchestrated coup against the legitimate office of the SNJT."

The TMG, a coalition of 20 IFEX members, has expressed its support for the democratically elected Board of the Tunisian journalists syndicate, and "vehemently denounces the use of the police and judiciary to usurp the union."

Related stories on IFEX.org:
- IFJ protests over police violence at journalists' union headquarters:
http://ifex.org/tunisia/2009/09/10/police_action/
- Government allies seize control of journalists' union:
http://www.ifex.org/tunisia/2009/08/19/snjt_overthrown/

More on the web:
- TMG website: http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg

IFEX: TUNISIA- GOVERNMENT ALLIES SEIZE CONTROL OF JOURNALISTS' UNION

The Tunisian government has "overthrown" the independent board of the
journalists' union in Tunisia, report the Observatoire pour la liberté de
la presse, d'édition et de création (OLPEC), the Arabic Network for Human
Rights Information (ANHRI) and other IFEX members.

On 15 August, in an extraordinary session, the National Syndicate of
Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) imposed a new chair and board on the union,
composed entirely of pro-government members. According to Reporters Without
Borders (RSF), newly-elected president Jamal Karmawi is a well-known
adviser to the ruling party's general secretary.

The move was the latest in a government campaign to eliminate the only
independent organisation of its kind in Tunisia for critical journalists,
say the IFEX members.

The campaign started on World Press Freedom Day this year, when SNJT
published a report criticising the lack of press freedom in Tunisia. Union
president Néji Bghouri was prevented from speaking during the report's
launch in Tunis, and faced threats and insults in the media.

Pro-government members of the board resigned and began circulating a
withdrawal of confidence petition to the union membership. Bghouri told the
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that members were threatened with
loss of employment and otherwise intimidated if they did not sign the
petition. The resignations ultimately triggered elections for the union
leadership.

Although the new elections were scheduled for 12 September, Saturday's
meeting was called by pro-government journalists - despite a lawsuit filed
by the executive board that the extraordinary conference should be
nullified, reports OLPEC. On 14 August, a day before the controversial
session was to take place, a Tunisian court rejected the lawsuit.

One of the union's first acts was to send a message of support for Tunisian
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, "as a prelude to their… allegiance to
him" in the presidential elections in October, reports ANHRI.

"This is a simple coup orchestrated to maximise positive media coverage for
the ruling party ahead of the elections," said IFEX Tunisia Monitoring
Group (TMG) chair Rohan Jayasekera, of Index on Censorship. "It's shameful
to see journalists so brazenly sell their honour for a politician's
favour."

According to CPJ, Bghouri had angered top officials last year when he told
local opposition papers that SNJT would not back any presidential candidate
in the elections.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), of which SNJT is a
member, says it has been working behind the scenes to repair the rift. "IFJ
has not endorsed this process," said IFJ general secretary Aidan White.
"Our executive committee has insisted on remaining neutral in this dispute
and it will look long and hard at events over the weekend before reaching
its verdict. There is still some way to go to unify the journalists'
movement in Tunisia."

"The shadow of political influence in this affair is unmistakeable," said
White.

Related stories on IFEX.org:
- Government supporters seize control of journalists' union:
http://www.ifex.org/tunisia/2009/08/19/snjt_seized/
- Government behind campaign to destabilise media union:
http://www.ifex.org/tunisia/2009/05/20/snjt_govt_interference/