US embassy cable - 05TUNIS1085

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TUNIS 001085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA (DIBBLE), NEA/MAG (WELLS, LAWRENCE), NEA/PPD 
(QUINN, SMITH, GLAZIER), NEA/PI (MULENEX, KIRBY), DRL 
(BUTLER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2015 
TAGS: KPAO, PHUM, PGOV, KDEM, TS, KMEPI 
SUBJECT: TUNISIAN JOURNALISTS DIVIDED OVER ASSOCIATION 
REPORT ON SITUATION OF THE PRESS 
 
REF: A. 2004 TUNIS 2255 
     B. TUNIS 977 
     C. 2004 TUNIS 1798 
 
Classified By: Amb. William J. Hudson; reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
1.(C) Summary. On May 3, the QUANGO Tunisian Journalists 
Association (AJT) released two very different reports on the 
situation of the press in the country.  The six 
pro-government members of the AJT board produced a mild 
report, while the three "independent" members elected to the 
AJT board in September 2004 (Ref A) released another more 
hard-hitting report.  The pro-government faction then sought 
to discipline the "independent" members and distance the AJT 
from their report.  The two factions reached a compromise on 
May 13 that allowed the "independent" members to remain on 
the board, but the AJT publicly rejected their more critical 
report.  This contretemps shows that while there is a growing 
number of journalists willing to speak publicly about the 
journalistic reality in Tunisia, the majority still fears 
government reprisals.  This division reflects the weakened 
condition of a press long hobbled by government control and 
self-censorship.  End Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
2.(C) The AJT is the only government-recognized journalist 
association in Tunisia.  Long known for its close ties to the 
GOT, it was suspended from the International Federation of 
Journalists in March 2004 for failure to protect or advance 
the rights of journalists in the country.  In a historic 
election in September 2004, three journalists (Zyed El-Heni, 
Neji Baghouri and Mohsen Abderahmane) won seats on the AJT 
board after running on an "independent" ticket that promised 
to work within the system to seriously address the problems 
facing Tunisian journalists. (Ref A) 
 
A Tale of Two Reports 
--------------------- 
3.(C) Zyed El-Heni provided IO with the following insight 
into the functioning of the AJT and the events surrounding 
the release of two AJT reports on World Press Freedom Day, 
May 3, 2005. (Ref B)  He explained that, on March 10, the AJT 
board decided that they would handle the drafting of the 2005 
report and designated "independent" Neji Baghouri as the 
secretary for the project with responsibility for compiling 
 
SIPDIS 
the different inputs and drafting the final report.  The 
board  divided up areas of responsibility and agreed to meet 
back on April 28.  On April 28, El-Heni reports that AJT 
President Faouzi Bouzaiene instructed the board members to 
provide their inputs to another "pro-government" member of 
the board, Jamel Karmaoui, instead of to Baghouri. The three 
"independent" members allegedly refused to do so and a 
compromise was reached in which Baghouri would combine all of 
the different angles to ensure that both the "pro-government" 
and the "independent" point of view was represented. 
 
4.(C) El-Heni reports that, on May 2, the other board members 
refused Baghouri's version of the report and presented their 
own report which opened with a laudatory paragraph for all of 
President Ben Ali's support and contributions to the media 
sector.  This report (not yet translated into English or 
French) contained general calls for the improvement of the 
financial and administrative status of Tunisian journalists. 
Baghouri and Abderahmane refused to approve the "official 
version" which was passed by the other six members of the 
board.  (El-Heni was absent due to a family emergency.)  On 
May 3, the AJT board published its "official version" at the 
same time that the three independent members distributed 
their own more critical report (on "the rampant violations 
undergone by Tunisian journalists under the form of 
censorship, harassment, and various other sorts of 
oppression") by e-mail, fax, and listserv.  Both reports were 
issued in the name of the AJT. 
 
Failed Attempt to Expel the Independent Members 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
5.(U) On May 4, the AJT issued a communique that denounced 
the parallel report.  On May 5, Bouzaiene held a press 
conference on the issue.  On May 7, (Ref B) Baghouri was 
called in to police headquarters and questioned as to the 
authority under which he presumed to send out reports on the 
state of the press in Tunisia.  On May 10, the AJT announced 
a decision to exclude the three independent members from the 
organization. 
 
6.(C) On May 13, AJT held a meeting of their steering 
committee.  El-Heni reported that, at the same time that the 
meeting was held, over fifty journalists assembled in 
adjacent rooms at AJT headquarters, presented a petition in 
support of the independent members, and sang the Tunisian 
national anthem.  El-Heni called this "a historic day" for 
AJT, claiming that similar orchestrated movements of support 
for fellow journalists have never occurred in Tunisia. 
El-Heni mentioned to the IO that, during this meeting, 
Bouzaiene accused El-Heni of "having visited the US Embassy 
shortly before May 3 and having transmitted documents to US 
officials."  El-Heni denied this false allegation and 
challenged Bouzaiene to open an investigation into such a 
charge.  In the end, according to El-Heni, this meeting 
resulted in an agreement that the three independent members 
would remove the AJT name from their report and would 
continue as members of the board. 
 
Misleading Communiques Seek to Discredit Independent Members 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
7.(C) The story does not end there.  On May 14, private 
Arabic daily "Ash Shourouq" (which reportedly takes editorial 
direction from Presidential Counselor Abdelwaheb Abdallah) 
printed an AJT communique stating that the three independent 
members had "apologized" for their actions.  On May 15, most 
other papers ran an AJT communique stating that the three 
independent members had "acknowledged the errors of their 
ways."  El-Heni provided the IO with the language of the 
communique that had actually been agreed upon on May 13 by 
the steering committee.  Contrary to what had appeared in the 
local press, it noted that "there were errors on all sides" 
and contained no acceptance of guilt on the part of the 
independents.  El-Heni interpreted this final tactic of 
distributing inaccurate communiques as an attempt by the GOT 
to discredit the three independent members.  El-Heni noted, 
however, that the GOT had not succeeded as too many 
journalists knew the facts and supported his actions. 
 
Comment 
------- 
8.(C) This story confirms that the AJT remains under GOT 
control, but suggests that such control may be slipping as 
journalists begin to stand together in support of their own 
rights.  It shows that the "private" and very popular (and 
populist) Arabic daily "Ash-Shourouq" remains willing to do 
the government's dirty work in leading the way in publishing 
false communiques.  Further, it shows how links to the U.S. 
are used in attempts to undermine civil society members who 
choose to work with us.  The Mission remains, however, 
engaged in support for freedom of expression, and activists 
such as El-Heni welcome this support. 
HUDSON