In Tunisia, it is not the banks that finance the economy…It is the economy that finances the banks. This is what we call a dysfunctional system that will lead to a crisis sooner or later.
Terrorism and ICT: Keeping alive old surveillance practices in Tunisia
On the surface, the counterterrorism law of 25 July 2015 appears to introduce innovative measures to address crimes associated with new technologies. A number of these provisions, however, contain flaws including vague definitions, the privilege of immunity granted to investigators, threats to fundamental rights to privacy and access to information, and the exclusion of the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Information from the special commission in the fight against terrorism.
Debt, Farmers, and Farming Companies in Tunisia: laying ground for security and stability through agricultural reform
If important steps have been taken to improve management and optimize exploitation of State-owned agricultural lands and alleviate the debts of tenants who lease these properties, adopted measures are yet limited and incomplete … Working at the very heart of a sector upon which depends the country’s food security and, to a certain extent, the economy, Tunisian farmers have yet to gain substantial financial backing, adequate legal support, and due political recognition. Moving onward from a year of climatic fluctuations and political violence which have had devastating effects upon the sector, government officials and decision-makers will do well to recognize and invest in agriculture as the base from which sovereignty, security, and stability can grow.
Between Tunisia and Libya: a wall and duty-free zone for border and economic security
Informal commerce is not limited to one category of merchandise, one geographic region, one demographic; trafficked items include weapons, food products, and gasoline and circulate the country via markets in Ben Guerdane, Kasserine, Sfax, Tunis; smugglers range from merchants of little means to prominent businessmen who are comparatively economically resilient and more likely to withstand trade restrictions imposed at the borders. For many smugglers of lesser means, survival depends upon their ability to navigate a political vision and legal framework which serve neither to sustain nor protect them.
Hacking Team : the company that spied on you during the Tunisian revolution!
Classified by Reporters Without Borders among “The Enemies of Internet,” Hacking Team is an Italian company specializing in software, surveillance systems, and decryption. On 6 July 2015, company servers were hacked, rendering public 400 Gb of information. One item to have emerged is a table showing the company’s past and current clients where we find listed for Tunisia the ATI, Tunisian Internet Agency. According to the leaked information, ATI benefited from Hacking Team services via a contract for a “demo” system in 2011—in the midst of the country’s revolution.
Tunisia and the Wall: government solidifies its vision of “national unity”… through exclusion
Around mid-July, everyone, it seemed, was talking about the wall, a trench-lined sand barricade that is to stretch some 200 kilometers along Tunisia’s border with Libya. In the capital, a world away from the country’s borders, conversations are still based on hear-say, rumors, and speculation.
Tunisia: A new campaign for a better internet
Complaining about expensive prices and bad services is definitely the most repeated talk anyone would hear in Tunisia and the internet is no longer excluded. In fact, internet is not only a tool to gather people for a cause, organize boycott campaigns or even protests. Internet and more precisely slow internet and its cost became the subject of the protest today.
Sousse Attack: Security failures compounded by officials’ outlandish versions
The facts are clear. The trial concerning the assassination of Chokri Belaid has been deferred, not a single terrorist crime has been tried, and the attack in Sousse has exposed security and political failures. Four years after the Rouhia case, it seems that the more insecurity has grown, the more opaque the security institution has become.
In Jemna, locals manage oases to reap the fruits of their labor
In the town of Jemna, residents have formed an association dedicated to the preservation and cultivation of 185 hectares of reclaimed oases for the production of dates. The Association for the Protection of Jemna’s Oases is composed of 129 workers including farmers and security guards, three supervisors responsible for managing the workers, administration and finances, plus one general supervisor. Nawaat has traveled to meet with the individuals who have taken over the land in the name of Jemna and its residents.
Tunisia in the Media: foreign reporting and national discourse on the Sousse attack
In the minutes and hours following attack transpired the ungracious diffusion on Instagram and Twitter of victims lying lifeless between beach chairs and parasols; dramatized headlines announcing the “beach resort massacre” and innumerable variations recounting the scene … But after the initial shock of and Western media’s knee-jerk reaction to one of three attacks which occurred on June 26, mainstream news reports on terrorism in the country are relatively more substantial and worth contemplating than was the case several months ago.
“I WILL COME TO TUNISIA THIS SUMMER” a too simple social-media slogan turned around by terrorists
“I WILL COME TO TUNISIA THIS SUMMER” a terrorist ‘détournement’ (twist) of a campaign most probably started by the Tunisian tourism authorities as an answer to the negative effects of the Bardo Museum attack in Tunis on March the 18th this year. A campaign that had quiet a success in social media. In “Je Suis Charlie” style people had themselves photographed with a handwritten statement pledging to come this summer to Tunisia. In response ISIS issued the same statement but now illustrated with a Kalazhnikov and a pistol…
‘Where’s our Oil?’ : the (continued) confusion of politics and resource management in Tunisia
“Winou el pétrole?”—Where is the oil? began to draw the attention of the media since the end of May when citizens hit the street with signs, and has gained considerable visibility since last week when demonstrations in the capital and the south of the country turned into violent confrontations between protesters and security forces. Furthermore, doubts regarding the movement’s beginning as a spontaneous social media campaign and uncertainty about the authenticity of its objectives have stirred controversy and warranted the response of the political figure and government officials.
Minorities in Tunisia: if we finally respected the LGBT Community Individual Rights?
I just can’t understand all this hatred and this reject of the LGBT community in Tunisia. Undoubtedly, as a heterosexual, I don’t share the same affinities and sexual orientations with the members of this community, but I can’t accept the insulting and degrading remarks directed at this minority.
Europe unveils Agenda on Migration, Tunisia slow to realize one of its own
As civil society and political forces across the Mediterranean debate Europe’s Agenda on Migration, in Tunisia it is the absence of a comprehensive national strategy, cohesive immigration legislation and designated State institutions which is at the heart of migration discussions.
Tunisia’s ICT Sector: Lobbies within the Council for Digital Economy deviate from National Strategic Plan
Tunisia has missed its opportunity to create an independent, multi-party governance apparatus, to develop and employ mechanisms for open and transparent decision-making and thereby save the ICT sector which is presently overrun by business and politics.
Torture in Tunisia: Abdelmajid Jdey, Another Death in Police Custody
Abdelmajid Jdey was being held in preventative detention Sidi Bouzid when, on 13 May, the Ministry of the Interior announced his death; according to the statement, Jdey hung himself in his cell. In the weeks that have followed, civil society activists and organizations including Human Rights Watch and the Tunisian Organization Against Torture (OCTT) have contested the Ministry’s announcement. Notably, the victim had filed a complaint of torture to OCTT several days prior to his death.
Draft Law Concerning the Right of Access to Information: three steps forward, two steps back
Currently on the table for discussion in Parliament, Draft Law n°55/2014 concerning the right of access to information continues to make waves. Last week, Reporters without Borders confirmed concerns previously expressed by a number of civil society organizations including IWatch, Touensa, and the LTDH. Analysis.
Investigation into the landfill at Borj Chakir: Causes and effects of poor waste management
Eight kilometers south of Tunis is Borj Chakir, a town that has become infamous for a landfill that has had damaging effects on the surrounding environment and quality of life of locals. Over the years, a population of 50,000 -including the residents of El Attar/Borj Chakir, Jayara, and Sidi Hassine- has suffered from compromised health and sanitation as a consequence of the waste collection site that has contaminated air, water, and soil. Report on the landfill and stakeholders, the region and inhabitants of Borj Chakir.
