Another week in Tunisia’s politics is charged with mixed emotions. For now, in light of the unresolved and reinvigorated confusion surrounding the Belaid case and the elusive progress being made in election-planning processes, public demands for truth, accountability, and productivity reflect a citizenry eager for change, and still waiting for signs of it.
The show of US interest in Tunisia since the beginning of the revolution is significant, both in mainstream media and discourse as well as in US official investigations and reports. Whether docked at the capital port, or congratulating the prime minister, or releasing large sums of loan money into the economy, or advocating for a successful democratic transition, the United States has made it clear that it has a vision for Tunisia.
There is a palpable wait-and-see hesitancy that permeates the streets of Tunis, as many citizens hold their breath for tangible, measurable outcomes of Mehdi Jomâa’s work in office —an increase in value of national currency and reduction of the unemployment rate, for instance.
Whereas CNN and The Guardian recap the signing in of a new “landmark” constitution, Al Jazeera’s gaze is less on the culmination of the drafting process and more on the birds-eye-view perspective that encompasses the country’s economic-political-social landscape.
(Tunis, January 14, 2014) – As Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly (NCA) is discussing the chapter on the judicial powers in […]
Nothing about 2013 is readily decipherable, except that it was a gross rumination and regurgitation of 2012′s morbid futility and chaotic randomness. The year 2013 did not leave for the Arabs, especially in the countries of popular revolts, any margin for lack of understanding. It has explained and elaborated on, and in some cases did provide a full exegesis of, what was announced or implied by 2012.
More than the exercise of collective dissent, as a common denominator and at the core of these protests is the call on governments to engage with grass-root movements and the public at large beyond the regular election process. Journalists and bloggers continue to play a central role in providing and relaying vital information.
Sustained government propaganda will convince any waverers that political stability and economic prosperity are far more important than personal freedoms, rule of law, universal human rights and democratic values. Despite the wishful thinking of the crowds, the final chapter of the Arab Spring is being written: it is about over.
Voici les photos de la dernière édition du Forum WAN-IFRA de la presse Arabe, ayant eu lieu du 24 au 26 novembre 2013. Au-delà de l’objet même du Forum, c’est l’une de ces rares occasions durant lesquelles se réunissent quelques-uns parmi ceux qui ont à cœur le devenir de la profession ainsi que son indépendance. Derrière ce combat pour la liberté de la presse, il y a d’abord des femmes et des hommes, mais également des ONGs qui font un travail forçant le respect depuis des années…
L’Association Mondiale des Journaux et des Editeurs de Médias d’Information (WAN-IFRA) s’apprête à accueillir des délégués venant des quatre coins de la région Arabe pour la 6ème édition de son Forum de la Presse Arabe Indépendante, qui aura lieu du 24 au 26 novembre 2013 dans la capitale tunisienne, Tunis.
The idea is to have the Tunisian youth act as delegates in a model of the Parliament, as is the case with the European Youth Parliament and other parliamentary youth representations. I had the chance to participate in the event after I got accepted among sixty young Tunisians. This article is my personal evaluation of the event as a whole, beyond the outward show of harmony.
On Wednesday October 9th, 2013, the 20- year old student Marwa Maalawi was sentenced to 3 months of jail on charge of addressing women’s minister Sihem Badi with derogatory word. On the 27th of March, 2013, student Marwa raised a sign in a protest in front of the ministry of women on which she wrote: “In the era of terrorist Ennahdha, a chaste woman is raped because her minister is a whore.”
First of all, the failure of the rating agencies before the subprime crisis is complete and total. That’s an undeniable fact and the huge effort that those agencies are making to restore their credibility will not, in any way, change that fact. And you should not listen to anyone who is telling you otherwise even if that person is Patrick Raleig.
On the 2nd day of the Human Screen International Film Festival in Tunis, “le Mondiale” movie house exhibited yesterday “Forbidden voices”, a film which was released in 2012 and which was winner of the Amnesty International Award and the Swiss Film Festival Award as “Best Documentary”. The film narrates the story of three young and courageous female bloggers, from three different countries, who made a revolution from behind a laptop.
20 September 2013 – We, the undersigned press freedom and freedom of expression organisations call on the authorities in Morocco to immediately release Ali Anouzla, editor of the Arabic edition of the news website Lakome, who was arrested on 17 September 2013, in connection with an article published on his website.
The National Constituent Assembly’s first plenary session was overshadowed by a nationwide press strike in protest of the recent crackdown on Tunisian journalists and media personalities. Despite the resumption of political activity, the investigation of Mohamad Brahmi’s assassination remained at the forefront of Tunisian politics and was the focal point of Thursday’s meeting. In addition, both the opposition and ruling coalitions have reviewed UGTT’s latest proposal for a renewed dialogue.
On Saturday, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists, with support from the Union of Culture and Information, organized a general press strike held on September 17 to “oppose attacks against journalists from authorities who are desperate to treat journalists as criminals on the basis of repressive laws,” according to a press statement.
Human Rights Watch : (Tunis, September 13, 2013) – Tunisian authorities should quash the detention of a prominent activist and […]
