“What we have in our favor is that current politicians are not used to politics and can be pushed to accept the needs and rights of citizens. And there is no better judge to hold politicians accountable than the citizen. When we make information public, people know what is going on. Transparency must become obligatory.”
What Jomâa did not say regarding contrasting political visions amongst the Gulf countries visited on his trip will weigh heavily not only on international relations and the actual support that Tunisia might receive from its alliances, but on the conditions for the support (if any) offered. Meanwhile images of blood-stained earth and bullet hole-scarred buildings permeate national news following clashes between national security forces and militants in Jendouba and Sidi Bouzid.
After perusing the American Embassy Tunis Facebook page, the page welcome statement seems either a laughable euphemism or an endearing show of naïveté. The description is accurate to the extent that the the page accomplishes what it promises and what one would expect from an embassy Facebook page, for it serves as a cultural counterpart to the official Embassy of the United States Tunis website’s services and procedural information and news updates.
Two themes that prevail in blogs, reports, news articles, and interviews about art and artists in Tunisia are the gap between politics and people, especially youth, and the criminalization and marginalization of art and artists that has continued after the revolution.
To express one’s self, to voice one’s worries, one’s aspirations and one’s thoughts is an utterly human right. It is not a privilege to openly and fiercely say what one believes and what one dreams. The youth today, in our Tunisia, overflow with powerful emotions, to use the phrasing of the English poet Wordsworth.
What each country, each city, each community has to offer in this movement is an independently-crafted testament to one’s existence in the contemporary world during a period in history marked by widespread political instability, economic crisis, and desperation for change.
We all work for the IMF now. And if you haven’t realized that yet, I urge you to wake up to your new condition so you will not be caught unprepared. The sooner we all realize that, the smaller (hopefully!) the shock will be.
With the electoral law on the table for discussion, the nomination of several ministry candidates, and the naming of eighteen governors, it is not surprising that election campaigns have rolled into action. Security remains a prominent issue in the National Dialogue and national media, and although the common concern is that insecurity is a block for the political process and efforts to precipitate democratic elections this year
The nature of immigration policy and visa procedures for Tunisians who wish to travel to the United States to take advantage of academic and professional exchange opportunities reflects the degree of authenticity of US rhetoric for cooperation, partnership, and collaboration at the civil society level.
After Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison Chelsea Manning said in her statement that “Sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society.” I don’t know if she knows that she helped us, in this part of the world, to move toward that noble goal. Closing a cell door on a prisoner with a free mind has opened a thousand and one doors for a free society.
By Khalid Ibrahim, Co-Director, Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of […]
This week’s highlights in Tunisian news and media: on the serious side, defining international relations and prospects for alliance-building; on a lighter note, Marzouki’s unwitting knack for comedic relief.
On February 9, 2014, The Times of India published a rather fascinating article. «Kolkata-born Riddhi Dasgupta, the 28-year-old chief draftsperson of British think-tank The Wilberforce Society, was a driving force in advising in the crafting of [Tunisia]’s new constitution.»
17 February 2014 – Freedom of expression and human rights organisations call on the Moroccan authorities for all criminal charges […]
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.
