Hard-won by civil society in the momentum of the 2011 revolution, associative radio stations once carried the hope of a free and pluralistic media landscape. Riding on early enthusiasm and supported by NGOs and international funders, they promised to play a key role in the country’s democratic transition. Little by little, however, this hope has eroded, giving way to growing disillusionment. Today, associative radios are marginalized, left to their own devices, and struggling to survive.
Praised for its “feats” by Italy’s extreme right, the immigration policy implemented by President Kais Saied builds off a strategy whose objectives are twofold. Here is how the government has succeeded in killing two birds with one stone.
A number of NGOs have expressed indignation at the recent humanitarian crisis involving migrants driven out of Sfax, and the government is not impressed. Associations openly critical of authorities are blaring on the president’s radar, as acts of intimidation targeting certain organizations portend an open war against civil society’s dissenting voices.
You take a walk by the seaside, thirsty for the Tunisian scenery and the beauty of the azure waves brushing the strands of beach sand. Instead, the first things your eyes catch are stray plastic cups, bags, straws, and the list goes on. Marine pollution in Tunisia has always been, but only became a red flag in the past few years when international NGOs started to loudly voice their concerns about the disastrous levels reached in the Mediterranean Sea.
It was with sealed lips that the Bouden government elaborated a draft law concerning the organization of associations. Recently leaked to several NGOs, the proposed legislation contains provisions which hint at why authorities might prefer to remain tight-lipped about the measure in question.
Since the revolution, the number of civil society associations in Tunisia has more doubled, reaching some 19 thousand. In the context of establishing a “participative democracy” with citizens and civil society as principal actors (Article 139 of the new constitution), Decree-law 88 of September 2011 guaranteed the “freedom to create, belong to, and carry out activities through associations, and the strengthening of the role of civil society organizations, as well as their development and respect for their independence.”
An EU study group has recently filed its diagnostic report on Tunisian Civil Society (TCS). A look back at the principal elements of this report and some proposals for future action.
