Brussels, 22/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - According to information still to be confirmed by Brussels, EU Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean Region Bernardino Leon will shortly travel to Tunis for frank discussions with the Tunisian government on the freedom of the media. There is every likelihood that the information is correct given the brouhaha stirred up by the comments of European Ambassador in Tunis Adrianus Koestenruijter that the EU and other donors are to make an assurance of media freedom a precondition for granting aid. According to Koestenruijter, the EU and other donors supporting Tunisia (the ambassador mentioned the African Development Bank, ADB, and the World Bank) have called on the government, led by the Islamist Ennahdha party, to implement decrees on freedom of information and communication as a precondition for donations and aid to be granted to Tunisia. He went on to state that this demand will apply to the donation of €100 million by the EU and the $1 billion loan to support the state finances in 2012. Koestenruijter denies making the comments, which have been reported by several of the country's news media and widely commented on, though he does not renounce the substance.
In a reaction broadcast on Tunisian television, the country's Secretary of State for European Affairs Touhami Abdouli rejected the comments, emphasising the duty to respect the sovereignty of the country.
When asked by EUROPE, the ambassador, who is coming to the end of his term of office (and will be replaced by Laura Baeza, who is currently in post in Algiers), said that this policy is part of the dialogue on good governance on which financial support is dependent. Thus he confirms the above-mentioned political condition but he stated that the EU has no intention of bringing it into play.
For the moment, he said, the EU has increased its efforts and financial disbursements for Tunisia since 2011. Affected are all the transition sectors, for example, management of the economy, justice, security, education and the democratic process, and the underpinning of the economy in general, with the emphasis laid squarely on development of the country's poor regions. The EU had also sought to support civil society and its organisations across the whole country, he said. There is great freedom of expression, he said, certainly compared with the situation before the revolution. However, he went on, acts of violence are still taking place against journalists, particularly women, which could once again lead to self-censorship among journalists. Were that to happen, it would be a significant step backwards and a denial of the values of the 2011 revolution, he argued.
The Tunisian government was upset by the reported comments, especially as they “coincided with an American statement which 'threatens' to suspend all US aid if the Tunisian government fails to respect the freedom of the press”.
In a statement at the end of April, INRIC, the national body for the reform of the media and communication, highlighted the “indifference” of the government, the “lack of serious dialogue” and the government's “attempts to re-establish a stranglehold on the information sector”. (FB/transl.rt)