02/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Party of European Socialists (PES) has withdrawn from an international conference in Tunis in protest against attempts by the Tunisian authorities to restrict participation. The conference on “The Role of Civil Society in Building a United Maghreb”, on 2-3 February, was organised jointly by Mouatinoun, the weekly publication of the Forum Démocratique pour le Travail et les Libertés, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. According to the PES, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation was told by the Tunisian foreign ministry that its involvement was illegal and contravened a cooperation convention between the Tunisian government and the Foundation. In protest, PES Secretary General Philip Cordery, MEPs Harlem Désir, Alain Hutchinson and Ottmar Schreiner decided to withdraw. “Tunisia is turning more and more authoritarian. It was wrong to try to stop democratic organisations from meeting, and wrong to prevent the demand for democratic rights to be heard. It is far from the first time that the Tunisian government has tried to restrict democratic debate. I call on the Tunisian authorities to start showing more respect for the universal human rights of freedom of speech and assembly,” said PES President Poul Syrup Rasmussen. (hb)