La censure en Tunisie evoquée dans le Rapport DHA 2005

Un passage que j’ai lu dans le rapport annuel du développement humain arabe 2005, qui évoque la censure dans notre pays:

"In a North African country, authorities

have continued to put obstacles in the work

of civic bodies and independent professional

associations serving attorneys, journalists and

university professors. The authorities also

refuse to recognise independent labour unions

and human rights organisations. Amnesty

International reported that activities of the

Arab Human Rights Institute ground to a halt

as a result of the freeze on its funding undere

the country’s anti-terrorism law and following

the authorities’ objection to a member of the

Institute’s board of directors. The Government

moved to intercept the Institute’s mail and to

prevent the distribution of its publications.

After a broad-based civil solidarity campaign

in both the region and worldwide, the

authorities stopped their harassment, eased

their restrictions and allowed the Institute to

receive funds as before.

As another country prepared to host the

World Summit on the Information Society

(WSIS) in 2005, international human rights

organisations complained in an article published

on the Amnesty International website (“Hollow

words on Human Rights at UN Information

Society Summit”) that the “appalling record of

the host country of WSIS in Phase II – has seen

cyber-dissidents jailed, Internet sites censored,

human rights organisations harassed and

independent news agencies closed. It is stifling

the very rights and freedoms of expression the

Summit is intended to promote”

It is not, however, alone in this respect,

according to a report entitled “The Internet in

the Arab world: a new arena for oppression”

issued by the Arab Network for Human Rights

Information in June 2005 and based on a survey

of eleven Arab countries. The Network survey

found that relative freedom in Internet use is

allowed in only three States: Jordan, Qatar and

the UAE. Remaining States do their utmost

to control circulation of Internet content and

spend heavily on Internet surveillance, “not to

mention their use of new methods…such as

source control by means of electronic filtering

programmes…In addition, some states exercise

a monopoly over Internet service provision…

[in addition to] fabricating cases and jailing

those who cross undefined red lines on the

basis of flimsy allegations.

Source: The Arab Human Development Report 2005 - TARGETING REFORMERS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS – P 37

Reste a dire que ce rapport est meconnu et ne benificie pas d'une couverture mediatique dans nos télés et journaux.
Ce rapport est la quatrieme edition de l'UNDP. Le rapport 2006 n'a pas encore vu le jours.