Tunisia’s Media Landscape 2002

There has never been a period in independent Tunisian history where freedom of expression and the press were respected or honored. Though many today describe President Bourguiba’s thirty year reign as one where there were greater freedoms than today, reality is that media have always been subjected to a conundrum of legal restrictions, government interference, physical threats, arrest and many other types of abuse. While Bourguiba was clearly opposed to the development of a democratic state, President Ben Ali, nicknamed by his supporters as the “artisan of change,” speaks a language of democracy while ruling with an iron fist.

Ben Ali and other members of his government often encourage the Tunisian press to be more critical. “I will say to you once more loud and clear: Do write on any subject you choose… There are no taboos except what is prohibited by law and press ethics,” he said last year during an interview published in several Arabic dailies. According to one Tunisian analyst however, “Ben Ali gives the impression that he tolerates free expression but only in a space he intends to control and under political and social terms that he claims as acceptable.” In fact, Ben Ali has gone to great lengths to appear “democratic” through sophisticated public relations overseas and the creation of an array of official national human rights bodies including a human rights minister and human rights departments in at least four ministries.