Tunisia one year on: Setting a good example despite obstacles

Like Libya and Egypt, Tunisia has seen its revolution pass the one-year mark. But unlike its neighbours, Tunisia remains largely out of the headlines. IMS’ media expert in Tunisia reports one year on

By Lotte Grauballe, IMS

In December 2010 a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the small town of Sidi Bouzaid in central Tunisia. This act of self-immolation became the spark that ignited revolutions and led to the demise of presidents, first in Tunisia, then in Egypt and Libya.

Libya, Egypt and other hotspots in the Middle East have since remained in the headlines. Tunisia has not. When the region nonetheless pays keen attention to Tunisia at this time, it is for one compelling reason: Tunisia is so far setting the most positive example of post-revolutionary transition taking place in any country marked by the so-called Arab Spring. And it’s doing so in spite of several factors.

A religious or secular state?

In the aftermath of elections held on 23 October 2011, the issue of a faith-based versus a secular state is as central to many Tunisians as it is perceived fundamental to the writing of the country’s new constitution. A task the newly elected constituent assembly is set to produce by early 2013. Strong public manifestations have been made by women’s organisations, intellectuals, the youth and media stakeholders to protest what is by some perceived and feared to be an anti-democratic, freedom-curtailing inclination on the part of the new Ennahdha-led transitional government. Some commentators go as far as saying that a veritable battle of cultures is currently taking place in Tunisia.

The largest government party, Ennahdha, has prior to and since the elections gone to great lengths to underscore its democratic intentions and religiously moderate inclinations. “We do not wish to turn Tunisia into an Islamic state”, says the party. Skeptics assert that that it is a carefully orchestrated act intended to sneak Islamism in through the back door. They make reference to the repeated confrontations that have taken place between secularists and salafists at universities and elsewhere since the new government came to power.

A time of guarded optimism for the media

The key point of pressure on the government applied by media and many civil society actors at this time is to ensure that the new constitution enshrines freedom of expression and access to information. The cementation of these universal rights is seen to be the precondition for any genuine gains regarding media freedom and the protection of civil liberties at large.

Before January 2011, Tunisian media was largely based in the country’s capital Tunis, owned or controlled by the ruling family and its cronies and censorship was stringent. Opposition media existed only in exile. Since the revolution much focus has been on formal reform of the media. The first interim government drafted and passed new media laws, put in place an interim broadcasting regulatory body and from this body in mid-2011 received recommendations for licensing of 12 new radio stations.

To date, however, formal licenses have not been allotted to any new radio station and legally none of them are therefore allowed to broadcast. While the new prime minister has publicly stated that his government will implement the new media laws, he has also questioned their content and critics note that no action has so far been taken to support the government’s stated commitment. Hence little has de facto changed when it comes to media reform.

That said, the government appears to be responding attentively to loud and concerted lobbying from media stakeholders such as the journalist union Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens (SNJT). It however remains a time of vigilance and guarded optimism. The transition is in its early stages and media activists note that they will only trust the government’s stated commitment to principles of a free press when a new constitution enshrines freedom of expression and access to information and conducive new media laws are put in place following extensive consultations with the media sector itself.

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