Tunisia
Tunisia: the struggle continues
Seven years ago I visited the police state of Tunisia for the absurd UN Summit on the Information Society. Absurd because the UN was celebrating the information society in a decaying, corrupt dictatorship which led the world in internet censorship. We protested at the unjust imprisonment and torture of human rights defender Mohammed Abbou. We visited the hunger strikers who had launched a fast for human rights and democracy on 18th October.
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Values?
It was inspiring to listen to Thomas Hammarberg in Dublin on Wednesday. The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe was hugely impressive in a question and answer session that ranged from bullying on social networking sites, to the rights of Roma and Irish Travellers, to the situation of human rights defenders in Chechnya and Serbia.
One of the most powerful points he made was about what he described as a crisis in European values. He spoke about the difficulties posed by the arrival of 23/24,000 migrants in Italy from Tunisia. Migrants who mostly will not have a legitimate fear of persecution and will therefore eventually be returned to Tunisia. In spite of the relatively small numbers it has sparked racist rhetoric from Berlusconi and moves to close borders within the European Union.
At the same time the fragile new Government in Tunisia has accepted 260,000 to 270,000 refugees from Libya without closing the border. Who would you be more proud of?
Not those who run Formula 1 motor racing. F1 lives in a parallel universe where ethics are aerodynamic and sponsored by multinationals.
Recent Reports from Tunisia
Reports received this morning indicate that 3000 people are demonstrating outside the offices of the Prime Minister demanding further reform and a complete break with the Ben Ali regime.
All now seems to depend on the attitude of the army and whether they decide to intervene.Front Line is calling on the new government to take immediate steps to ensure that human rights defenders are no longer targeted and are able to go about their work freely.
Recent Reports from Tunisia
Reports received this morning indicate that 3000 people are demonstrating outside the offices of the Prime Minister demanding further reform and a complete break with the Ben Ali regime.
All now seems to depend on the attitude of the army and whether they decide to intervene.Front Line is calling on the new government to take immediate steps to ensure that human rights defenders are no longer targeted and are able to go about their work freely.
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