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DE RUEHTU #1021/01 1220621
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C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001021 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/FO (GRAY), NEA/MAG (GERMAINE,LAWRENCE), 
NEA/PPD (FERNANDEZ, SMITH, AGNEW), NEA/PI (MULENEX, KIRBY), 
NEA/PA, NEA/IPA, I/GNA, DRL, CWG-PD 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2016 
TAGS: PREL KDEM KPAO EAID PHUM KMPI TS
SUBJECT: HUNGER STRIKE BY TWO TUNISIAN JOURNALISTS NOT A 
CLEAR CUT HUMAN RIGHTS CASE 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William J. Hudson; reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
1.(C) Summary: Reporters Without Borders (RWB) and 
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) recently 
released updates on two Tunisian journalists on hunger strike 
in protest of their dismissals from the nominally private, 
but GOT-controlled, Arabic language daily newspaper "Ash 
Shourouq."  Although RWB and IFEX identify these journalists 
as human rights activists, their cases are, in reality, much 
less clear cut given the fact that they are both on hunger 
strike in hopes of being reinstated at a newspaper that is 
known for its close alliance with the GOT and its consistent 
attacks on Tunisian opposition and human rights activists. 
End Summary. 
 
A Word about "Ash Shourouq" 
--------------------------- 
2.(C) "Ash Shourouq" is the most widely read Arabic-language 
daily newspaper in Tunisia.  Boasting a circulation of 80,000 
(the closest competitor has only half that circulation), "Ash 
Shourouq" has an editorial line that is pro-GOT and extremely 
anti-American. At the same time that its daily headlines 
praise Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi "resistance," "Ash 
Shourouq" also frequently publishes editorials containing 
scandalous attacks on Tunisian opposition and human rights 
figures. Sources at the newspaper report that most of these 
editorials are sent to the newspaper directly from the 
Presidential Palace.  While it is nominally private, it is 
widely known to receive editorial direction from GOT 
officials; its editors are frequently decorated by President 
Ben Ali and serve in a variety of quasi-official entities, 
such as the Electoral Observatory (a body created by the GOT 
to respond to public inquiries about Tunisian elections). 
 
Journalists on Hunger Strike 
---------------------------- 
3.(C) Two former journalists at "Ash Shourouq"  are currently 
on hunger-strike.  Slim Boukhdir began his hunger strike on 
April 4, 2006, in protest of his dismissal from "Ash 
Shourouq," as well as the confiscation of his passport and 
his press card.  In August 2004, Boukhdir came to 
international attention when he posed a question during a 
local press conference implying that relatives of the 
President had pressured the judiciary to influence the 
outcome of a legal case.  Following the press conference, he 
was allegedly assaulted by two police agents and subsequently 
received threatening phone calls from unknown sources.  In 
September 2004, Boukhdir claimed that his house was also 
broken into.  His case was documented in the State Department 
2004 Human Rights Report as an example of GOT intimidation of 
journalists. 
 
4.(C) According to journalists and human rights contacts, 
after his run-in with the Tunisian authorities, Boukhdir 
found himself unable to work in Tunisia and sought assistance 
from noted Tunisian human rights activist, author and 
journalist Sihem Ben Sedrine.  Ben Sedrine confirmed that she 
was aware of his case and invited him to work with her at her 
unauthorized on-line newspaper, "Kalima;"  unfortunately, as 
"Kalima" has a minuscule budget, she could not offer him the 
salary that he needed to support his family.  Journalists who 
know Boukhdir report that, at the same time, he was 
approached by journalists close to the GOT, who negotiated a 
deal in which Boukhdir would refrain from joining the ranks 
of the human rights activists in exchange for employment at 
"Al Hadath," a weekly newspaper generally considered to be 
the mouthpiece of the Tunisian Ministry of Interior.  After a 
few months, again with reported GOT assistance, Boukhdir 
transferred from "Al Hadath" to "Ash Shourouq." 
 
5.(C) Despite his decision to negotiate with the GOT, 
Boukhdir continued to have problems.  Boukhdir also claims 
that the GOT has refused to issue him either a passport or a 
press card.  The Tunisian Journalists Association (AJT) 
additionally refused to grant him a membership card, claiming 
that he lacked the appropriate educational qualifications for 
participation in the association.  Characterized by other 
journalists as a "loose cannon,"  Boukhdir apparently 
vacillated between following the "Ash Shourouq" pro-GOT 
editorial line and submitting more independent articles that 
the "Ash Shourouq" editor refused to publish.  Boukhdir 
meanwhile published a number of articles on Alarabiya.net 
that included stories on the Tunisian opposition and the 
October 18 hunger strike.  Boukhdir reported varying examples 
of harassment at his work place, including being barred from 
 
entering his office and the suspension of his salary as of 
November 2005.  The matter came to a head on April 1, 2006, 
when Boukhdir published an article on Alarabiya.net that 
discussed "Ash Shourouq's" close ties to the GOT. He was 
subsequently fired (or, as some sources report, his contract 
was not renewed) by "Ash Shourouq," prompting him to go on 
hunger strike. 
 
6.(C) On April 18, 2006, another journalist, Sheherazade 
Akacha, began a hunger-strike in protest of her dismissal 
from "Ash Shourouq."  Tunisian journalists appear mystified 
at her sudden activism, as she has been gainfully employed at 
the newspaper for a few years, during which time she even 
denounced other journalists who were speaking out against the 
abusive behavior of the "Ash Shourouq" editors.  According to 
sources at the newspaper, Akacha was dismissed last year from 
"Ash Shourouq" when the owner and director decided to fire 
staff as a cost-saving measure.  The AJT intervened on her 
behalf and she was reinstated.  According to the RWB and IFEX 
releases, Akacha declined to write an article for the 
newspaper's November 7, 2005 supplement, noting her refusal 
to have stories "dictated to her."  A source at "Ash 
Shourouq" explained that Akacha refused to complete her 
assignment of interviewing Tunisian parliamentarians, citing 
her leftist political beliefs as the reason that she could 
not participate in such an exercise.  As a result, the "Ash 
Shourouq" editor-in-chief asked her to fill out a 
questionnaire explaining her decision; Akacha refused to 
complete the form and instead sent it to "TunisNews," an 
independent opposition website based in Europe.  The source 
at "Ash Shourouq" explained that a decision was then taken by 
the "Ash Shourouq" editorial staff to allow Akacha's contract 
to run its course without renewing it.  Akacha's contract 
expired on April 18, when she began her hunger strike. 
 
Comment 
------- 
7.(C) Ben Sedrine, RWB, and IFEX maintain that these ongoing 
hunger strikes are a direct result of the lack of freedom of 
expression in Tunisia.  This is true to the extent that the 
GOT control of the press forces local journalists to conform 
strictly to pro-GOT editorial lines at the same time that it 
restricts the creation of new media outlets that could serve 
as alternatives for Tunisian media professionals who wish to 
change jobs. This situation is also exacerbated by the fact 
that "Ash Shourouq" is controlled by officials in the GOT and 
ignores any ethical responsibility of allowing diversity of 
opinion or a separation of reporting and editorial lines. 
 
8.(C) It is important to note that both of these journalists 
are in a delicate position of having waited until their 
contracts expired to begin protests against "Ash Shourouq" 
and hoping to be reinstated at this newspaper known for its 
close relations with the GOT and attacks on human rights 
activists.  Tunisian journalists and outside observers, 
including those members of IFEX who recently visited Tunisia, 
additionally note that it is not unusual that a newspaper 
would refuse to renew the contract of journalists who do not 
wish to write in accordance with the media outlet's editorial 
line and that journalists cannot realistically demand to have 
contracts renewed under such conditions. 
HUDSON