VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0868/01 2141213
ZNY CCCCC ZZH (TAO)
P 011213Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5431
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000868 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/MAG (NARDI/STEWART); DRL (JOHNSTONE/KLARMAN) 
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2018 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO TS
SUBJECT: CIVIL SOCIETY STRIKES BACK, OR AT LEAST IT TRIES 
TO (PART II OF II) 
 
REF: A. TUNIS 864 
     ¶B. TUNIS 826 
     ¶C. TUNIS 615 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C)  Despite the harassment and intimidation of Tunisian 
opposition and civil society groups (Ref A), many groups 
persist in their activism.  In spite of limits on their 
freedom of maneuver, several have managed to overcome 
government-imposed restrictions to attract attention to their 
causes, sometimes using extreme measures, for example hunger 
strikes.  Their success in effecting change, however, has 
been limited.  Ultimately, this will require the GOT to buy 
in to the notion that greater political openness is in its 
interest.  We know that there are some within the GOT who 
advocate political reform.  Sustained progress on freedoms 
likely hinges more on the ability of such reformers to change 
the government from within, than it does on the ability of 
activists to impose change from outside. 
 
¶2.  (C)  This is the second in a two-part series on civil 
society.  Part I focused on the means the GOT uses to target 
activists.  Part II examines activists' attempts to advance 
their reform-oriented goals, notwithstanding GOT pressures. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------- 
An Uphill Struggle... 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  Given the limits on freedom of expression and 
freedom of association, civil society groups have only a few 
options to get their message heard.  Hunger strikes have 
became increasingly popular after a broad range of Tunisian 
civil society, including secular opposition political 
leaders, human rights activists, Islamists, and lawyers came 
together under the banner of "the Movement of 18 October" in 
October 2005.  The movement launched a hunger strike to call 
for freedom of association, freedom of the press, and the 
release of political prisoners timed to coincide with the 
World Summit on the Information Society.  Over the last ten 
months there have been over a half-dozen hunger strikes in 
Tunisia.  The most significant of those were: 
 
-  The current and former Secretaries General of the 
opposition Progressive Democratic Party, Maya Jribi and Nejib 
Chebbi, went on a hunger strike in September 2007 to protest 
nine nearly simultaneous eviction proceedings against their 
regional and national offices.  The month-long hunger strike 
garnered international attention and a visit from the US 
Ambassador.  Ultimately, a compromise was reached. 
 
-  In November 2007, Mohamed Nouri and Slim Boukhdhir went on 
a two-week hunger strike protesting restrictions on freedom 
of movement.  Nouri and Boukhdhir ended the hunger strike 
after they were promised passports, but Boukhdhir was 
subsequently arrested.  He was sentenced to a year in prison 
on January 18, but was released early on July 21.  Boukhdhir 
also engaged in a several week-long hunger strike while he 
was in prison, protesting his harsh prison conditions. 
 
-  In November 2007, several high school teachers went on a 
38-day hunger strike, saying that they had been dismissed 
because of their political activities and not for cause. 
 
-  The Editor-in-Chief and a writer for the PDP's 
Arabic-weekly al-Mowqif went on a fifteen-day hunger strike 
in April 2008 when the distribution of the paper was 
disrupted and the editors were sued for libel.  The strikers 
asserted that the libel cases were in retaliation for 
Chebbi's presidential bid. 
 
-  Activist Said Rahmani went on a hunger strike on May 20 to 
protest police harassment.  Rahmani suffered from diabetes 
and died on May 22. 
 
---------------------- 
...With Uneven Results 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  However popular as a tool for expressing opposition, 
the effectiveness of hunger strikes is questionable.  The 
PDP's 2007 strike garnered international attention, but a 
judge still signed an eviction order for their party 
 
headquarters.  A government-prompted deal between the PDP and 
its landlord was only reached after the Ambassador visited 
Chebbi and Jribi and EU member nations sent a letter to 
President Ben Ali expressing humanitarian concern about the 
hunger strikers.  As for the strike of Nouri and Boukhdhir, 
while Nouri received his passport after his hunger strike, 
Slim Boukhdhir was subsequently incarcerated.  Moreover, 
Boukhdhir's July 21 early release was probably due more to 
behind-the-scenes diplomatic intervention than his hunger 
strike (Ref B).  The striking high school teachers were not 
reinstated, and the outcome of the libel case pending against 
al-Mowqif is uncertain.  The main argument in favor of hunger 
strikes is that, unlike demonstrations or sit-ins, they 
cannot be forcibly stopped by security forces, and they 
represent a concrete measure activists can take to draw 
attention to their grievances. 
 
----------------------------- 
Reaching Out Via Satellite TV 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  Access to domestic media outlets is restricted, but 
activists have been able to get their voices heard on 
pan-Arab satellite television.  For example, during recent 
demonstrations protesting poverty and high unemployment rates 
in the southern mining regions (Ref C), activists filmed 
demonstrations and wounded protesters, posting the images on 
the internet.  When al-Jazeera and other pan-Arab satellite 
stations picked up the story in June, the GOT issued a 
statement and formed an ad-hoc committee to address the 
situation, likely prompted by the media attention.  Denied 
access to most mainstream media outlets, the PDP's announced 
presidential candidate Nejib Chebbi has given several 
interviews to foreign media outlets while traveling abroad. 
 
------------------- 
Strength in Numbers 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C)  Recognizing that there is strength in numbers, many 
acts of civil society are a collective effort.  When 
opposition parties hold press conferences, representatives of 
rival parties are often present to show solidarity, if not 
always agreement.  During hunger strikes, support committees 
comprised of a broad range of civil society activists and 
intellectuals are often formed and petitions supporting their 
causes circulated.  When activists are on trial, domestic and 
international NGOs -- and Embassies -- send representatives 
to monitor the proceedings and show support.  This tactic 
creates a support network that provides human rights 
defenders not only moral support, but sometimes material and 
monetary assistance as well. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Political demonstrations and sit-ins are still 
relatively rare in Tunisia, but they could become more common 
due to widespread concerns about the rising prices of staple 
goods, high unemployment, and poverty rates (Ref C).  Their 
main disadvantage is that they are easily prevented or 
shut-down by security forces.  For example, Al-Jazeera 
correspondent Lotfi Hajji told us that he had attempted to 
take part in a sit-in in Bizerte in early June, to support 
the Redeyef protestors.  Security forces established several 
checkpoints to prevent access to the site where the sit-in 
was to take place.  When the Tunisian Human Rights League 
(LTDH) attempted to organize a similar rally in support of 
the citizens of Redeyef in mid-July, security forces blocked 
all routes leading to LTDH headquarters and prevented a crowd 
from assembling.  Security forces outnumber activists, thus 
they normally have little trouble preventing or dispersing 
opposition rallies.  Spontaneous or sudden demonstrations 
like those in Redeyef are more difficult for the government 
to control and have been met with more violent tactics. 
 
---------------------- 
Change from the Inside 
---------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C)  Bleak as the situation appears to many of our civil 
society contacts, we know that there are some reformers 
attempting to change the GOT from within.  According to UNDP 
and Dutch diplomats, Minister of Civil Service and 
Administrative Development Zouheir M'Dhaffar has been 
forward-leaning and responsive to their good governance 
initiatives.  Minister of Development and International 
Cooperation Mohamed Nouri Jouini has made comments that lead 
us to believe he supports reform, although he is not in a 
position to realize those aspirations.  Likewise, Moncer 
Rouissi, President of the governmental Higher Commission on 
Human Rights and Civil Liberties (HCHR), seems sincere in his 
 
efforts to help civil society, but limited in his ability 
bring about change.  Although he was successful in winning a 
passport for LTDH president Mokhtar Trifi, allowing Trifi to 
travel to an international human rights conference, Rouissi 
has not been able to mediate a truce between the LTDH and the 
GOT. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  While civil society activists have been able to win 
some concessions on their own, sustained progress on freedoms 
is impossible without cooperation with the GOT.  We are 
convinced that there is a pro-reform camp within the GOT, but 
progress has been uneven.  Unless and until officials inside 
the GOT and RCD make a strategic decision to embrace reform, 
the status quo is likely to continue.  Restrictions on 
freedom of association prevent civil society from creating 
strong institutions.  Limits on freedom of expression 
preclude activists from networking and coalition building, 
let alone effecting change.  Moreover, it is not at all clear 
that Tunisian civil society has time on its side.  Many 
Tunisian activists are over the age of 40; the majority are 
well into their 60s.  Without strong institutions and ties to 
support networks in other countries, the Tunisian activists 
of the future (what few there are) may have precious little 
to work with.  End Comment. 
GODEC