Government bans new journalists' union from holding founding congress

Reporters Without Borders voiced shock today at the Tunisian government's decision to ban the Union of Tunisian Journalists (SJT) from holding a founding congress that had been planned for 7 September. "The United Nations agreed to hold its World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis in November in order to give President Ben Ali a chance to improve his record on free expression, but press freedom is still non-existent in Tunisia and now the authorities are harassing the SJT and forcing it to cease its activities," the organisation said. "We formally call on the Tunisian authorities to allow this union to hold its founding congress in accordance with the constitution and the laws in effect," Reporters Without Borders added. Lofi Hajji, the president of the union's founding committee, told Reporters Without Borders that he was told about the ban when the police summoned him for questioning for the fourth time this year. The ban applied both to the congress and to a seminar on "journalism and unions" that had been planned for the same week. The union would have to meet to decide what its reaction would be, he added. Article 8 of Tunisia's constitution says "trade union freedom is guaranteed." Tunisia has ratified the International Labour Office convention of 1949 enshrining the same principle. Tunisia's 1966 labour law recognises full union freedom. According to this law, the authorities only have to be notified when a union is created. Their agreement is not required. The authorities were notified in accordance with this law when the SJT established a founding committee composed of 150 journalists in May 2004. The SJT's stated aims are to defend press freedom, work conditions and professional ethics.