Fourth resignation deepens rift in Tunisian journalists' union

2009-06-29

Problems continue to plague the Tunisian journalists' union; Habib Chebbi's recent resignation may force the union to elect a new executive board.

By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 29/06/09

[Jamel Arfaoui] SNJT President Neji Bghouri (centre) accused the Tunisian government of orchestrating the resignations to disrupt the union's structure.

Members of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) failed on Friday (June 26th) to resolve an ongoing crisis within the organisation, days after another member of the executive board – Habib Chebbi – resigned, bringing the total to four.

According to union bylaws, unless Chebbi retracts his resignation within 15 days, the union must dissolve and call for a conference in the next two months to elect a new executive board.

"The game is over and we now have to abide by the law," said Sofien ben Rejab, another resigning member of the executive board.

The crisis erupted in May, when the SNJT published a report on the condition of press freedoms in Tunisia. The report, released to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, criticised authorities for harassing journalists and restricting their work by limiting their access to information. The report also called for improving the working conditions of journalists.

At the time, some members of the executive board accused SNJT President Neji Bghouri of acting unilaterally and of politicising the work of their union by creating problems with the government during an election year. Also, freedoms committee chairman Jamel Karmaoui accused the executive board of supporting the opposition and of failing to defend journalists' rights.

The discord resulted in the resignation of three members of the executive board, protesting against the union's president.

Bghouri denied all allegations, accusing the government of orchestrating the resignations to disrupt the union's structure. He said it was a reaction to his neutrality and the fact that he did not support any of the presidential candidates.

In the weeks after, according to sources who spoke to Magharebia on condition of anonymity, Bghouri tried to achieve a compromise with government authorities in order to put an end to the crisis and get past the dispute. The sources said Bghouri met with "a top government official", but the efforts were not successful.

In his resignation letter, Chebbi said that his decision to resign was final, "regardless of any cost". He urged the expanded executive board, which is a comprised of the heads of committees and members of the executive board, to "accelerate the examination of the vacancies and to schedule a date to hold the conference."

Younes Moujehed, a member of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), attended the meeting on Friday. He said the IFJ is not taking any sides in this crisis. "The IFJ is keen on the independence of the SNJT and on solving its internal problems without any intervention from any external entities," he added.

"Regardless of the severity of the professional and unionist disputes that can divide journalists from time to time, like the events of recent weeks," said Kamel ben Younes, chairman of the ethics committee and member of the expanded executive board, "let's give priority to the future structure and turn the page on the errors of the past in order to serve the interests of all journalists, especially the young and unregistered ones."

Meanwhile, Journalist Taoufik Ayachi, said, "Congratulations to those who managed to topple the legitimate board."

Ayachi, like many young journalists, believes the crisis will end on a positive note. "I have full confidence in journalists that they will regain the initiative and elect a new independent board that truly expresses the will of journalists during the next extraordinary meeting," he said.