Yesterday I noted the plight of Tunisian blogger Abdallah Zouari, whose endeavours to draw attention to human rights abuses in Tunisia have been roundly met with jail, internal exile and house arrest.
It is particularly surprising then, that President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali has vowed to “lavish special attention [...] and a receptive ear” on the Tunisian expatriate community in Britain.
Speaking at the Tunisian Embassy yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi underscored the keenness of the President to:
improve their situation [...] concerns and aspirations, strengthen their bonds with the motherland, consolidate the contribution of Tunisian skills abroad to the national development and reinforce Tunisia’s attributes of progress and invulnerability. [Source]
At this point the notion of ‘charity starts at home’ springs to mind.
The idea that ”Tunisia relies on all its sons, at home and abroad, to forge ahead on the way of materializing the targets set and win the stakes” is so utterly twee and futile.
The targets should comprise human rights and the stakes freedom of expression.
Once the rabid censorship ceases, perhaps the “special attention” would lose its disingenuousness.
Filed under: Africa , North Africa, Tunisia, Tunisie, تونس
