The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) joins the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in expressing solidarity to the journalists and other workers of Dar Assabah, the Tunisian media group, who went on strike demanding editorial freedom at its three publications, namely the Arabic daily Assabah, the French daily Le Temps and the Arabic weekly Al-Assabah Ousbouî.
According to the National Union of Tunisian
Journalists (SNJT in french), a FAJ affiliate, journalists and staff of the
media house are demanding the departure of Lotfi Touati, recently appointed
Chief Executive Officer of Dar Assabah.
Mr. Touati, who served as a police commissioner and chief editor of the French daily Le Qotidien, was a strong supporter of the policy of former President Ben Ali. His appointment was seen as an attempt by the new government to maintain control over Dar Assabah which was known for its independence under the leadership of its founder Habib Cheokhrouhou.
The media house was subsequently taken over by
Ben Ali’s family after its acquisition by Sakhr Al-Materi, son-in-law of the
former President.
Media workers of Dar Assabah also ask that
arrears to the media house be converted into shares of its capital and that they have the priority to
purchase the shares held by the state, following seizure of assets belonging to
Ben Ali’s family.
“The reputation of a media organization is based
on its editorial integrity and independence. We support the rightful demand of
journalists and media workers of Dar Assabah because it is the only way to
guarantee their freedom of conscience and independent practice of public
service journalism,” said Omar Faruk Osman, FAJ President. “The readers
of the three newspapers must be able to trust the Dar Assabah and be confident
that its editorial decisions are not influenced by outside interests, whether
political or personal”, he added.
For more information, please contact IFJ on +221- 33 867 95 87
The IFJ represents more than 600.000 journalists in 134 countries