Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Civil Society Protests Tunisian Human Rights Actions at WSIS

In the face of police repression, civil society cancels activities: Many international NGOs taking part in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) collectively decided to cancel their activities planned for November 15, at WSIS. This measure was to make government, private sector and civil society delegates aware of the human rights violations over the previous two days, including beatings of journalists by police and the breaking-up of meetings since November 13. It was also a clear showing of solidarity with all independent NGOs in Tunisia.

Police Repression: At 09.30 am on Monday, November 14, 2005, at the Place d’Afrique in Tunis, more than 30 plainclothes policemen -- under the incredulous eyes of the participants at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) -- manhandled, insulted, and then violently beat journalists and human rights defenders.

Website Closed: The website of the Citizens' summit on the information society (CSIS) was effectively off-line to all internet users in Tunisia including delegates to the UN summit on the information society on November 14. It appears that Tunisian authorities have started to intensify their crackdown on legitimate initiatives related to the World Summit on the information Society (WSIS).

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