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afrol News, 7 December - According to reports from Tunisia, a large number of foreign telephone numbers have been made inaccessible from Tunisia and many opponents' telephone lines have been cut. This follows a trend of opposition and media repression by the ruling party. In a letter addressed to Tunisian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the French media watchdog Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) protested against the newly imposed restrictions in communication with the outside world. According to RSF, recently "a large number of foreign telephone numbers have been made inaccessible from Tunisia". Access to the Internet has also become extremely difficult and post sent to opponents does not always arrive. Robert Ménard, RSF general secretary, asked the president "to take the necessary measures to put an end to the government's seizure of the means of communication". "This attitude shows that the Tunisian authorities are trying by all possible means to prevent Tunisians from communicating with the outside world," added Robert Ménard. According to information collected by RSF, the fixed and mobile telephone lines of a large number of opponents, including Sihem Bensedrine, Taoufik Ben Brik, Moncef Marzouki and Mustapha Ben Jaffar, have been cut. For the past few weeks it has been impossible to call certain foreign numbers from Tunisia, from either Tunisian fixed or mobile phones or even from a French mobile phone. Tunisians are unable to reach organisations like Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), the International Federation of Human Rights (IFHR) and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Further, journalists like Jean-Pierre Tuquoi from the French daily 'Le Monde', Florence Aubenas from 'Libération', Nicolas Beau from 'Le Canard Enchaîné', and Philippe Val from 'Charlie Hebdo', Mohammed Hachmi el Hamdi from 'Al Mustakillah' etc. were not possible to reach. The telephone numbers of several European members of parliament, including Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Hélène Flautre and Harlem Désir, are also on this black list, according to an RSF statement. Tunisian businessmen or human rights activists resident in France and anyone else known to militate for greater freedom in Tunisia have had their phone numbers blocked by the Tunisian authorities. - Access to the Internet is also very difficult, says RSF. "It takes hours to log on and many news sites such as that of Libération.fr and those concerned with human rights are totally inaccessible. Ordinary post is also strictly controlled; it either never arrives or is first opened." - More traditional forms of pressure are also being maintained, RSF claims. "The car of journalist Sihem Bensedrine was vandalised on the evening of 4 December. The side-view mirror and number plate were ripped off and the aerial bent." On 2 December a long interview with this human rights activist was broadcast on the London-based television channel Al Mustakillah, in which she spoke about her conditions of detention in July 2001.
Sources: Based on RSF
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