Day: July 7, 2023

The leaders in Tunisia and the United States "have the duty and the responsibility to nurture and strengthen our relations and contacts on a regular basis, with frankness and vision, in order to serve best, our mutual interests and respond effectively, to the numerous current global and vital challenges, which by far exceed the capabilities of each country alone," said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad Nabil Ammar on the US Independence Day.

He added in an address during a ceremony held on Thursday evening by the US embassy in Tunisia on the occasion of the 247th anniversary of the US independence, that "Tunisia and the United States of America have always stood together, and have been united at all crucial historical moments, be it for one of the two countries or for both at the same time," according to a foreign department press release.

"Our cooperation is diversified and a strategic one. It covers many areas: political and security dialogue, economic, commercial and financial cooperation, scientific research, communication technologies, environmental protection, transport, healthcare etc. Our achievements are consistent," Ammar considered.

"And the good news is that we can do much more!," he said, pointing notably to the sectors of tourism, crafts, culture, investment, olive oil and local products, services and communication.

"The potential is very promising, and is just waiting for the intensification of contacts between our operators to begin to materialize," he specified, reiterating "call to multiply meetings between the economic actors of the two countries, in particular from the private sector, in order to establish a real advantageous and sustainable partnership for both sides."

"It is this very dynamic that will favor a healthy and sustainable recovery of the Tunisian economy, which will nurture and strengthen the protection, by Tunisians themselves, of their freedoms and their ability to enjoy them with full responsibility," the FM considered.

US Ambassador to Tunisia Joey Hood stressed for his part, that relations between his country and Tunisia "are strong today and I am sure they will continue to be strong for years to come," an embassy press release reads.

He recalled that the USA were the first great power to recognize Tunisia's independence in 1956, adding: "our relations actually go back to 1799, when we concluded our first treaty of friendship and trade."

Minister of Finance Sihem Boughdiri was also present at the ceremony.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Interior Minister Kamel Feki and Algerian Ambassador to Tunisia Azzouz Baallal, on Friday, conducted a comprehensive review of the state of cooperation between the Tunisian and Algerian Interior Ministries.

The two parties exchanged their viewpoints on means to bolster bilateral relations, particularly in the realm of irregular migration, as per a statement released by the Interior Ministry.

Furthermore, the two officials discussed avenues for developing the border regions in the mutual interest of the two fraternal nations.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The High Independent Authority of Audiovisual Communication (HAICA) held a conference on Friday in Tunis on «Media and Justice: Areas of Intervention to Preserve Rights and Freedoms.»

The conference aims to "establish a relationship between the media and justice within a participatory approach where roles are more clearly defined."

A draft of the Tunis Declaration on the areas of intervention for media and justice to preserve rights and freedoms will be announced at the conclusion of this conference, as per HAICA.

This conference, attended by experts in the fields of justice and media, takes place within the context of the «need to open a debate on freedom of expression and information and the role of justice in establishing mechanisms capable of guaranteeing these freedoms and protecting the journalist's right to information," according to an introductory note.

Member of the HAICA council Radhia Saïdi said this conference is organised in a delicate national context where calls for judicial independence and freedom of expression and information are increasing. «There are attempts to weaken HAICA, particularly by undermining its decision-making power, especially since the retirement of its former president Nouri Lajmi, last January,» she said.

Since that date, the council of the institution has been unable to publish its decisions to the public, regarding certain media institutions and numerous projects submitted to HAICA.

Among the attempts to bypass the prerogatives of the regulatory body, she continued, is "issuing a court decision prohibiting audiovisual media from commenting on the case known as the conspiracy against state security.»

It is necessary to launch a debate among justice, media, and the regulatory body to define the areas and limits of intervention in order to preserve rights and freedoms, she added.

On his part, president of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) Yassine Jlassi noted a «return of state mechanisms, including the judiciary, to prior control over media content.»

To prosecute 23 journalists within three months based on Decree-Law No. 54 of September 13, 2022, regarding offenses related to information and communication systems constitutes a clear violation of Decree-Laws No. 115 and 116 governing the media sector, according to Jlassi.

For him, «this is a policy of the current government aimed at undermining the rights and achievements of the information sector."

Prosecutor General at the Court of Appeals in Monastir and spokesperson for the courts of Monastir and Mahdia Farid Ben Jha emphasised in a statement to the media the imperative of enacting an organic law that clearly defines the areas of intervention for the media in ongoing cases.

He also stressed the need to respect the role of HAICA in regulating the audiovisual landscape.

This conference was organised in partnership with UNESCO, Article 19, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), and SNJT.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Since 2005, Burkinabe photographer Warren Boureima Saré has made it his mission to make visible the emblematic figures of the history of the two world wars, of Indochina and Algeria through his masterpiece entitled "Veterans Combatants", published by Eiffage Senegal.

“Veterans” is a work that traces the poignant testimonies of the tragic period of more than 400 veterans around the world during and after the two world wars in Indochina and Algeria,” said photographer Warren Boureima Saré .

According to him, this work revives the feelings of compassion, humanism and solidarity that the combatants maintained on the battlefields, through several testimonies from African and French soldiers.

For pan-African work and the duty of memory, Mr. Saré traveled through several West African countries, namely the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Niger, Guinea, Burkina Faso and France to the search for these men who marked history.

"I, as the great-grandson of an African skirmisher, through this book, I encourage the young generation to discover their roots, to learn from our common memory and to banish all kinds of violence so that together we can build a better world," he said.

The Burkinabé photographer informed that the first edition of the book "Veterans combatants" had 600 copies of which 103 books were sold at the fixed price of 10,000 FCFA and the 497 others shared with structures.

Mr. Saré also informed that a second edition of the book "Anciens Combattants" is in progress and the unit price is set at 25,000 FCFA.

He also announced the upcoming arrival of his second jewel entitled "Brother in arms or brotherhood in arms" which is a source of meditation for true social cohesion and the promotion of lasting peace in the world.

Warren Boureima Saré is a native of Béguédo in the Center-East region of Burkina Faso. Despite the fact that he did not have the chance to go to white school, this handicap was not an obstacle to his desire to become a reference in the field of Burkinabe photography.

Source: Burkina Information Agency

Me Mohamadou Paré, member of the SCPA Council, invited Friday to trust the Burkinabè justice which has just released its clients, the journalists Alain Traoré and Lookman Sawadogo for the benefit of the doubt.

“We must trust the justice of Burkina Faso. We deployed our arguments and legal means to say that what Alain Alain and Lookman were accused of was not proven and that we simply had to do them justice, ”said the lawyer for the defendants Alain Traoré dit Alain Alain and Lookman Sawadogo, Me Mohamadou Paré.

Me Paré was speaking at the High Court of Ouaga I following the verdict of the trial of "Marcel Tankoano and 9 others" on the audio case calling for the burning of the Mogho Naaba palace.

“It is a sensitive file and if a court manages to issue a release decision against certain defendants, we believe, we lawyers for Messrs. Traoré Alain and Sawadogo Lookman, that it is a courageous decision”, he affirmed.

For him, the court rendered a wise decision because "you have followed with us all the debates which have sometimes leaned towards the offense against state security".

Note that the trial on the audio case calling for the burning of the Mogho Naaba palace began on June 21 and reached its verdict this Friday, July 7, 2023 at the TGI Ouaga I.

By the way, the court sentenced Marcel Tankoano, the mastermind, to four years in prison and a fine of 5 million FCFA, all firm.

Two years in prison and a fine of 1 million FCFA for Boukaré Tapsoba, while Karim Koné receives one year in prison and a fine of 1 million FCFA.

As for the defendants Pascal Zaïda and Abdoul Karim Baguian dit Lota, they were sentenced to 30 months with a fine of 2 million FCFA each.

Belem Souleymane, the only defendant who appeared free, for his part, got off with a six-month suspended prison sentence.

Source: Burkina Information Agency