Human Rights First Calls on President Bush to Highlight Human Rights Issues in Meeting with Tunisian President Ben Ali on February 17


NEW YORK – President Bush’s February 17 meeting with Tunisian President Zine el Abdine Ben Ali’s at the White House will serve as a key test of the United States’ commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Human Rights First said today.

Tunisia has been a strong U.S. ally in efforts to improve global security, but its human rights record is poor. Since coming to power 16 years ago, President Ben Ali has moved aggressively to silence peaceful dissent.

In a letter sent to President Bush on February 12, Human Rights First called on President Bush to “demonstrate that your Administration will indeed expect a higher standard of respect for human rights from Tunisia and, by extension, other U.S. allies in the region.”

The letter, which is signed by Human Rights First Executive Director Michael Posner, praises President Bush for articulating his “forward strategy for freedom in the Middle East.” The policy “stands as a welcome departure from past U.S. policies that too often were willing to tolerate the repressive practices of U.S. allies in that region,” says Posner in the letter.

“At the same time, many people in the region remain skeptical about the long-term U.S. commitment to promote democracy and human rights in the Middle East, believing that the United States still prefers to coexist with many of the region’s authoritarian regimes rather than promote real change,” continues Posner. “We believe that your meeting next Tuesday with President Ben Ali provides an excellent opportunity to begin to dispel such skepticism.”

In particular the letter calls on President Bush to raise a number of human rights issues with President Ben Ali including:

• Request that he permit independent human rights organizations like the National Council for Civil Liberties (CNLT) and the Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP) to function freely.
• Ask him to launch a public investigation into the assault against human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine on January 5, 2004 – the most recent of many attacks on human rights activists in Tunisia.
• Ask that he lifts restrictions on the press by granting licenses to independent newspapers and magazines. For example, Sihem Bensedrine’s application to register her publication Kalima has been rejected three times.

To see a copy of the letter which was sent to the President go to www.HumanRightsFirst.org.

For more information about human rights in Tunisia go to:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/middle_east/tunisia/hrd_tunisia.htm