[WSIS CS-Plenary] Preperation for Tunis...

[Robert Guerra]

Given the # of reports about press freedoms and human rights  issues 
in Tunisia - I would assume we'd want to get a copy of the host 
country agreement between the UN and Tunisia to see what type of 
protection and immunity is given to delegates of the PrepCom.

As has been raised before - Tunis, and Tunisia isn't as liberal, free 
and respectful of rights as is Switzerland - as such, we should air 
on the side of caution. I would not want any colleagues to get 
arrested, or worse - imprisoned for activities which are acceptable 
and perfectly legal in their home country

I thus propose a couple of things:

(1) In collaboration with the C&T group, draft a petition - to ask 
the UN, ITU & Tunisian government for a copy of the Host country 
agreement for this and any future prepcoms.

(2) As part of the petition we insist that censorship at the 
conference site (as occurred at the march informal meeting) is 
inconsistent and incompatible with CS participation

For those of you who did'nt read the earlier reports - Both the Human 
Rights watch and Amnesty International sites where blocked at the 
Informal Meeting internet cafe setup for all delegates. How do we 
know if our own NGO sites are blocked too...this completely 
unacceptable!

- http://www.hrw.org
- http://www.amnesty.org

(3) For as much as we "hear"  there's a Tunisian CS/NGO coordination 
group - can we please find out more about them. Who are they? Are 
they really CS or just appointees by the Tunisian government ?

CS groups in Tunisia that i know - aren't getting any information 
about how to participate in the process. So i'm frankly worried that 
all the talk about "inclusion" in Tunisia isn't in fact correct...

(4) The Tunisian prepcom will be TWO days - that's awful short and 
makes it very expensive for those coming from abroad to justify the 
trip.

Are there any plans, or should there be any plans  to organize an 
event around the prepcom to prepare ourselves and interact with 
independent CS in Tunisia. No doubt an information gathering event - 
where we'd learn more about the reality of the country and find ways 
to construct dialogue and partnerships with all sectors of the 
society there.

but again - we need to know in precise terms from the Tunsian 
authorities what are the limits they are imposing on us. Can we get 
written confirmation that host country immunity applies to us? if 
not, we need to - we must - be careful in who we meet and what we do 
when we are in the country.

A case in point - though I was an invited official participant of the 
march informal meeting, i had to wait over TWO hours at the airport 
to get my passport returned.  is this "expedited" treatment? if so, 
there sure will be long line-ups for the prepcoms and the summit in 
2005.

regards

Robert

At 9:26 AM -0400 4/15/04, Rik Panganiban wrote:
>Rainer, et al,
>
>I have been doing some research on this.  Generally the cheapest 
>accommodations in Hammamet I have found are around 100 USD per day. 
>Others have told me they know of hotels that cost closer to 80 USD, 
>but I have not found those same prices. It is a resort town, so 
>housing will be at a premium during this vacation period in June. 
>Which means that people should book as soon as possible because even 
>the more expensive rooms might not be available.
>
>I have sent a message to the Tunisian NGO coordination site hoping 
>that they may be of some help.
>
>- Rik Panganiban

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Robert Guerra <rguerra at privaterra.org>
Privaterra - <http://www.privaterra.org>