Tunisia: Tunisians are pleased with the decision to close down the illegal Ennahdha Chanel ”Zitouna”
The Tunisian authorities have shut down the Zitouna satellite channel, which is close to the Renaissance movement, after years of being accused of spreading sedition and extremism and serving suspicious goals against the Tunisian state and its people, especially after the decisions of July 25, to freeze the work of parliament and dissolve the Tunisian government.
Security forces shut down the foreign-funded Zitouna Channel in the presence of members of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication and officials from the Ministry of Justice. Authorities said the measures were taken because there were no legal permits needed to broadcast the channel, which has been in operation since 2012.
19 Organizations support the closure of the Zitouna Brotherhood Channel
In a joint statement, 19 Tunisian organizations expressed their satisfaction with the application of the law on the Zitouna Brotherly Channel and the decision to close it, against the background of their dubious objectives, by spreading the division among Tunisians, the partisan propaganda of Renaissance, discrediting their opponents and disregarding the decisions of the Independent High Commission for Audiovisual Arts, “the organizing body of the sector in the country.”
The organizations said: The closure was issued four years ago, but the Brotherhood’s Renaissance Movement delayed its implementation, taking advantage of its presence in government to protect its founder and leader, Osama bin Salem, son of former Minister Moncef Ben Salem.
In their statement, the organizations expressed the hope that the Independent High Commission for Audiovisual Broadcasting would put an end, as soon as possible, to the illegal broadcasts of “Nessma” and “Hannibal” television channels and the Holy Quran radio, which said: She’s trading in religion.
“The previous governments stood by watching Zitouna Channel’s rebellion against the law as a result of the tightening of the grip of political and financial lobbies on the media, flagrant violations of journalistic ethics, horrific exploitation of young journalists, and the abuse of the status of the press profession in society,” she said.
The organizations called on the next government to “pay attention to the issue of public and private media reform”, calling on President Kais Saied “to take care to avoid falling into the trap of those who promote fake news through social networks”.
Signatory organizations include: the Tunisian Association for the Defense of Individual Freedoms, the Association for the Observance of Democracy and the Civil State, the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Tunisia, the National Observatory for the Defense of the Civil State, and the Tunisian Coalition.
Earlier, the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication called on media organizations that do not have broadcasting licenses in Tunisia to enter the legal system and apply the regulations contained in Decree 116, or stop broadcasting voluntarily, to distance themselves from the legal procedures and the closure.
Chanel with suspicious relationships
Badrah Gaaloul, director of the International Center for Security and Strategic Studies in Tunisia, said: The Zitouna satellite channel is a Muslim Brotherhood channel affiliated with Osama Bin Salem, son of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Ben Salem. The channel was established with external funding and is a propaganda for Brotherhood policies.
The Director of the International Center for Security and Strategic Studies in Tunisia added to “Al-Arab Mubasher” that this channel is the media arm on which the Renaissance Brotherhood depends, and I believe that the decision to close it was delayed for years, due to the illegal things surrounding this Brotherhood channel and its suspicious relations abroad, to target the security of the country.
Rogue channel about law
Tunisian lawyer Yassine Azaza said: “The Zitouna Muslim Brotherhood Channel is a rogue channel about the law in the time of Fatwa and bullying against the Tunisian state,” referring to the Brotherhood’s rule.
On his official Facebook page, he called for the law to be applied to everyone and said there was no room for silence on such policies.
Tunisian journalist Mohamed Hadj Mansour said: “Closing the Muslim Brotherhood Channel is just a push on the bill.”
“Shutting down Zitouna channel and directing the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication to issue a final warning about the immediate closure of the broadcast before the equipment is confiscated for Brotherhood media channels and anyone who wraps them, Nessma and Hannibal, is a step forward,” he said in a Facebook post.
In previous statements, Nouri lajmi, head of Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Audiovisual Communication, said that Zitouna had significant political backing from Ennahdha and that it had not presented any financial liability, which means complicity.
He continued: “But today, Tunisia is witnessing a revolution against corruption, and there is a political trend that is working on supporting this trend.”
