During his meeting on Friday with a delegation of the executive board of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), Speaker of Parliament Brahim Bouderbala denied being informed of the decision to exclude journalists from the inaugural session of the Assembly, last Monday at the Bardo Palace. He affirmed his absolute respect for the freedom of the press.
Quoted in a statement issued by the SNJT, the Parliament Speaker expressed his openness to all media, assuring that he is listening to all proposals that are likely to organise the relationship between the Parliament and the media, in the framework of joint sessions between the union and the Assembly.
Brahim Bouderbala praised the contribution of the neutral and objective media in the success of the country’s events from July 25, 2021, until the election of members of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP), said a statement from the parliament.
He said that the relationship between the two parties will be organised within the framework of the rules of procedure that are being developed in committee.
For its part, the union delegation insisted on the consecration of the principle of transparency and the guarantee of the citizen’s right to information as well as his right to control the performance of his representatives. The union called for the need to allow all journalists, without exclusion, to attend the next plenary session, stressing the need to fight, together, against attempts to undermine the strategic partnership between MPs and journalists.
Only public media had access to the inaugural session of the new parliament on Monday, namely Tunisian radio and television as well as the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) news agency.
MP Fatma Mseddi told TAP that the decision to ban private and foreign media from the inaugural session was taken by a number of MPs who met before the session started.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)