New Tunisia News Agency CEO uses police access his office
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The new Chief Executive Officer of the Tunisia News Agency, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP), Kamel Ben Youssef, used the police on Tuesday to enter the agency's premises.
The agency's staff has rejected his appointment so he decided to use force to make his way to his office amidst protesting journalists.
This provoked widespread condemnation, including that of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (NUTJ), which stated that "the storming of TAP's premises by the police, who assaulted journalists, is aimed at imposing the installation of the new CEO by force", describing it as a "dangerous precedent" in the history of the news agency.
NUTJ blamed the government for the development saying "open confrontations would only further aggravate the situation and erase all trust between the different parties".
It called for a review of political and partisan appointments at the head of media institutions.
NUTJ also called for proper preparation for a strike scheduled for 22 April on the situation and invited journalists to come to TAP's offices to support their colleagues.
-0- PANA YY/IN/JSG/BBA/MA 14April2021
