SNJT seeks to improve situation of journalists

Tunis: President of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), Zied Dabbar, said that the union is currently working on improving the situation of journalists, adding that «we are expecting positive results soon.»The media sector in Tunisia is "stricken" where a large number of journalists are facing impoverishment and are thus are unable to fully carry out their tasks, he pointed out.Speaking to TAP on Saturday, Dabbar added that the SNJT is also working to consolidate the legal arsenal relating to freedom of the press and freedom of the expression in the country.He mentioned the legal initiative amending the decree-law relating to the fight against offenses on information and communication systems which, according to him, was signed by 40 deputies.Concerning the professional difficulties of the sector, Zied Dabbar believes that the public media sector is going through a state of «quasi-paralysis» while the private media sector is struggling to «survive».Under current conditions, nearly 80% of private media are at risk of closing permanently, he said.Dabbar recalled that thirty-nine journalists are being prosecuted outside the framework of decree-law 115.Dabbar was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting held by the SNJT on World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on May 3 each year.Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse