Tunisia seeks security reform 9/8/11

Tunisia seeks security reform

Tunisia seeks security reform

Relations between Tunisian citizens and policemen are still tense almost seven months after the Tunisian revolution and the cancellation of political police.

By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 09/08/11


[Reuters/Zoubeir Souissi] Riot police chase after anti-government protesters in Tunis on May 6th, 2011.

Tunisia's interim government is beginning to take steps to reform the security services, transforming a tool of repression into one that safeguards citizens.

The topic of police reform was the subject of a recent Tunis forum, where attendees called for amending laws and respecting people's basic liberties. Abd Hamid Jarraiya, secretary-general of the Internal Security Forces Union, told participants that the role of security personnel needs to change from protecting the presidency to protecting the citizens.

"A new chapter must be added in the Tunisian constitution whereby the security forces would be described as personnel working for the protection of Tunisian people and the revolution," Jarraiya said at the July 29th seminar.

The interim administration will focus on reform in five areas, according to Interior Minister Habib Essid. The media, municipal security, decentralisation, newspaper and association permits and relations between the interior ministry and political parties will be among the first areas examined.

Reforming the security sector will take time, according to Taoufik Dimassi, Director of Public Security in Tunisia. In an interview with Tunisian television, he denied that torture was still practiced at security centres.

"Now a security agent wouldn't move if something was illegal, even in the simplest of things, let alone torturing some people," Dimassi said. "This is impossible."

In his turn, Lazher Akrmi, minister delegate in charge of reforms at the interior ministry, said: "Why don't we reach a level in which we see Tunisian citizens taking photos next to policemen, like the case in Britain?"

However, a recent human rights report on post-revolution security alleged that bad actors remain in the security services and that the situation has not changed since the revolution. The International Federation for Human Rights prepared the July 20th report in conjunction with the Tunisian Human Rights League and the National Council of Freedoms.
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According to some reports, there were once more than 100,000 security agents in Tunisia. But former Interior Minister Farhat Rajhi said the number was no more than 50,000.

Meanwhile, rights activist Radia Nasraoui, head of the Association for Combating Torture, claimed that torture is still ongoing in Tunisia, an allegation denied by Dimassi, who called on anyone who was tortured after January 14th to produce the evidence so that the ministry could take action.

"The way they receive us at the security centres has not changed and the way security agents talk is still the same," commented Sania, a housewife.

Security officers lack a set of guidelines and there needs to be foreign instructors to reform the sector, according to Abdallah Abid of the Constitutional Reform Party.
This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.