President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on Friday urged Tunisia's journalists and media to strive for a free and "audacious" press, saying freedom of expression was a fundamental right, according to Reuters. Rights groups accuse Tunisia's government of stifling press freedom and have repeatedly demanded more tolerance of dissent. In a statement ahead of World Press Freedom day on Saturday, Ben Ali said his government had carried out several legal and political measures to develop a free and vibrant media. "We have constantly considered freedom of expression as a fundamental human right," Ben Ali said. "We reiterate our call to redouble efforts ... to diversify and enrich spaces of dialogue in the various media to guarantee a developed and audacious national information ... away from all forms of self-censorship and external censorship," he said.
