When 'Freedom' Becomes Too Free for the State
Tunisian rights groups are crying foul over the government’s dissolution of the National Authority for Access to Information (INAI), an independent body established post-Arab Spring to safeguard public transparency. The government, fresh from a 2021 power grab by President Kais Saied, simply reassigned staff, effectively neutering any push for accountability. This isn’t just a 'setback for
freedoms' as Arab News suggests; it’s a playbook move: First, capture the judiciary, then dismantle independent oversight, and finally, smother any mechanism that allows citizens to question power. (Sound familiar, 'democratic' allies?) When the authorities control the information, they control the narrative, ensuring embarrassing facts about corruption, policy failures, or international dealings
(like those cozying up to nations with questionable human rights records) never see the light of day. Apparently, some governments prefer their 'freedoms' tightly controlled and conveniently opaque.