Assassination is an extreme form of Censorship

Yesterday, I was asked by American freshmen students during the Arabic Cultural Hour I organized : "Do people in Tunisia live peacefully with each other". My answer was: "We do because we have been raised on a culture of tolerance and solidarity". I was even giving examples of how we saved and hosted the Jews during the Holocaust or how the extended family stand together in crises.

However, what I see today in Tunisia is none of our culture, spirit or grandma stories about the 50s and 60s.

Under two dictatorships, people were exiled, jailed, tortured, oppressed by those in power but NEVER assassinated. Though all the frustration it has been through these last two years, the Tunisian society has started to take a political shape, from over 100 emerging parties in 2011 to three major blocs today, from bullshit discussions and unknown figures on media outlets to diverse constructive debate, solid views and interesting figures and leaders' positions, from a very weak and submissive civil society to an empowered one, from traditional biased media to citizen journalism. Then, yesterday, everything is back to square one...

Every single life and soul of every Tunisian is worthy. The lives of children, man , women and all people and so is the life of those dedicated to public service. The assassination of Chokri Belaid is a sorrow for Tunisia not only because it is an act of killing a human being but also an act of extreme censorship to a leader who revealed corruption and voiced the voiceless.This is not censoring YouTube or Daily-motion, hacking blogs,Facebook Pages and Tweeter accounts, dispersing protests with teargas or bribing and shutting mouths.This is killing and censoring the heartbeat for Lifetime.

When journalists are arrested because they've taken photos for their articles, we ask where is freedom of expression? When everything is denied accessibility we ask where is transparency? When the corrupt hands are out of jail, we ask where is accountability? when political leaders are assassinated because of their positions, what shall we ask?

Alike, living under oppression and violations for years, Tunisians never had resort to violence as response to any form of oppression or crisis. The demands have always been through hunger strikes, peaceful protests and rallies that of course have always been successfully shut down until the revolution. However, today, people denounce for terror and violence and the extreme minds call for division.

I wonder who can be happy, by the end of the day, because of incitation to violence, contribution to killing, chaos or division! What I am sure of , it can be anyone but a real Tunisian patriot who loves Tunisia's soil, hold its flag and chant its anthem by heart!

 
This article is translated to Polish by Fundacja Afryka Inaczej check it out http://afryka.org/afryka/morderstwo-jako-skrajna-forma-cenzury,news/