Al Wataniya head sacked for interviewing ex-regime figure

Al Wataniya 1 state TV channel Tunis - Nébil Zaghdoud The head of the Al Wataniya 1 state TV channel has said that his sacking after interviewing an official of the former Tunisian regime was unfair and signified a "return to old practices". Al Sadiq Boban said in a statement to the state’s radio and news agency that the Al Wataniya as a state-run channel had no right to rule out any interviewee even if they were part of the former regime.
The Tunisian channel had announced Boban's dismissal on Saturday after a talk show host interviewed Abir Moussi, the Assistant Secretary General of the dissolved Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD).
The former head said that the programme al-Mashhad al-Siyasi (The Political Scene) that is broadcast by official television every Wednesday, which was the reason for the dismissal, had discussed the bill submitted by the Ennahda and the Congress for the Republic parties to the National Constituent Assembly that proposes to prevent the dissolved RCD members from candidacy in the coming elections. “Of course there should have been guests belong to the RCD,” he commented.
 He added that this was "government interference" in television work.
This episode raised wide criticism of the channel, as the journalists union said that the resurgence of the old regime with its party and agencies in the media signified "a state of relapse".
 In addition, the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) called on the TV administration to open an investigation in the wake of Abir Moussi's interview and her introduction as a human rights activist.