The publisher confirmed that “the book in question was not confiscated because of its content, but rather because it was not included in the list that was initially submitted to the exhibition management as stipulated in the regulations.”
Is censorship back in Tunisia? Opinions differed on Saturday at the Tunis International Book Fair, following the withdrawal of an author critical of President Kais Saied and the closing of the publishing house’s pavilion.
The publisher of the book “Frankenstein Tunisia”, which draws a caricature of Said, reopened his booth this morning, telling AFP that he had “cleared the misunderstanding” with the exhibition organizers.
On Friday, the security men confiscated all copies of the book displayed and closed the “Dar Al-Kitab” booth, claiming “possession of an unauthorized book.”
This came less than an hour after the opening of the exhibition, in the presence of President Saeed, who stressed in a statement the importance of “liberating thought”.
After removing the cover from his platform, on which a sign was placed saying, “This wing is closed by an arbitrary decision,” Habib Al-Zoghbi retracted his accusations of “censorship” on Saturday.
The publisher confirmed that “the book in question was not confiscated because of its content, but rather because it was not included in the list that was initially submitted to the exhibition management as stipulated in the regulations.”
The author of the book, Kamal Al-Riahi, presented his author as a “political” text inspired by the story of Frankenstein embodied in Qais Saeed, who, in his opinion, was elected against the backdrop of his investment in the anger and frustrations of a people disillusioned with the system in place since the 2011 revolution.
The publisher retracted his “hasty statements” he made on Friday, stressing that the book’s withdrawal “was not censorship but rather a matter of procedure.” He explained that he did not include the title in his preliminary list due to the delay in printing it.
Zoghbi confirmed that some copies are “available in bookstores in Tunis,” and that the book will be reprinted and returned to the exhibition before it closes on May 7.
In the booth next to the publisher “Maskliani”, which was closed on Friday in “solidarity” with “Dar al-Kitab”, the director is still convinced that refusing to display a book on the pretext of not having registered it in advance is just a “pretext to censor it.”
Mortada Hamzah said, “The book traces what is happening to the president’s opponents” who denounce the “authoritarian deviation” since the measures he announced on July 25, 2021, according to which he ruled alone.
– “unbelievable” –
“It is unreasonable to impose censorship on ideas and writings under any pretext in 2023,” he added.
Nevertheless, the publisher reopened its stand on Saturday, “the fair’s first real day,” as visitors flocked to take advantage of deep discounts on usually expensive books.
On the publisher’s “Nirvana” platform opposite the “Dar Al-Kitab” platform, Muhammad Bannour, who has been working in publishing for four decades, downplayed the importance of the controversy over the withdrawal of the book.
Bennour said that the obligation to provide a list of books offered in advance “has existed for a long time” and dates back to the era of the first president of the republic, Habib Bourguiba (1956-1987).
He added that the purpose of providing lists of books is to avoid displaying “Salafi and fundamentalist” books that promote terrorism or fight the civil state.
This procedure continued under the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who also established censorship committees for literature and cinema.
It also continued to be implemented after the 2011 revolution and the fall of the regime, for fear of displaying works that “incite the manufacture of weapons or explosives,” according to Muhammad Bannour.
And the publisher added, “This rule is known and the publisher has accepted it like all of us. Therefore, we either adhere to it or we decide not to participate in the exhibition, as some publishers have done.”
But Bennour also saw the need to review this procedure “in consultation between the cultural authorities, publishers and libraries.”
He acknowledged that “imposing the list is a form of censorship and control over the books offered, and this is not normal.”
