Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali promised Tuesday to back and consolidate press freedom in his country but human rights activists, journalists and political opponents painted a darker picture of the reality of the right to freedom of expression. "We shall continue to support our national press so that it is better suited to translate the deep changes on the road to democracy and modernity in our society," Ben Ali told heads of reporters' associations and editors in a message to mark international press freedom day.But critics, joined by non-governmental organizations, called for a week of demonstrations on the state of "freedom of expression, creation and communication" including the right to Internet access from the country. The week began with a petition and appeal on behalf of Islamist journalist Abdallah Zouari, condemned in 2002 to 13 months in prison and now exiled to a place 500 kilometers from his home where he is under permanent police surveillance. Also highlighted will be the plight of the "Internet users of Zarzis," a town in southern Tunisia not far from the island of Djerba, where a group of young people have been given heavy prison sentences for visiting web sites judged to be subversive.