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Interview: Tunisia's democracy will not be intimidated by terrorism
MâHamed Ezzine Chelaifa - JP/Yohanna RirihenaTunisia has been hailed as a beacon of democratic change since its uprising ousted the authoritarian Zine Abidine Ben Ali regime
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M'Hamed Ezzine Chelaifa - JP/Yohanna Ririhena
Tunisia has been hailed as a beacon of democratic change since its uprising ousted the authoritarian Zine Abidine Ben Ali regime. In many Arab Spring countries, the struggle for democracy has come to a standstill, experienced setbacks, or even war. Tunisia has seen a successful democratic transition based on a vibrant civil society, an achievement awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize 2015 for the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, which will be presented on Dec. 10.
However, profound democratic achievement has been challenged by a series of terrorist attacks. During his recent visit to Jakarta, Tunisia's secretary of state for foreign affairs, M'Hamed Ezzine Chelaifa, talked to The Jakarta Post's Yohanna Ririhena about the daunting challenge of keeping Tunisian democracy intact. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Question: What were the keys to Tunisia's success in transitioning to democracy?
Answer: The major actor for our success is our civil society. We are very proud of this achievement. Tunisia is a unique Arab country that has successfully transitioned, thanks to the specificity of Tunisian society.
I particularly underlined the role of Tunisian women, who majorly contributed to the revolutionary wave of demonstrations to create a better future; defending their status, avoiding new legislation that might be against emancipation.
Can you elaborate on the uniqueness of the position of women in your society?
Tunisia has had a very advanced status since the 1950s. It is a unique country in the Arab world where polygamy is completely banned in the Constitution. One of first piece of legislation made by the new republic after gaining independence in 1956 was ensuring that women enjoyed emancipation, certain freedoms such as filing for divorce and other rights that are often denied in neighboring countries.
What are the pressing challenges for Tunisia after passing the hard task of struggling between surviving and uniting the country?
We successfully achieved our political process toward democracy and we have been awarded with Nobel Peace Prize 2015. We are very proud of that. However, this achievement remains fragile and unfinished because we have to tackle economic transition. During four painful years of transition, our economy has suffered and we have to rebound. We are facing socioeconomic and security challenges.
As one of the Arab world's most secular countries, Tunisia has increasingly become a target of terrorism. Does this make your country vulnerable or hamper your democracy?
I don't think there is a special vulnerability for Tunisia on terrorism. Terrorism can happen anywhere. But I agree that Tunisia has been targeted by terrorists because Tunisia, like Indonesia, symbolizes the value of democracy, tolerance and voice of moderation. All these values are hated by extremist groups.
Attacks are very painful for us but it reinforces our determination to fight terrorism. Therefore, we have to build strong international cooperation to fight this group. Combating terrorism is our priority. We cannot have development if there is still violence. With determination and cooperation, we are very firm in combating this terrible phenomenon.
Will it push your country to back off from democracy?
Absolutely not. On the contrary, it will reinforce our determination to continue consolidating our democracy and defend moderate Islam, true Islam which is peaceful and tolerant.
How many Tunisians have joined the Islamic State [IS] group?
We don't have a precise figure but about 3,000 Tunisians have crossed the border to Libya and Syria.
How are you cooperating with Indonesia in this area?
My visit to Jakarta is also aimed to create fruitful security cooperation as we are under the threat of terrorism. Our experts are cooperating, through intelligence sharing, exchanging experiences for a new program of deradicalization. Tunisia's program is focused on school, the internet, mosques and prisons.
Besides that, Tunisia also aims to give more substance to our bilateral relations and consolidate it with new partnership. Unfortunately, our trade volume doesn't reflect the huge potentials. We are trying to reach out, making Tunisia a hub for Indonesia to Europe, the Middle East and African market while Indonesia can be a hub for Tunisia to ASEAN and the Asian market.
We have agriculture products. Olive oil can be processed here for the Asian market while Indonesian palm oil can be produced in Tunisia for wider markets. Indonesian textile is also a good potential to be offered.
