Tunisia’s wake-up call

The protests in Tunisia – unusual for this relatively stable north African country – are nevertheless a wake-up call for the country’s political establishment and could lead to further turmoil if not properly addressed.

Tunisia is perhaps not a country where one would expect such trouble. It has witnessed years of strong economic growth, has one of the highest GDPs per capita in Africa, a lot of investment has been made in the country’s infrastructure and education system and the government has adopted a generally secular outlook where women probably enjoy more rights than most other women in Muslim countries.

However, the country has a very high (especially graduate) unemployment rate, there is a perception among sections of the population that corruption is rife, and food prices have risen.

There is widespread frustration at what is regarded as the ‘ruling elite’. Little progress has been made in reforming the political system, which was dominated by a single political party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, until he fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday. He has been in power since 1987 and was ‘re-elected’ last October to a fifth term with just under 90 per cent of the vote.

The protests began last month in Sidi Bouzid after an unemployed graduate set himself on fire when police prevented him from selling vegetables without a permit. He died a few weeks later. The initial government response to the protests – shooting demonstrators, blocking social networking sites and closing down schools and universities – only ignited further unrest.

So far, the official death toll from the troubles has reached 23, but this has been disputed by human rights and trade union activists, who say the figure is as high as 66.

Last week, in an attempt to stem the turmoil, President Ben Ali dismissed his interior minister and promised to create 300,000 new jobs over the next two years. He then announced he would not seek a new term in 2014, which has been welcomed by the opposition.

Economic and political reform in Tunisia need to go hand in hand. The economy must be fully liberalised and corruption tackled.

The judiciary needs to be independent and the political system opened up to allow free and fair elections, freedom of speech and assembly and respect for fundamental human rights and civil liberties.

This is what the US State Department’s latest country report on Tunisia had to say:

“Restrictions imposed upon candidates and various procedural aspects of the elections raised doubts about whether either the presidential or legislative elections (held in October 2009) were free and fair.

“There were significant limitations on citizens’ right to change their government. Local and international NGOs reported that security forces tortured and physically abused prisoners and detainees and arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals.

“Government imposition of severe restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, and association worsened in the lead-up to the October elections.

“The government remained intolerant of public criticism. There were widespread reports that it used intimidation, criminal investigations, the judicial system, arbitrary arrests, residential restrictions, and travel controls to discourage criticism. Corruption was a problem.”

The international community, particularly the EU and the US, has an important role in encouraging Tunisia to bring about change.

The US State Department was right to have summoned the Tunisian Ambassador in Washington to express concerns about the way the Tunisian government reacted to the protests.

The European Commission, on the other hand, called for “restraint in the use of force and for respect of fundamental freedoms”.

The EU, however, can do more to address the situation in Tunisia. Brussels has a lot of clout over Tunisia because the north African country depends on trade, tourism and investment from the bloc and is negotiating preferential trade terms with the EU.

With the right reforms in place, Tunisia has the potential, with its educated middle classes, to be a political and economic model for the Arab and Muslim world, as well as for north Africa.

The establishment of a proper representative government, as well as the carefully managed liberalisation of the economy, is also the best way of ensuring that radical Islam does not take root in the country, which thankfully so far it has not.