Tunisia: How We Got Here and the Task Ahead

Hunger
strikes. These were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they
fought against a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the
ousting of Zineal-Abidine Ben Ali by an unprecedented people's uprising
on January 14, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime's
wide-ranging human rights violations. Over time, these became a
relegated segment of evening news across the Arab world. Even hunger
strikes, shocking at first, became a routing event.

For
Tunisians, unemployment, poverty and lack of civil liberties have long
made life intolerable. Many were forced to flee the country, or dare
challenge the authoritarian rule of Ben Ali and his security apparatus,
which grew in numbers to double - or even triple - the nation's army.

While
Tunisia may not have appeared the most likely location for a successful
popular rebellion, the country always had the potential of hosting one
of the most active civil societies in the Arab Maghreb countries. This
was what prompted Ben Ali and his regime to dedicate much time and
energy into weakening and largely dismantling a once thriving, diverse
and highly educated civil society. The society expressed itself through
three main pillars: labor unions, the Islamic movement, and a strong
student body throughout the country.

When
Tunisia gained independence from France in 1957, the country was rife
with hope and expectation. The anti-colonial fervor that gripped the
country produced an active civil society who wished to move from a
French sphere of influence into a nationalistic one. The national leader
at the time, Habib Bourguiba dared not upset the growing mobilization
of the country, and in fact succeeded in using - and later co-opting and
manipulating - the mass movement to maintain his control over the
country. This lasted for decades, until Ben Ali carried out his
"tranquil revolution" and ousted Bourguiba in 1987.

But
even authoritarianism has its own compelling logic. Ben Ali could do
little to mobilize Tunisian society, and his early promises of greater
political participation, equality and openness were never translated
into real action. Over time, he grew wary of everyone, including the
elites, who are usually the bread and better of any authoritarian
regime. He quickly began dismantling every component that gave civil
society its import and vigor, destroying or restricting unions, enacting
draconian measures against political activities that opposed his ruling
party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), and bending the law
and even the constitution to serve his own interests.

Ben
Ali's success in maintaining his regime for 23 years hinged on several
major strategies. He ensured that the presidential palace was the
ultimate center of power, thus denying anyone else the chance to gain
popularity outside a closely-knit circle. A system of patronage existed,
whereby those who played by the rules were granted tiny spaces to
operate and benefit. For example, during the elections of 2004, the
Movement of Socialist Democrats (MDS), an 'opposition party' actually
endorsed Ben Ali's re-election bid because it helped "complete the
process of democratic pluralism". Other parties, including the Popular
Unity Party (PUP), whose former leader Mohamed Bouchiha once competed
for the post of the president, also seconded Bin Ali's bid to "drive the
democratic process".

And
what about those who refused to play by the rules? The Islamic
al-Nahdha party and the Tunisian Community Workers' Party (POCT) are two
such examples. Ben Ali utilized the second set of measurements to
contain 'unruly' opposition- brutality, crackdowns and torture. The
attempt to silence both parties was equally and decidedly brutal, but in
1991 an-Nahdha protest and call for change seemed to spread quickly in
universities and working-class neighborhoods. The event signaled a
repeat of the rise of the Islamic resurgence in Algeria, and Ben Ali was
determined to stifle any rise of Islamic opposition before the
phenomenon became too popular.

Ben
Ali's violations of human rights - which grew rapidly since the early
1990s -received little chastising from other governments. Various
western powers that hailed Ben Ali's model of political moderation were,
of course, fully aware of the bizarre 'democracy' underway in Tunisia.
However, Ben Ali's ability to crush dissidents earned him high regard
and constant accolades by these very powers, particularly Tunisia's
former colonizer France.

With
major hurdles out of the way, the various branches of Tunisia's
security apparatus had little to do, save silencing the people. The
mafia-like police used many means of control, leaving activists with no
option but hunger strikes. In a report issued weeks before the 'Jasmine
Revolution", Amnesty International stated: "Worn down by years of
harassment and with no remedy in sight, hunger strikes seem to have
become the final recourse for journalists, political activists,
government critics and human rights defenders, in order to draw
attention to their legitimate demands to have their fundamental human
rights respected. Both inside and outside Tunisian prisons, the hunger
strikers' demands range from the release of prisoners of conscience to
obtaining passports and medical care for former political prisoners."

Human
Rights Watch published a report on October 21, 2010, when the situation
in Tunisia seemed to be reaching intolerable levels. It decried the
government's relentless campaign against two of the main pillars in any
civil society: labor and student unions. "No realm of civil society in
Tunisia is safe from government interference, not even trade unions, if
they are considered critical of the government. Using methods ranging
from bureaucratic machinations to physical aggression, the Tunisian
government is keeping Tunisia's unions under its thumb."

Less
than a week after Ben Ali was forced to leave the country, Arab
League's Secretary General Amr Moussa warned Arab countries of the
possibility of more Tunisia-style revolutions should their policies
remained unchanged."The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and
general recession...The political problems, the majority of which have
not been fixed...have driven the Arab citizen to a state of
unprecedented anger and frustration," he said.

In
Tunisia that 'unprecedented anger" has reaped unprecedented results,
leaving Tunisia with the great task of rebuilding a civil society that
was weakened, demoralized and purposely disjointed by a calculating and
oppressive regime. The prospects for freedom are now greater than ever
in Tunisia. Despite the many challenges ahead, this is a serious cause
for celebration.