Interim Government Announced

The Tunisian people are extremely angry with the interim government announced today, because key positions (PM, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Commerce and Tourism, and the PM’s Secretary) are assigned to RCD holdovers. Kamel Morjan (Foreign Affairs), for example, not only assumed many position under Ben Ali, but he is also married to Ben Ali’s cousin.  This is a clear conflict of interest, even if his hands are said to be unsullied by the former regime’s corruption. Deputy Prime Minister Zuheir M’dhaffer was one of  Ben Ali’s think thanks and the mastermind behind RCD hegemony.  In the protesters’ eyes these nominations forebode a betrayal of the revolution and a surreptitious continuation of the RCD’s dominance.

At first glance, what is significant about this newly formed government is the elimination of the Ministry of Information, which seems to be merged with that of Culture. Why? Surely, to evade responsibility for the ongoing media misinformation. In fact, Tunisian state TVs have changed their names, their logos, and their design, but the content is still the same.  Reporting is often limited to disturbances caused by the militias. No media platforms for  politicians to discuss openly the decisions of the interim government and the democratic future of the country.  

It is worth noting also that the outlawed party of the exiled human rights activist Moncef Marzouki (Congress for the Republic--CPR: French abbreviation for Congres Pour la Republique) and that of the exiled Islamic leader Rachid Ghannouchi (an-Nahda party--and no connection to PM Ghannouchi) are conspicuously absent, certainly because the current electoral and political party laws--which have been dovetailed to ensure the uncontested rule of the RCD-- do not allow them to be part of such government. But PM Ghannouchi has promised to recognize and include them in the upcoming elections.

PM Ghannouchi has also made a number of other promises of political reforms, some of which are significant and bode well for democracy in Tunisia. There will be a strict separation between political parties and state. The upcoming elections will be free, transparent and internationally monitored. But most importantly, however, is that the PM announced that all political prisoners would be released promptly. I find this decision important because the political prisoners’ testimonials will certainly reveal shocking information about the former regime and its outrageous human rights violations (excessive secret police violence, torture, imprisonment without charge or trial, sine die detention, coerced confessions, etc).  Many officials in the Ministry of the Interior, in particular, will surely be anxious to hear their names mentioned in these testimonials.  

The release of political prisoners, especially those tied to Islamist groups, will be problematic, because the Western and pro-Western countries will be anxious to see the re-emergence of a strong Islamic front in Tunisia vying for power, as is the case in Egypt.  These countries (US, France, Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia) will definitely exert pressure on the interim government  to keep a tight grip on Islamist groups.  Curiously enough, in the midst of all the mayhem of the protests, only prisoners charged of civil felonies managed to escape--or were they let loose by the secret police in order to frighten civilians and abort the revolution?

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Yet another copycat act of self-immolation: Two men in Egypt and Mauritania set themselves on fire protesting against their governments--something which led Al-jazeera to refer to the “Tunization” of the Arab street: “Activists across the region have called for the "Tunisation" of the Arab street - taking Tunis as a model for the assertion of people power and aspirations for social justice, the eradication of corruption and democratisation.”

January 18, 2011

Massive protests today calling for the disbanding of the RCD. This party’s presence on the political scene constitutes a betrayal of the Revolution. It doesn’t make any sense. 

Three labour union ministers (General Union of Tunisian Workers--UGTT) withdrew from the newly formed Government, so did Moufida Tlatli (minister of Culture), the well-known, if controversial, film director. Health Minister Mustapha ben Jaafer also quit. The PDP decided to stay.

In an attempt to pacify the protesters, M. Ghannouchi and F. Mbazzah announced on state TV their formal resignation from the RCD. For Tunisians, this is not enough; they demand the removal of all those who served under Ben Ali’s rule.  They want to see a radical departure from that rule and all its “symbols.”  The don’t seem to buy the fact that the government needs the expertise and experience of old-regime technocrats who are familiar with the complex machinery of the state.

Tunisian human rights activist and founder of the Congress for the Republic party, Moncef Marzouki, arrives today from a 20-year exile in France.