Doha, Qatar – Moncef Marzouki, who was as soon as president of Tunisia – the primary everlasting chief following the 2011 revolution, now fears what would occur if he returns to the North African nation.
In an interview with Al Jazeera forward of Tunisia’s parliamentary elections on Saturday, Marzouki mentioned the nation’s present chief, Kais Saied, was a part of a “counter-revolution” towards the 2011 rebellion and trying to return to the pre-revolution political system, beginning with the brand new structure the president launched after a July referendum.
“As soon as once more, [it is] the rule of 1 man, all the ability gathered by one man,” Marzouki mentioned. “And that is precisely what we didn’t need after the revolution … The desire of 1 man has destroyed Iraq, has destroyed Syria, has destroyed Libya.”
“This man, he’s coming again to the previous political system, and he’ll face the identical issues confronted by his predecessors, as a result of one man can not rule a nation.”
Saied is a populist determine who was elected as Tunisia’s president in 2019 on a platform that blamed the nation’s financial woes on the political elite that had run Tunisia since 2011 – together with folks like Marzouki.
Since then, he has regularly entrenched himself in energy. Previous to the brand new referendum, which modified the nation’s system from a hybrid parliamentary one to a presidential system, he suspended after which dismissed parliament in July 2021, and opponents have accused him of returning what had been considered the Arab Spring’s principal success story to a dictatorship, and cracking down on his opponents.
Marzouki explains Saied’s rise by arguing that extra time was wanted for the revolution to bear fruits, and that he had seized on the populace’s frustrations.
“Democracy can not ship instantly,” Marzouki mentioned. “Persons are impatient as a result of they’ve suffered for therefore lengthy beneath the dictatorship … After which you might have this type of politician coming [and saying] ‘hey, look the democracy is just not delivering something, they’re simply speaking, have a look at the corruption.’”
Not everybody agrees with Marzouki’s evaluation.
Many in Tunisia, together with Saied’s supporters, say Marzouki and different political figures who dominated the post-2011 years, equivalent to Rachid Ghannouchi, the chief of Ennahdha, as soon as the most important social gathering in parliament, failed, and that change was mandatory.
Some even seek advice from the previous 10 years as “the black decade”.
However Marzouki swats away these criticisms. Whereas admitting to some errors – equivalent to a prolonged three-year transition interval the place little was finished to enhance the financial system – the previous president mentioned the principle issues had resulted due to an anti-revolution perspective amongst “regional powers”.
“The failure of Tunisia is in reality the failure of the Arab Spring as an entire,” Marzouki mentioned. “Democratisation in any nation is now not a home subject; it’s a regional subject, and a global subject. It signifies that Tunisia couldn’t succeed by any means due to the choice taken at a regional degree, by regional powers, to cease and to sabotage the democratic transition.”
When requested, Marzouki didn’t specify the regional powers he referred to. Nonetheless, the United Arab Emirates specifically has been accused by members of Tunisia’s opposition of undermining Tunisia’s democracy.
Whereas avoiding any direct public statements on Tunisia’s inner political affairs, the UAE reaffirmed its help for the nation’s authorities following the suspension of parliament and has largely backed Saied.
‘Arab volcano’
Marzouki mentioned Tunisia’s opposition, which was unable to organise a unified entrance even through the constitutional referendum marketing campaign earlier this 12 months, was deeply divided and unable to counter Saied’s narrative, even when the turnout for the referendum was low.
“I’m working laborious in Tunisia to make them sit collectively, speak collectively, overlook concerning the ideological variations,” mentioned Marzouki, who established considered one of Tunisia’s principal left-wing events. “[But] even in Tunisia we couldn’t overcome this hole between the secularists and the Islamists … I feel the change will come from throughout the society and never from the political events. Political events will be part of the wave, however in all probability they [are] not going to drive it.”
And Marzouki believes that change is inevitable, due to what he argues is the shortcoming of Saied to ship. However he worries about future protest actions.
“What I’m afraid of is that it [the protests] may very well be extra violent … as a result of the extent of frustration and anger among the many youth is extraordinarily excessive,” mentioned Marzouki. “The governments are afraid as a result of they do know that the subsequent revolution there can be no transitional justice or pardons.”
“Speaking about an Arab Spring is just not essentially the most correct picture, [the most accurate image would be] an Arab volcano,” Marzouki added.
“You have a look at the volcano and it’s secure … however at any time the volcano can burst as a result of the strain contained in the volcanoes is mounting.
“The strain is poverty, is humiliation, is frustration, is anger. And all these components are working contained in the volcano. No person is aware of precisely how, and no person is aware of precisely when the volcano will erupt, however you’ll be able to ensure that the volcano will burst.”