Category Archives: Tunisia

The Arab Spring in North Africa at One-and-a-Half

ROAD TRIP IMPRESSIONS

Summer 2012

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The ‘Sultanistic” authoritarian regimes and tyrants have fallen in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya but the euphoria and revolutionary enthusiasm generated in the first few months are now almost obsolete. The political and security scene in the three countries is still in flux, often chaotic and more confusing than ever.

 

“We do not forgive … do not forget  … expect us … ♥one love … one ‘shaab’ [people]” –-graffiti on a provincial school wall.

After the initial shock people are open to change, longing for social peace and stability—with whatever elements of society that are still functional, even if it’s the military or Islamists. There are major challenges: conceiving a new political and institutional framework; engineering new constitutions to formalize democratic governments; and holding parliamentary, presidential and local elections. These processes are underway in all three countries.

Islamists of both moderate and extremist persuasions are now vying for political power either at the ballot box or by other means—not necessarily peaceful ones. Some clearly hope to introduce Sharia religious law into the political system and enshrine it in the new constitutions. The rights of women, religious minorities, and all sorts of freedoms will accordingly suffer if there are not countervailing guarantees.

Only a few days after the overthrow of the Tunisian regime, self-appointed morality police turned up in the Tunis red-light district, where they threw Molotov cocktails into the brothels and threatened the women. In March 2012 a Salafist militant removed the Tunisian flag and raised the Jihadists’ black flag at the Manouba University near Tunis. A confrontation ensued that triggered the suspension of courses for weeks. A few weeks ago, a group of Salafists stormed an exhibition called “Spring of the Arts.” The rampage was triggered by a picture in which ants formed the words “Praise to God.”

A Salafist slogan on a mosque’s outer wall calling for restoration of  the caliphate خلافة as system of government. 

 

The Salafist groups have been emboldened by the passive reaction of the security services to stop them from intimidating and attacking anyone and anything they deem “un-Islamic.”

 

 

In Egypt, political Islam emerged strengthened from a revolution in which it played no part. The Muslim Brotherhood and the radical Salafists won the country’s first free parliamentary election. The Egyptian constitutional court, however, declared the parliamentary election to be invalid, and the military council curtailed the authority of the president even before the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate came into office, ultimately rendering him a mostly powerless figure.

The real message behind the recent Egyptian election is that the old regime / establishment is alive and well, but that the country is also deeply polarized. The road ahead looks increasingly hazardous and the outcome of any future political dynamic seems unknown.

 

In Libya, the legacy Gadhafi left behind doesn’t even resemble a workable state, with no political or civic institutions to speak of. The country’s July elections for a constitutional assembly, which will appoint a new interim government and a panel charged with drafting a new constitution surprisingly resulted in a resounding defeat for the political wing of Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood, bucking a trend of success for Islamist groups in other Arab Spring countries such as Egypt and Tunisia.  A moderate National Forces Alliance scored a landslide victory over rival Islamist parties. (The quasi-parliament will convene for 18 months and will have two goals: to appoint a prime minister and a 60-member commission to draft a constitution).

However, the country remains very chaotic and the provisional central government has limited powers. In early June, an armed brigade occupied the airport in the capital Tripoli, and a few days later another militia arrested employees of the International Criminal Court. They had visited the former dictator’s son, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who has been jailed in the provincial city of Zintan since November — one of more than 4,000 Libyans being held prisoner by militias throughout the country.

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Street art in Western Libya

Gadhafi asked his notorious “Who are you?” in one of his most frightening speeches in February 2011 addressed to his people. The Libyan’s responds, above, “we’ve been your tenants for the last 42 years.”

“Who are you?” [“Man antom?”] became a slogan during the Libyan Revolution; it’s equivalent to ‘Irhal’ which means “Go” or “Leave”  chanted  in other Arab Spring countries. Turned against Gadhafi by the people, “Who are you?” became a most famous revolutionary slogan along with “Jainag” which means “We are coming to get you.”

!“شبر شبر- بيت بيت- دار دار- زنقا زنقا- فرد فرد”

[Early in the uprising, Gaddafi threatened those who opposed him to pursue and fight them ‘inch by inch, house by house, alley by alley [zanga zanga] … A tautology that worked at his own expense in the end.]

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The country consists of three regions: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east and Fezzan in the south. The politicians in the east feel underrepresented and are calling for a confederacy (a loose federal system with substantive independent decision powers for the three regions). Last week, a convoy of jeeps carrying anti-aircraft guns blocked the coastal road between Tripoli and Benghazi. In the absence of any kind of a national military or police force, local militias and armed gangs have run amok in Libya’s cities, towns and villages. Strong separatist forces are also at play. Libya risks being torn apart by longstanding regional and tribal rivalries and by those who oppose even a return to the loose federal arrangement of the 1950s before Gadhafi seized power.

Traditional dancers in the town of Nalut in the western Nafusa mountain region. Notice the Amazigh flag held by the top dancer and the absence of the Libyan national flag

The Amazigh (Berber) flag

 

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In all three Arab Spring countries, halfway between first landmark elections and the next round of voting early next year, the political scene is fractured, security is far from normal, social dissatisfaction widespread and fear of Islamists domination overshadows many sectors of society.

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FOOTNOTES

*‘Saved by Philosophy’

The event that triggered the cascading uprisings of the Arab Spring was when a street vendor persecuted for selling fruit without a license set himself on fire and died. More than a year and a half later little has changed in Tunisia’s law enforcement practices. In early July, a widely reported case captured the news headlines for its eerie similarities to the original event. The ‘perpetrator’ was accused of unauthorized street peddling of goods (“exposait sa marchandise d’une manière anarchique!”) Appearing before a judge he pleaded guilty, declaring that indeed he’s not licensed but his social condition did not leave him much choice; he was a third-year philosophy student from a poor family and had no other means to make a living. The judge, in an attempt to gauge his truthfulness, focused his questioning of the student on his putative study major and asked him many pointed questions about philosophy and major contemporary philosophers. The student answered brilliantly. At the end the judge inquired about the student’s current predicament and what philosophical context would it fit. Without hesitation came the answer: “Les misérables of Victor Hugo. Verdict : a fine of five Dollars and 50 cents and return of all his marchandise to the student. After the Tunisian revolution, there’s little doubt that democratic practices and individual freedoms have changed the country beyond recognition. But much else is still the same : Civil, penal and criminal codes date back decades and so are law enforcement practices and ethics.

Sauvé par la philo / Journal Le temps [Archive Dimanche 15 juillet 2012]

Un jeune, la trentaine, a comparu devant le juge du tribunal cantonal de Tunis. Il est accusé d’avoir enfreint à la loi.
Etant marchand ambulant, il exposait sa marchandise d’une manière anarchique dans les artères de la capitale.
Interrogé par le juge, il a déclaré que ce n’est pas son métier mais ses conditions sociales l’ont obligé à l’exercer. Après le décès de son père, son frère aîné s’est marié et a quitté le domicile parental pour vivre avec son épouse. Il a déclaré qu’il est universitaire étudiant en 3ème année Philo et qu’il n’a aucun autre moyen pour continuer ses études et subvenir en même temps à ses besoins.
Le juge a fait preuve d’attention particulière aux déclarations de l’inculpé. Il lui a posé plusieurs questions concernant le domaine de la philosophie et les écrivains contemporains. L’étudiant a brillamment répondu à toutes les questions. La dernière question posée par le juge était sur sa situation actuelle et dans quel cadre philosophique peut-il la placer : l’étudiant a répondu sans aucune réflexion : Les misérables de Victor Hugo.
Dès la fin de l’interrogatoire le juge a annoncé le verdict : Une amende de 9 Dinars et restitution de toue la marchandise qui a été saisie à l’inculpé

 A.A

Journal Le temps – – Sauvé par la philo.
 

FOLLOW-UP:

Man immolates himself in Arab Spring reprise
The Independent, 13 March 2013, 405 words, (English)
World A young cigarette vendor set himself on fire in Tunis yesterday, reviving memories of similar events two years ago that sparked an uprising which spread across the Arab world. [GRAPHIC!]
 
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*Judging People by Their License Plates

In post-Gadhafi Libya, total chaos rules all aspects of life; there’s of course no constitution and no laws governing the country to speak of. A typical example of lawlessness is a phenomenon you notice on Libyan car license plates. For decades during Gadhafi’s rule all plates read the same: “al-Jamahiriyah;” followed by a combination of numbers. (الجماهيرية, al-Jamahiriyah, or, the state of the masses, is a Gadhafi’s invention and a much controversial and hated term discussed in some detail in his Green Book.)

After the Revolution, you see now three kinds of plates: the old ones reading “al-Jamahiriyah” often identifying the owner as a Gadhafi (old system) supporter; the same “al-Jamahiriyah” but smudged, defaced, or painted over; and new ones reading simply Libya.

There’s no new law in the country regulating car or driver’s licensing. So, practically, you can write what you want on your car’s plate, often reflecting your regional, sectarian, political and ideological view point.

Carthage Burning: Salafists Attack Contemporary Art Exhibition معرض للفنون التشكيلية & مستقبل حرية التعبير في تونس

الغضب السلفي

 

 

 

Art show Spurs Salafist Rage in Tunisia

 

 

Angered by an art exhibition they say insults Islam, thousands of ultraconservative rampaged through parts of Tunis and other cities, posing one of the biggest threats yet to Tunisia.

In the northern suburb of La Marsa, attackers tried to enter a gallery where salafists had slashed several paintings. The display at the Palais Abdellia (قصر العبدلية ) infuriated ultraconservative Islamists, sparking riots that began Monday evening (June 11th) and ultimately forced authorities to declare an overnight curfew in several Tunisian cities. Protesters hurled rocks and gasoline bombs at police stations, a courthouse and the offices of secular political parties raising concerns about the prospects for freedom of expression in Tunisia.

The work that appears to have caused the most fury spelled out the name of God using insects, while some paintings caricatured Mecca, portrayed a nude woman and ridiculed salafists.

The ministries of interior, justice, culture, religious affairs, and human rights (who did not see the paintings at the time)  issued a cowardly joint statement denouncing the assaults: “These extremist groups are themselves penetrated by criminals and are funded by those who fear accountability and rule of law, i.e. the remnants of former regime, and their goal here is to confuse authorities and sow panic among citizens and thwart the current transition.” But the ministers also condemned the artists saying that their works violated freedom of opinion and expression, and that the goal was to provoke and incite strife and exploit the sensitive and inflammable situation.

 

 

The Secretary-General of the Fine Arts Union, said that the violence was “part of repeated attempts to impose a social and cultural pattern based on takfir and criminalisation. Art has nothing to do with what is sacred or religion.”

 

 

Artist Ismat Ben Moussa defended his work: “My painting is critical of the salafists and has nothing to do with sanctities or the Prophet.”

 

 

The art gallery has since been closed by the government, and Minister of Culture Mehdi Mabrouk has said that while they support freedom of expression, they are opposed to any insults to religion.

 

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MORE:

Tunisian Student Stands up to Salafists Over Flag

خولة الرشيدي و السلفي

Tunisian Girl Confronts Salafists’

Flag Desecration

 

Khaoula Rashidi [خولة الرشيدي ] is a University of Manouba (Tunis) student who gained national celebrity after a video circulated of her attempt to stop the Tunisian flag from being taken down when a group of religious activists replaced the campus Tunisian flags with a black banner– a symbol associated with Jihadi Slafism.

A video circulating online shows Rashidi intervening when a Salafist militant removed the Tunisian flag and raised the Jihadists’ black flag at the Manouba University near Tunis.  He pushes Rashidi off a wall as she tries to intervene.

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On March 12, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki officially honored Khaoula Rashidi, a University of Manouba student, for defending the Tunisian national flag.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki officially honored Khaoula Rashidi at the Presidential Palace in Carthage

“The flag is the symbol of the country … the blood of martyrs … and the Arab-Islamic identity,” stated Marzouki in an emotional speech delivered during the ceremony. Marzouki also condemned the violation of the flag and emphasized its symbolic sanctity. Marzouki urged the perpetrator of the flag desecration to turn himself in to the authorities and apologize before an “independent judiciary.” He explained that no one can impose themselves as, “the spokesperson of the country, or of religion.” The flag incident at Manouba has been met with widespread condemnation by Tunisian political representatives, civil society activists, and citizens. However, no charges have yet been filed against the individual responsible for the incident.

Rachidi Family

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& Interior Minister

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Salafis do not feel that the flag did not represent them (any country’s flag!); only the salafi flag is considered by them to be the banner of Islam.  Is it possible for something positive to come out of the flag incident? Actually several!  A Tunisian woman stood up for citizenship and national identity, despite the violent assault on her.  It was also a wake-up call. Tunisians (most) felt like citizens united under their red flag. In the end, one of the salafi protesters returned the Tunisian flag high upon its pole, suggesting that differences of opinion exist in all groups.

Tunisian Journalists Arrested on Morality Charges

Three Tunisian Journalists Arrested

[Trois journalistes arrêtés]

On 15 February, 2012,  Tunisian authorities arrested the owner and publisher of  the newspaper Attounsia, as well as one of its editors and a reporter, for “violating public morals,” after the publishing on its front page a photo one of a sports figure with a nude woman. Here’s what the page looks like:

Real Madrid midfielder German-Tunisian Sami Khedira and his partially-nude girlfriend German model, Lena Gercke.
 
 

This is the first documented incident of journalists being arrested since the Tunisian Revolution overthrew the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali  in January 2011. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities to release them immediately.

“Really, this is laughable,” a staff member of the Arabic-language daily said. “This photo has gone around the world and yet they stand accused of violating decency,” he said. The photo was widely shared on Facebook. Originally, it appeared on the cover of  the German magazine GQ.

The journalists face up to five years in prison under article Article 121 of Tunisian penal code.
Under Article 121(3) of the Tunisian penal code, distributing or displaying information “that can harm public order or good morals.” Here’s the original Arabic text:

الجمهورية التونسية * المجلة الجزائية

الفصل 121 ثالثا (أضيف بالقانون عدد 43 لسنة 2001 المؤرخ في 3 ماي 2001 والمتعلق بتنقيح مجلة الصحافة)

يحجر توزيع المناشير والنشرات والكتابات الأجنبية المصدر أو غيرها التي من شأنها تعكير صفو النظام العام أو النيل من الأخلاق الحميدة وكذلك بيعها وعرضها على العموم ومسكها بنية ترويجها أو بيعها أو عرضها لغرض دعائي.

وكل مخالفة للتحجير المنصوص عليه بالفقرة السابقة يمكن أن يترتب عنه زيادة على الحجز في الحين عقاب بالسجن من 6 أشهر إلى خمسة أعوام وبخطية من 120 دينارا إلي 1200 دينار

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Last August, the magazine Tunivisions published an article featuring Tunisian supermodel Kenza Fourati clothed only in body paint that raised questions about freedom of the press and what is appropriate to show on the cover of a magazine.

Tunisian supermodel Kenza Fourati
More Images for Tunivisions Kenza Fourati

Trois journalistes arrêtés pour une couv’ osée

“Vive la Révolution!”

FOLLOW  UP,  Thursday, February 23:

Tunisian newspaper publisher arrested over nude photo released ahead of verdict

A court has released the publisher of a Tunisian newspaper accused of violating public morals by publishing a photo of a naked woman, pending a verdict in the case. Publisher Nasreddine Ben Saida was released Thursday while he awaits the verdict in the case, expected March 8.

FOLLOW  UP: 9 March 2012

Tunisian Publisher Fined Over Photo
By REUTERS

Copyright 2012 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.TUNIS (Reuters) — A Tunisian court fined a newspaper publisher $665 on Thursday for printing a photograph of a soccer player posing with his nude girlfriend, a ruling that raised concerns about a possible news media crackdown by the country’s new Islamist government.

The newspaper, Attounissia, is a tabloid created after the revolution that ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali last year. It published a photograph last month of Sami Khedira, a soccer player for Real Madrid who is Tunisian and German, dressed in a tuxedo with his hands covering the breasts of his naked girlfriend, Lena Gercke, who is a German model.

The photograph angered the country’s public prosecutor, who ordered the detention of the publisher, Nasreddine Ben Saida, as well as of two senior journalists at the newspaper. The journalists were quickly released, but Mr. Ben Saida spent eight days in jail before being released on bail during a court hearing on Feb. 24.

Mr. Ben Saida was fined on Thursday for offending public morals and taste by publishing the photograph, the official news agency TAP reported. The case has led secular Tunisians to fear that the Islamist-led government will seek increasingly to censor material it deems offensive.

 غرامة بألف دينار لمدير جريدة “التونسية”

 قضت أمس الدائرة الجناحية الثامنة بالمحكمة الإبتدائية بتونس بتخطئة مدير جريدة «التونسية» نصر الدين بن سعيدة بخطية مالية قدرها ألف دينار وإعدام المحجوز من أجل تهمة وضع وبيع نشرات وكتابات إلى العموم من شأنها النيل من الأخلاق الحميدة

 وكذلك المس من صفو النظام العام طبق أحكام الفصل 121 من المجلة الجزائية. وكان بن سعيدة أطلق سراحه بعد أن قضى ثمانية أيام في سجن ايقافه وذلك على خلفية نشر»صورة فاضحة» للاعب الكرة القدم الألماني من أصل تونسي سامي بن خذيرة البالغ من العمر 24 سنة صحبة عارضة الأزياء الألمانية لينا جارك البالغة من العمر 23 عاما بصحيفة «التونسية».

Journées théâtrales de Carthage (JTC) – Tunisia’s Carthage Theatre Days)

The 15th edition of the Carthage Theater Days (JTC) wrapped up after a week of shows paying homage to the Tunisian revolution under a new decentralized cultural program. More than 60 performances for January 6th-13th event took place across the country.

The opening show, “The Man with the Donkey”, directed by Fadel Jaziri, was a play inspired by the novelist Ezzeddine Al-Madani’s “Revolution of the Man with the Donkey”. It combines choreographed dance, narration, lighting effects and audio technology and, through its plot, evoked the uprising of Sidi Bouzid and the death of Mohamed Bouazizi that started the revolution.

For the first time in the festival’s history, the streets of the capital also saw diverse activist performances. A huge inaugural show was programmed, focused on a procession teams from the cavalry, security, police, army and national guard as well as theater troupes touring the main streets of the capital.

Performers came from across the globe for the event, with actors from Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Algeria, Libya, UAE, Iraq, Lebanon and Kuwait as well as from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium.