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Farce in Tunisia

The farce in Tunisia has continued since Ben Ali deposed President Habib Bourguiba in a palace coup in 1987. When the new leader took over, he had promised his countrymen "an advanced and institutionalised political life." Instead Ben Ali has institutionalised his own rule and his own party at the expense of democracy and civil rights in the country. Of course, there are ‘opposition’ groups in the Chamber of Deputies (parliament). But they survive because of their allegiance to the President.

The Tunisian leader appears to have tried every trick in the book of a tyrant to perpetuate his power. He has the Constitution amended through a much-questioned referendum. This allows him to stand for an unlimited number of terms. He has the age limit for presidential candidates raised from 70 to 75 to suit his advancing years. He has granted himself the immunity from prosecution for life. He has judiciary under his thumb. There is no free Press. The Tunisians know no freedom of expression, as we understand it. Little wonder Ben Ali has been in power for the past 18 years. There are few in the country to differ with his worldview. A real and credible opposition does not exist in Ben Ali’s Tunisia. The regime’s brutal crackdown on Islamists, Left organisations and other democratic groups has wiped out all dissent from the country. And to think, Tunisia, not long ago, was considered one of the leading nations of Arab-Muslim world! It was the first country to adopt a Constitution in 1861.

What is intriguing is the West’s silence over the Kafkaesque tragedy playing out in Tunisia and the regime’s unaccountably brutal policies towards its own people. Is this because the Tunisian leader claims to be an ally in Washington’s war on terror? It would appear so. While the US and Europe have championed the cause of democratic reforms and transparency everywhere in Middle East, they have been mysteriously silent on the state of affairs in Tunisia. Paradoxically, Washington chose Tunis to host one of its two Middle East Partnership Initiative offices, aimed at promoting reforms in the Arab world! Such double standards do no good to the cause of democracy and reforms.

Today’s election in Tunisia will be no different from the previous affairs. It is a sham of an election and the world must view it as such. The West must recognise that undemocratic regimes cannot help it in its crusade against extremism. They cannot be part of a solution because they are the problem.