As part of the celebration of the Tunisian revolution, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy held a "distant" discussion seminar on Friday, December 18, 2020, entitled: "Ten years after the revolution: The Success of Democracy and the Challenges of the Coming Period", which was followed by prominent political faces.
the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy's Vice President Saladin Al-Jurashi, managed the discussion, and opening the space for spectators to participate and ask questions through the "Zoom Webinar " App
While this symposium emphasizes the celebratory nature of the revolution and the freedom and democracy that Tunisians have achieved after decades of oppression and tyranny, it also comes in a difficult national context characterized by political and social agitation and economic degradation.
"Abdul Latif al-Makki: "Revolutionary forces must unite and operate with a strategic mind
In his presentation at the beginning of the seminar, Abdul Latif Al-Makki, a leader in the Al-Nahda Movement, considered that there are deep roots of the Tunisian revolution and that all the attempts of the Tunisian people to change the regime through peaceful and united work since independence has accumulated a revolutionary impulse ending in the year 2010.
Abdul Latif Al-Makki noted that youths are leading this revolution, pointing out that some people require value because. But he does not know that young people are always at the forefront of people's battles, and a nation that young people do not fight is a disaster nation," he said, adding that one of the struggles in Tunisia today is youth: Are organized crime, illegal immigration, drugs, and terrorism being disrupted or are the countries wreaking destruction on a national project that changes the fabric of development and produces wealth?
Because of the revolution freedom provided for the people, he stressed the need to address all the country's obstacles in light of the belief in this freedom, because "the trade-off between freedom and the resources promoted by the former regime failed with the revolution outbreak".
In the face of the challenges that the country is facing in the 10 years after the revolution, Abdul Latif Al-Makki called on all the political forces, revolutionary ones, who reviewed their positions on the former regime and joined the march of democracy, to review with loyalty to the country. He said, "No one of us has made no mistakes.
Al-Makki considered the 10th anniversary of the revolution an opportunity for reflection and self-criticism among the revolutionary forces, to work with a strategic mind to achieve the "common national thrust", namely the work, development, and people welfare He said, "Today we are facing the difficulties of the country and development with different ranks, and we direct our efforts to issues in many cases, while we have to work with a strategic mind in the shadow, "They are not in power, but they are planning day and night to interrupt the revolution and insert the country in confusion."
"Issam al-Shabi: We are proud of the revolution... But we have to examine
Republican Party Secretary-General Issam El-Shabi, expressed his pride in the revolution in Tunisia and the gains made by the Tunisian people in freedom and democracy.
The Tunisian revolution is a source of pride, as it turned the dream into reality and made Tunisians masters in their country after they removed the rule of corruption and tyranny of Ben Ali, al-Shabi
He added.
He also considered that the Tunisian revolution cannot be minimized, because it has accomplished what is still impossible in the Arab world, and restored the sovereignty of the people, allowed them to choose their representatives and peaceful power transfer, and defined the relationship of the Tunisian with the state and the relationship of institutions with each other within the framework of a democratic constitution that rises to the level of the most important constitutions in the world.
Issam al-Shabi, on the other hand, salutes "the memory of this revolution with a bitter taste as well", as he attributes it to the great difficulties the country is going through. Democracy cannot be the only leg on which the statue stands, or convince the Tunisian people that it is the only possible accomplishment.
He considered the weakness of the revolution as the absence of political leadership, because the elites, whether they reached the government or opposed it, we're not prepared to run a democratic state based on the ruins of the tyranny, and did not have clear visions and programs.
On the other hand, Al-Shabi called for confronting those who call for putting an end to the Tunisian experiment with more support and adherence to democracy. He said that the solution, whatever the difficulties experienced by Tunisia, can only be through resorting to the law and the constitution so that the country does not lead to chaos and violence.
In the face of this crisis, al-Shabi said, "The solution lies in calling all of us, within the framework of the electoral and constitutional legitimacy, to support this legitimacy and correct its course, and to come together in a national dialog to promote the revolution through a roadmap that would lead the country out of the predicament. Today, no political group can have a solution or be able to lead the country according to its projections."
Al-Shabi said one of the conditions for the success of this dialog is to leave behind what has failed in previous discussions, namely the resharing the composition of the government, while the country needs a change in policies, not governments. He called for the cessation of destructive conflicts in which everyone bears responsibility and the return to the realization of reason to save the country.
"Radwan al-Masmoudi: "We celebrate... And we evaluate for the development
Radwan al-Masmoudi, the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy's President, said the 10th anniversary of the revolution should be celebrated out of pride in what the country has achieved. At the same time, he said, it was necessary to evaluate the performance so that the revolution's goals can be achieved.
He added that the Tunisian people have done a lot in the last ten years and we should not underestimate these achievements, similar to the success of democracy and the proof that it is possible in the Arab and Islamic world.
He added that some believe that democracy is not possible in the Arab world and that Islamic culture is not in line with the principles of democracy, and that Arabs and Muslims are only suitable for autocrats, pointing out that what happened in Tunisia is a historical achievement and dropped this prevailing theory.
On the other hand, he pointed out that there are difficulties considering that the democratic transition is not an easy process especially when we notice what happened in the brotherly Arab countries and that the possibility of failure in Tunisia is also possible because there are forces that do not want this democracy to succeed and pump huge sums of money to fail it.
Al-Masmoudi said: "We live in a struggle of existence with the counter-revolution, which has been working for 10 years on disrupting, and wants to get the country back into the box of authoritarianism and trying with huge resources whether from the inside or outside, whether from the capital, the media or some of the old-system parties corrupting parliament and inciting violence and conflicts to distract parliament and the people from its real issues."
He also pointed to some mistakes that occurred after January 14, 2011, including the Party and Election Laws. He explained that they were suitable immediately after the revolution to facilitate the formation of parties and encourage Tunisians to engage in a new democracy, but the current political life is fragmented as a result of the establishment of more than 200 parties, which stresses the need for strong parties.
Moreover, the mistake is the lack of due attention to the issue of social justice, calling for creating a balance between democracy and social demands at the earliest possible time, with success in fighting corruption not only through laws but also by instilling values on top of citizenship.
"Amin Bouazizi: "Tunisians revolted to recover stolen Tunisia
Civil society activist Amin Bouazizi said that what is happening in Tunisia today concerning political freedoms does not explain the saying that nothing has changed in the country, and the flood of social uprising and anger that exists also cannot explain the saying that we have achieved a revolution and that this state of separation between the flood of political freedoms and the plague of the social movement, which carries a fingerprint, has occurred since Years don't see the rise of the revolution as a victory either.
If we fail to describe the nature of the regime against which the Tunisians revolted, Bouazizi said that we will not succeed in interpreting what happened and what is happening, recalling the beginning of the 1990s and the extent of Tunisia's application of capitalism within the framework of the structural reforms imposed on the world at the time. In particular, he said, the economy did not fall under Ben Ali, it was lost to the powerful families, politics was not liberated, it was nationalized and the destruction of the country was entrusted to the police.
He added that "Ben Ali" prevented all the revolution tools against him, and despite that he could not prevent the revolution from taking place, confirming that Tunisians did not revolt against the state but revolted against the restoration of the state and its roles that were stolen over a quarter of a century and to regain politics as a way of managing public affairs after a quarter of a century of policy measures.
After 10 years of the revolution, he pointed out that the features of the police state have fallen, and a new equation emerged in the country, in which the street now "draws governors from their tongues" to implement what they had agreed upon in the framework of the constitution, and consequently, the street within the logic of the constitution and the ruler is outside the logic of this constitution.
Discussion
The symposium lasted for about two and a half hours, and the speakers talked about several issues, including that the establishment of democracy is a difficult issue after years of tyranny, and therefore the march must continue for great goals, especially that there are internal and external parties seeking to obstruct this model as it triumphs of human rights and democracy.
Some of the speakers pointed out that a group of lobbyists used to lean towards the former regime, which explains its relentless defense of the period of authoritarianism and its constant quest to disrupt all manifestations of democracy.
On the other hand, some of the speakers have turned the frustration in the country to successive governments due to economic and social failure, calling for it to be redressed in the second decade of this revolution.
Outputs
- Support the pride in the Tunisian revolution
- To emphasize the need to celebrate this anniversary, among other things, freedom and democracy
- The Tunisian revolution is a source of pride for Tunisia and the Arab world as well.
- the fall of the police state and the emergence of a democratic state based on the people.
- The Tunisian people have regained their stolen state for decades.
- Call for assessment and identification of failures and difficulties for development.
- Calling on the revolutionary forces to unite and work with a strategic mind.
- Call for the protection of democracy from the counter-revolution, which it seeks with all its power to abort.
- A call for a national dialog without exclusion that sets the priorities of the country, not for the resharing of the pie.
- Social justice is not an ideological option but a national collective trunk.
- To emphasize the need for the second decade of the revolution to be a decade of achievement and achievement of economic and social transition.
