Former Tunisian president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali used all the means at his disposal to crush dissent and destroy civil society. Now that his regime has gone, thoughts are turning to the challenges ahead, writes Ramzy Baroud* Hunger strikes: these were the last resort for Tunisian activists as they fought a brutal and highly oppressive regime. Prior to the ousting of the country's former president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali by an unprecedented people's uprising on 14 January, there seemed to be no end in sight to the regime's wide-ranging human rights violations. As a result, even the hunger strikes, though shocking at first, became a routine event for news broadcasters across the Arab world. For Tunisians, unemployment, poverty and a lack of civil liberties long made life intolerable. Many were forced to flee the country, or dare to challenge the authoritarian rule of Bin Ali and his security apparatus, which grew in numbers to double, or even triple, the nation's army. While Tunisia may not have appeared the most likely location for a successful popular uprising, the country has always had the potential of hosting one of the most active civil societies in the Arab Maghreb countries. This was what prompted Bin Ali and his regime to dedicate much time and energy to weakening, and largely dismantling, a once-thriving, diverse and highly educated civil society. This society expressed itself through three main pillars: labour unions, the Islamist movement and a strong student body throughout the country. When Tunisia gained independence from France in 1957, the country was alive with hope and expectation. The anti-colonial fervour that gripped the country had produced an active civil society that wished to move the country from the French sphere of influence to becoming a nation in its own right. The national leader at the time, Habib Bourguiba, did not dare to upset the growing mobilisation of the country and in fact succeeded in using, and later co-opting and manipulating, the mass movement to maintain control over the country. This lasted for decades, until Bin Ali carried out his "tranquil revolution" and ousted Bourguiba in 1987. Authoritarianism has its own compelling logic, and while Ben Ali could do little to mobilise Tunisian civil society, his early promises of greater political participation, equality and openness were never translated into real action. Over time, he grew wary of everyone, including the elites who are usually the bread and butter of any authoritarian regime. He quickly began dismantling every component that gave civil society its import and vigour, destroying or restricting unions, enacting draconian measures against political activities that opposed his ruling party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), and bending the law and even the constitution to serve his interests. Bin Ali's success in maintaining his regime for 23 years hinged on several strategies. He ensured that the presidential palace was the centre of power, thus denying anyone else the chance to gain popularity outside a closely-knit circle. A system of patronage existed, whereby those who played by the rules were granted tiny spaces to operate. For example, during the elections of 2004, the Movement of Socialist Democrats (MDS), an "opposition party," endorsed Bin Ali's re-election bid because it would help to "complete the process of democratic pluralism." Other parties, including the Popular Unity Party (PUP), whose former leader Mohamed Bouchiha once competed for the post of president, also seconded Ben Ali's bid to "drive the democratic process." What about those who refused to play by the rules? The Islamist Al-Nahda Party and the Tunisian Community Workers' Party (POCT) are two examples. Ben Ali used measures such as brutality, crackdowns and torture to contain this "unruly" opposition. Attempt to silence both parties were decidedly brutal, but in 1991 Al-Nahda protests and calls for change seemed to be spreading quickly in universities and working-class neighbourhoods. These events seemed to signal a repeat of the rise of the Islamist resurgence in Algeria, and Bin Ali was determined to stifle any rise in the Islamist opposition to his rule before it became too popular. Bin Ali's violations of human rights, which had grown rapidly since the early 1990s, received little chastising from other governments. Various western powers that hailed Bin Ali's model of political moderation were, of course, fully aware of the bizarre "democracy" underway in Tunisia. However, Bin Ali's ability to crush dissidents earned him high regard and constant accolades from these powers, particularly Tunisia's former coloniser, France. With major hurdles out of the way, the various branches of Tunisia's security apparatus had little to do apart from silencing the people. The mafia-like police used various means of control, leaving activists with no option but hunger strikes. In a report issued weeks before the "Jasmine Revolution," Amnesty International stated: "Worn down by years of harassment and with no remedy in sight, hunger strikes seem to have become the final recourse for journalists, political activists, government critics and human rights defenders, in order to draw attention to their legitimate demands to have their fundamental human rights respected. Both inside and outside Tunisian prisons, the hunger strikers' demands range from the release of prisoners of conscience to obtaining passports and medical care for former political prisoners." Human Rights Watch published a report in October 2010 when the situation in Tunisia seemed to be reaching intolerable levels. It decried the government's relentless campaign against two of the main pillars of any civil society: labour and student unions. "No realm of civil society in Tunisia is safe from government interference, not even trade unions, if they are considered critical of the government. Using methods ranging from bureaucratic machinations to physical aggression, the Tunisian government is keeping Tunisia's unions under its thumb." Less than a week after Bin Ali was forced to leave the country, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa warned Arab countries of the possibility of more Tunisia-style revolutions should their policies remained unchanged. "The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession...The political problems, the majority of which have not been fixed, have driven Arab citizens to a state of unprecedented anger and frustration," he said. In Tunisia that "unprecedented anger" has reaped unprecedented results, leaving the country with the task of rebuilding a civil society that was weakened, demoralised and purposely disjointed by a calculating and oppressive regime. Yet, the prospects for freedom are now greater than ever in Tunisia. Despite the many challenges ahead, this is a cause for celebration. * The writer is editor of PalestineChronicle.com.
