Tunisia triumphs over the coup plotters

With the beginning of the national dialogue sessions last Saturday, Tunisia has triumphed over those who have planned, conspired and tried desperately to help coup forces inside and outside the country to recreate on home soil the treacherous military takeover in Egypt. The Tunisian people who supported their Islamic and national political forces have been able to thwart the attempts of the coup plotters who took their lead from the Egyptian opposition and formed a Salvation Front and Tamarod movement, trying to incite the army and police in the process.

The plotters’ efforts have failed as very few people stood with them and the main political groups refrained from joining their protests, preferring to work on upholding unity and protect the people’s interests from fragmentation and dispute. Moreover, the army has remained neutral and hasn’t sided with one group or another, standing tall as a national institution.

The Tunisian dialogue opened without any preconditions set by any of the parties involved; the governing “Troika” doesn’t have to make any changes without the consent of the National Constituent Assembly. The process can take as long as is necessary and there are no self-imposed deadlines to upset the political and economic situation in the country.

Led by the governing Al-Nahda Party, Tunisia’s political groups have provided an important model for overcoming challenges and stopping those who only use politics for personal gain and seek to create chaos after realizing that the people have abandoned them with no electoral support. It is they who want to topple the government and punish democratically-elected individuals by stealing the government at gunpoint, as has happened in Egypt.

This national success in Tunisia is a sign of hope for a similar reversal by the Egyptian people, whose opposition to the military coup grows daily. Just as the first Arab Spring revolution originated in Tunisia, so too has the first defeat of would-be coup leaders and the victory of the people who supported their Islamic and national forces.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.