‘Tunisia needs justice and transparency, not forgiveness for a corrupt elite’

“No to despotism and reconciliation with corruption!” chanted demonstrators in the heart of the capital of Tunisia last weekend. Many demonstrators held signs with similar messages or waved pictures of secular politicians Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahimi, assassinated in 2013. Hundreds marched through the city, to be met by a heavy security presence surrounding the ministry of the interior. “We have to speak out,” said one protester. “The revolution isn’t over. We need to continue fighting for Belaid and Brahimi.” Human rights activist Wafa Ben Hassine also joined the demonstration. “I wanted to keep a thread of the revolution alive,” she said.

The protest was against the controversial economic and financial reconciliation bill which was presented by President Beji Caid Essebsi and approved by the government before being submitted to parliament on 14 July. If passed into law, it will clear businessmen and politicians accused of corruption in exchange for their confessions and return of misappropriated funds. According to the government, the law would boost the country’s struggling financial system, as the returned funds would be injected into the country’s economy. The secular political party Nidaa Tounes, which won the election in 2014 and is in a ruling coalition with the moderate Islamist Ennahda Party, stands behind the law.

However, to many Tunisians economic reconciliation is a slap in the face. “We need justice and transparency,” said one demonstrator. The economic reconciliation law will provide the opposite, she argued. “It is a way to free a corrupt elite from standing accountable for their crimes.”

Since the law was proposed there have been a number of demonstrations held under the slogan, “We will not forgive”; the Manich Msemah (I will not pardon) movement was formed to encourage people to stand up against the law, which is not only facing criticism from the general public but also from the powerful UGTT trade union, lawyers and opposition members like Hamma Hammami from the Popular Front. Other political parties are also opposing the law, including Al Joumhouri, Ettakatol, the Democratic Alliance, the Democratic Current and the Echaab movement.

Some argue that the law will not only hurt the country’s transitional justice process and reconciliation but also the work of the already-challenged Truth and Dignity Commission. Its President, Sihem Ben Sedrine, told the media that the bill “destroys the transitional justice process” and added that it will ensure impunity for crimes like financial corruption and abuse of public property. The truth commission is an ambitious attempt to investigate crimes committed since 1955 with around 16,000 testimonies collected from almost 60 years of totalitarianism. Despite facing criticism, the truth commission is entering its second operational year. Even so, the new economic reconciliation bill may be the commission’s biggest challenge to-date.

The draft proposal also comes at a fragile time for Tunisia’s democratic transition. Habib Bourguiba Avenue had been cleared of traffic for a week due to security concerns involving threats against the capital’s vital institutions. The precaution is the latest following the terrorist attack which killed 38 people at a beach resort in the tourist hotspot of Sousse. The attack came shortly after the country experienced more murderous terrorism at the country’s famous Bardo Museum. Since then, a state of emergency has been imposed, providing the government with powers including being able to ban demonstrations in the name of maintaining public order. A recent report from Human Rights Watch suggests that demonstrations opposing the economic reconciliation bill have been suspended and unlawful force has been used to disperse peaceful protests. The rights watchdog called on the Tunisian authorities to investigate the police violence and make sure that these acts would be accounted for.

The violence by the security forces did make some Tunisians afraid to attend this weekend’s demonstration. “My friends told me not to come,” says 20-year-old Souha Khemiri. “They thought it too risky.” The delay in receiving the green light from the authorities made people worried that it would turn messy, but Khemiri went along hoping that it would remain calm and peaceful. “The aim is to get the law withdrawn,” she explains, holding a banner criticising the state of emergency’s ban on demonstrations and freedom of speech. Even though she is only cautiously optimistic, she still argues that one of the benefits of the country’s new democratic order is that politicians now are forced to listen to the people, which is why she is hoping that the demonstrations will make politicians re-consider the bill.

For many Tunisians the crackdown on freedom of expression and what many consider pardons for an elite accused of stealing fortunes brings back memories of the draconian practices from the oppressive days of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. “Still, even in its mildest form, the bill would be a symbolic step away from holding the former regime accountable,” argued Ben Hassine, although the activist would have liked to have seen a more unified demonstration. Its disorganisation led to a divide between protesters, instead of one unified march there were three scattered groups, split between different political parties. “None of which reached the critical mass that some of us wished to see,” she pointed out. “The fracturing of the march into political camps spoiled its very purpose, to show the unity of Tunisians in opposing this bill.”

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