Tunisian revolutionary leader mobilises ahead of 14 January anniversary

Controversial revolutionary Imed Dghij claims that his primary goals for Tunisia are equality and dignity, which is why he aims to increase pressure on the government ahead of the January anniversary of the revolution to make sure that the uprising wasn’t in vain.

Dghij was a teacher before becoming a political prisoner of the Zine El Abidine Ben Ali regime and being banned from teaching. Today he fronts the “Men of the Revolution in Kram”, a group which, he claims, is made up of the true people behind the revolution. One of the group’s initial and primary goals has been to reject the return to the post-revolutionary political scene of old-regime figures. However, even though the 2014 election brought forth a coalition led by the liberal-secular political party Nidaa Tounes, which is regarded as being filled with former Ben Ali affiliates, Dghij said that he was willing to give the government a chance. Today, though, he argues that the governing political elite has proven incapable of governing the country. The development since the revolution has been a failure socially and economically, he claims. As such, he and his followers continue to fight for the same revolutionary values as five years ago: equality, dignity and social justice.

Although Dghij claims to denounce the use of violence, for the past few years he has been in and out of prison on charges including incitement to political violence. He is currently on trial on three different accounts, one initiated by President Beji Caid Essebsi himself over a controversial social media post. Nevertheless, the revolutionary insists that his fight will not end until the working class has benefited from the struggle. His area, Kram, is a working-class Tunis suburb, which was at the core of the resistance and home to eight of the young men killed by the police. It should, he says, be treated like other areas by the security forces. As far as Dghij is concerned, it is simply about justice and dignity, the essence of the revolution. His rhetoric has made him popular among the country’s disillusioned youth.

Tunisia is the only country where the wave of demonstrations against authoritarian regimes led to a relatively peaceful and democratic transition, even though freedom of expression paved the way for jihadist Salafi movements such as Ansar Al-Sharia. The Al-Qaeda affiliate was capable of mobilising quickly and gaining ground.

“Ansar Al-Sharia was able to reactivate a sense of solidarity between Tunisians,” explains Dghij. “Who are the members of Ansar al-Sharia? They are the marginalised and ordinary people.”

The reason why a large number of Tunisians, especially youth, have become radicalised, he argues, is because they are desperate, unemployed and poor. Their activism has been triggered not by religious conviction but by the fact that the revolution was hijacked. “Most have an elementary understanding of Islam.”

When asked about the group’s current status on the ground in Tunisia after a state crackdown led to its terrorist designation in 2012, he says that Ansar Al-Sharia is not a legal entity. “It’s a state of mind, which continues to live on.” In his opinion, members may suggest that they have left the group but they continue to keep the same convictions. As long as there is marginalisation there will be radicalisation is the logic behind his reasoning.

The struggle against economic marginalisation became a way for Ansar Al-Sharia’s leader Seifallah Ben Hassine, better known as Abu Iyadh Al-Tunisi, to gain popularity. Many young people were hungry for a leader, a father figure, says Dghij, but the first time that he met Abu Iyadh he was certain that he didn’t have what it takes to be a successful leader. He became arrogant when many young Tunisians followed him, he claims. When the group received the terrorist designation, Abu Iyadh was believed to have fled to Libya but his fate is unknown to Dghij, even though some say that he was killed by American air strikes on the other side of the border. The conflict in Libya is often cited as a contributory factor behind radicalisation in Tunisia; it is where some of the young men behind the terrorist attacks in Tunisia this year are believed to have been trained. According to Dghij, Libya is important to Tunisian security; the destinies of the two states are tied together closely.

Nevertheless, Dghij has not gone to Libya himself. Travelling there or to Syria to fight at the moment does not constitute proper jihad, he insists. It is too politicised now; it has become a fight between Muslims, where different militias fight each other for power. The enemy needs to be clearly defined to count as jihad, he explains further. Although he went to Iraq briefly to fight against the US invasion in 2003, he only stayed for twelve days because he saw no reason to stay when the Iraqi regime was overthrown. To him the enemy was defined clearly: a foreign entity attacking a Muslim country in order to steal its resources. At the moment, he believes, there is no proper conflict where fighting would constitute “proper jihad”. As such, he doesn’t encourage young people to participate in any Arab Spring uprising as it will only contribute to further foreign imperialism.

Instead, Dghij argues, the struggle should continue within the country’s borders. Next on the agenda for him and the group’s members is to mobilise and escalate the pressure on the government ahead of the 14 January Revolutionary anniversary, during which the membership will “show anger” over the lack of progress. Even though it has been outlawed, Tunisian citizens have a right to express their opinions, he argues. In the spirit of the revolution the group will now intensify its demands by turning more vocal and clear in its advocacy.

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