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‘Palestinians are the last Arab people fighting for their first independence,’ says Marzouki

Former President of Tunisia Moncef Marzouki told a Middle East Monitor audience in London that while Syria is battling for its second independence, Palestinians are still trying to achieve their first. The Arab world isn’t made up of the worst dictators in history, he added, many of those had been in Europe.

January 29, 2025 at 9:00 am

Former President of Tunisia Moncef Marzouki has said that the Palestinians “are the last Arab people fighting for their first independence.” Marzouki made his comment during a programme hosted by MEMO in London looking over his life, thoughts and achievements.

The qualified physician was president of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014. He has been an avid defender of human rights in the Middle East and Africa for decades. Today he is recognised primarily for his role in Tunisian politics following the Arab Spring and its overthrow of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Amid the collapse of the democratic process and the apparent return of authoritarian elements to his country over the past five years, in 2022 Marzouki was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison back. Last year, he was sentenced, again in absentia, to eight years in prison for allegedly calling for the overthrow of the Tunisian government.

Speaking on Tuesday evening at London’s P21 Gallery, Marzouki recalled that Tunisia could have been a success story in the democratic process within the Arab world. “It is a middle-class, educated and homogeneous society,” he pointed out. “We had all the factors to achieve a real and stable democracy.”

That potential was ruined, he explained, by a lot of money coming from outside to fund “corrupt” politicians. “Moreover, democracy itself was used to hijack the process, as current President Kais Saied was elected fairly for his first term. They then used democracy to destroy democracy. You can kill democracy with the tools of democracy.”

When asked by presenter Dr Daud Abdullah, the Director of MEMO, what he was most proud to have achieved during his time as president, Marzouki noted his opposition to torture carried out by the state and its security services. He added that he was also proud of having overseen the first democratic constitution in the history of Tunisia, which was then discarded by the current government.

READ: Tunisians protest against decline of freedoms in the country

Marzouki also tied the struggle for democracy in Tunisia and the region with that of the Palestinian struggle, stating that if Tunisia and Egypt had not regressed into authoritarianism, then the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip would not have been maintained.

“I see a link between what’s happening in Syria with what’s happening in Gaza,” said the former president. “That link is independence.” While other Arab nations achieved their independence from Western colonialism and then had to fight a second struggle for independence from dictatorship, Palestine is yet to achieve its first independence.

“We’re very proud of what happened in Gaza,” said Marzouki. “I think that Gaza prevailed in this war.” Israel’s narrative didn’t play well in the international arena, he suggested.

While stating his hope for a “Mandela solution” as an outcome for the ongoing Palestinian struggle, Marzouki also pointed to the armed resistance carried out by figures such as South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. “As much as I hate violence,” he insisted, “if I had to fight, then I would do it.”

READ: Marzouki: ‘Sinwar was martyred defending the land where he was born’