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FOREIGN POLICY
Tunisia's stand against terrorism
Excerpts from President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's addresses
and speeches
That is why the international community has recently undertaken to unify
its efforts against terrorism, and to adopt the necessary measures to prevent its occurrence and propagation.
In our view, achieving this objective largely depends on the methods we adopt to combat terrorism, the most important
of which being : no countering of violence by violence; no exclusive reliance on security solutions which, though
necessary, remain insufficient; and no hesitation in eliminating the pretexts used by terrorist groups to continue
propagating their inflammatory discourse and inciting people for extremist reactions.
Carthage, November 15, 2007
As a contribution to finding appropriate solutions to a number of issues
facing international public opinion, we were among the first to call for the establishment of a contract for peace
and progress between the countries of the North and of the South, and to draw attention to the need to combat the
manifestations of terrorism and extremism and tackle their root causes, as well as to further promote cooperation
and solidarity among all countries and peoples.
Carthage, August 8, 2005
On the international scene, the aggravation
of the terrorist danger requires, more than ever before, that the efforts of the international community be coordinated,
within the framework of the United Nations Organization, in order to stand against this phenomenon. Today, we reiterate
our call for a radical treatment of the root causes of this phenomenon, by working to reduce the propagation of
poverty, marginalization, exclusion and deprivation, and by acting promptly to find fair solutions to a number
of pending issues in the world.
Carthage, August 6, 2004
The world is currently facing enormous challenges that require all members
of the international community to unify their efforts, to strive to achieve the noble objectives enunciated in
the Millennium Summit Declaration, to intensify endeavors so as to settle conflicts through dialogue and entente,
to tackle the root causes of poverty and marginalization, and to increase the opportunities of cooperation and
solidarity among countries.
Tunisia has always been keen on actively contributing to all UN and international efforts to achieve these objectives,
premised upon its strong commitment to the principles of freedom, justice and equality.
Furthermore, we called for the establishment of an international code of
ethics for the fight against terrorism
Carthage, Junary 15, 2004
In the exercise of democracy, it is clear that each right brings
with it a duty. Likewise, commitment to the protection of human rights implies a certain conciliation between individual
interests and those of the community, to the extent that individual rights lose all meaning and substance when
the society is threatened by upheaval and anarchy resulting from extremism and terrorism, whatever their form or
cause may be.
Dakar, June 30, 1992
I wish to reaffirm that, for us, human rights constitue at once
a conviction, a culture, a means of action, and a daily exercise which we safeguard and strengthen tirelessly.
Likewise, democracy is a civilized attitude originating in a sense of responsibility and based on the principle
of participation in conformity with mutually held moral values in this domain. Thus its success is dependent upon
respect for commonly held universal values and the taking into account of the specific characteristics and particular
conditions of each country when determining the methods to be used in integrating democratic processes into the
everyday life of different countries.
Commitment to human rights and their protection demands, in this regard, reconciliation of the interests of the
individual with those of society as a whole. This is all the more true when a society is exposed to disorder and
anarchy because of irresponsibility or extremism, whatever their motivations, and the shapes they take.
And I would like here to avail myself of this opportunity to renew our proposal for concluding a Euro-Maghreb Charter
which would protect the rights and define the duties of Maghrebian communities in Europe. If we manage to combine
these initiatives, we shall be in a position to eliminate the root-causes of extremism, fanaticism and racism in
both sides and to build solid relations between us based on cooperation and mutual understanding.
Strasbourg, June 22, 1993
In this context, we must emphasize the need for a firm commitment
to the high principles and objectives set forth in the OAU Charter, notably those relative to good neighbourly
relations, non-interference in domestic affairs, mutual respect and the renewed commitment to condemning and fighting
all forms of extremism and terrorism, whether religious, ethnical or racial. In view of their incompatibility with
the nature of the African man, of his traditions of tolerance and brotherhood, and also because they pose a real
danger to the progress, security and stability of our societies and to their youthful experience with development
and democracy.
Cairo, June 29, 1993
The fundamentalists are basically the enemies of democracy. They
struggle to take people back to the Middle Ages and the days of the Islamic caliphate. Where is the democracy in
that?
According to the laws and constitution of Tunisia, there is no room for religious parties. They will never happen
here. We shall never embark on this course. It would be a catastrophe for this country and its people it we were
ever to give permission for the formation of a religious party. As long as I am here, as president or not, I will
continue to combat the creation of a religious party. That is my conviction.
Excerpts from an interview with the Financial Times
(July 27, 1994)
Extremism, religious fundamentalism, breeds terrorism, and constitutes
an open door for all forms of extremism. It is a totalitarian movement which denies all the virtues by which men
and women can realize their potential and express themselves, and by which societies can develop and become strong.
It is a retrograde vision that ignores all the democratic values for which man has been striving, and which have
become the indispensable corollary of progress in all fields. Fundamentalism is the negation of democracy, and
thus the negation of freedom and progress; it is their antithesis.
In Tunisia, the problem (of fundamentalism) has been dealt with by strict application of the law. Now, fundamentalism
is your problem--I mean that of Paris, London, Washington. France, Great Britain, the United States are being used
as a save haven by fundamentalist terrorists… In the name of freedom and democracy, asylum is granted to the enemies
of that very freedom and democracy
Excerpts from an interview with the
French paper Le Figaro (August 2, 1994).
Foremost among these great challenges is, without any doubt, the
rise of the phenomenon of extremism within our Islamic Umma. Hiding behind the mask of religion, it spreads terrorism
in all its forms, in contradiction to the authentic values of tolerance which have, through the centuries, characterized
our pure Muslim faith and guaranteed its influence and contribution to universal civilization.
Recent years have revealed, in a way which leaves no room for the slightest doubt or dispute, the true intentions
of the extremist groups that use our pure Islamic faith as an instrument to accomplish narrow personal aims bearing
no relation of any sort to the religion, nor to the interests of our countries and our populations. Quite the contrary,
they represent a flagrant source of injury to Islam and to Muslims, both inside and outside our Muslim societies,
through the dangers that their plans and conspiracies bring to bear upon the stability, the security and the development
of these same societies, and through the distorted image of Islam and of Muslims that they convey to other nations
and peoples.
Such a code of conduct should not be limited to general statements incriminating terrorism and religious fanaticism.
We in Tunisia have committed ourselves to being the first to identify the evil, to call it by its name, and to
limit and remedy it through implementation of the necessary economic, social and educational reforms, confirmation
of the primacy of law and justice, dissemination and strengthening of spiritual and civic values, and a continuous
revitalization of the cohesion and solidarity of our entire social fabric, so as to guarantee the equilibrium and
stability of our society, secure from all excess and deficiency.
We are convinced that the mutual commitments we must all make should be formulated clearly and unequivocally, as
is the case in all regional organizations. We must also specify, in this code of conduct, that incitement to hate
and to racial and religious fanaticism constitute a crime equal to that of terrorism. Furthermore, it is indispensable
that the code mention all the forms in which this evil may manifest itself, for example the constitution of movements
that call for this type of mental and behavioural deviation, membership in such movements, and the financing of
such activities, as the organization of meetings or the distribution of tracts preaching fanaticism and hatred.
The Code of Conduct to combat international terrorism should serve as a framework for coordination among our countries
in the war on extremism, which uses religion as a screen; by the same token, the implementation of this code implies
the establishment of a convention, to be binding upon us all, by virtue of which the acts related to such terrorism
will be considered as criminal acts under our various national laws. Similarly, we should all make the commitment
to apply international mandates, to surrender criminals of this type, and to refrain from granting them asylum,
from taking them in, and from providing them with any form of protection whatsoever, including that of indifference.
Casablanca, December14, 1994
Fundamentalist terrorism is as foreign to the true Muslim faith
as it is to Tunisia's thousands of years of tradition, and it no longer exists on our soil. It is a phenomenon
that appeared at a very specific moment, during the nineteen eighties, when the political situation provided no
issue and when the economic and social crisis was at its apogee.
Since 1987, the year of the Change, political, economic and social reforms, and accomplishments in all areas have,
with the support of the country's active and democratic forces, made it possible to eliminate this threat.
Excerpts of an Interview with the Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung November 1996
The question is not only to fight the phenomenon of Islamist terrorism but to combat all forms of international
terrorism, be they religious, political, ethnic or racial. That being said, it is pseudo-religious terrorism which
constitutes the most serious threat to the security, stability and development of the states which are its victims.
We have constantly exhorted the international community to join ranks in order to face this phenomenon, and to
this end we are convinced that it is the duty of all members of the international community to adhere totally to
the idea that all forms of terrorism should be condemned, regardless of the means used by their perpetrators.
It is also imperative that all states abstain from granting asylum to individuals whose involvement or complicity
in acts of terrorism has been established.
It is from this perspective that Tunisia advocates the adoption, in the fight against terrorism, of an international
code of conduct similar to that already adopted by the Islamic Conference Organization.
Fundamentalist terrorism represents a danger for all countries, and particularly for the western countries, not
all of whom have yet grasped its seriousness. In the face of such danger, calculations-political or other-can only
increase the risks and prolong the difficulties which plague the countries which are facing this phenomenon individually.
It is incumbent upon the international community to meet the expectations of these countries by combating this
new scourge collectively, joining their efforts to fight organized crime and deprive it of its sources of finance
and support.
Another obligation of the international community is to join with concerned countries to establish plans of action
for the development of these countries, to eliminate hotbeds of tension, find remedies to social ills, eliminate
poverty and combat ignorance and inequality, which provide a fertile ground for often violent social unrest, and
therefore for the emergence and growth of extremist movements which never hesitate to raise fallacious slogans
based on the collective heritage of societies, that is, religion.
Interview with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Asahi Shimbun (July 8, 1996)
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