From July 25th onwards, socio-political forces have been seeking to transform Tunisia from a post-revolutionary to a “re-revolutionary” country. Complications have risen as “terrorist operations” seem to multiply, not by coincidence. It would be presumptuous to force a final analysis on the situation, since a lot of details remain mysterious; however, let us try to look at the “story” from different angles and perspectives.
Following the assassination of the Nationalist politician Mohammad Brahmi and the death of eight Tunisian soldiers in an ambush in Mount Chaambi, Tunisia has been suffering a mounting crisis that seems to escalate almost daily. The political components of the opposition, notably the Popular Front (Communists, Socialists, and Nationalists) and Nidaa Tounes claim that the transitional Troika government is an utter failure when it comes to economy, politics, and national security. In synchrony with these grievances, a group of youth, most of whom are either ideologically or affectively leftist, organized al-7all/al-ra7il sit-in in Bardo in front of the constituent assembly.
At first, both opposition parties and sit-in spokespeople voiced the same demands: the dissolution of the no-longer-legitimate government and the constituent assembly, and the formation of a new “salvation” government representative of all political parties except for Ennahdha (though the decision of exclusion is not unanimous) and presided over by an independent national figure. Those in favor of “legitimacy” did not simply sit on their hands, they populated a “parallel Bardo”, vying in number with the Ra7il sit-inners, calling for national unity and supporting legitimacy. This is as far as the narrative part of this article is concerned.
A Mere Ideological Schism?
If we were to contemplate the two “Bardos”, the mobilization is seemingly bipolar: the “Down with the government and the NCA” camp vs. the “electoral legitimacy” camp. However, this reading flattens the more acute schism. Al-Ra7il sit-in is in fact a stew of heterogeneous ideologies. Participants include the Popular Front members (mostly Communist and Nationalist), anarchists, and Nidaa Tounes partisans (self-proclaimed Destourians). The latter group is the former two groups’ deadliest ideological enemy, deemed treacherous and reactionary. Anyone can imagine the conflicts that may arise amongst sit-inners with a seemingly common cause, incompatible ideologies, and antagonistic political interests -for ideological divergences seem to matter only to the youth and are of no relevance to politicians.
Towards a Political Consensus?
This bipolar mobilization might reflect much more than the “popular will”. It might be a negotiation tool between the different components of the political scene. Indeed, there is tendency to start inter-partisan communication to come up with a compromise that excludes the possibility of dissolving the Constituent Assembly. Popular protests, as massive as “The National Unity” gathering in El Kasbah on August 3rd, are therefore means of pressure to improve either side’s chances in the political negotiation process.
Geo-Strategic Rearrangements?
Zooming out of the national context, the fact that the “Arab Spring” countries are subject to trans-national bargains must not be ignored. This fit of chronologically-ordered acts of violence and terrorism that Tunisia is witnessing daily can be “outwardly-orchestrated”. A small look at the Franco-German European conflict for geo-economic footholds can reveal a lot as to which country is offering support to which side. I shall leave this geopolitical reading incomplete on purpose lest I should be accused of being an adept of the conspiracy theory. However, all of the circulating analyses are but readings, speculations, and guesswork. The geo-strategic factor should always be kept in mind, because revolutions trifle with power scales and require geopolitical revisions.
Where Does the Tunisian People Stand?
Unfortunately, the average Tunisian citizen, the one that is neither covered by “the media” nor “the parallel media”, seems to be disinterested. This dis-involvement is highly worrying: such a jaded, or simply indifferent, citizen can neither reform, nor reject, nor rebel. What is worse than being easily influenced by politicized calls is being hardly aware of them. This crisis does not require a thorough knowledge of politics or geopolitics; it calls for a sense of patriotism translated into efficient action. Who is more patriotic than the very people who rose in protest on a certain 17th December?
Good analysis. Our political scene indeed suffer from the bipolar affective disorder. And no one seems to speaking the language of the other. As for the Bardoists, a small ideological “bomb” thrown in there can turn the place into a Waterloo. And tension between the two “allies” is already rising. Yet sometimes it seems to me that these people have an ideological amnesia. How can an anarchist shake hands with a communist ? How can a communist shake hands with a nationalist (these two ideologies CANNOT work together) ? How can a nationalist shake hands with someone accused of having ties with Israel (Lazha Aakermi) ? How can a communist shake hands with a Liberak ?? How the hell do these people think ? And finally, how the hell are we going to do now that the army has pulled off several units from the borders to handle the mess these lunatics are causing. Shaky alliances, distractions for the military, no strategic vision whatsoever, that’s what’s happening in this country.
هذا ما يسمى ب”حل الصرة تلقى خيط” …تعبتوا وتعبتونا معاكم
تي شبيه النص متقطع ، ضربة هنا وضربة غادي؟؟
ثما قاعدة تقول انو مايجتمع طرف مع طرف اخر او اطراف اخرى الا عندما تتوفر نقاط مشتركة او اهداف مشتركة مثلا كلهم توانسة وتقدميين يومنون بالدولة المدنية تهمهم مصلحة البلاد ومشروع الديمقراطية والثورة و لهم بعض المطالب المشتركة… واذا عرف السبب بطل العجب
Bipolar is a chronic depression but polarising is the go.
the yin and yen of finding balance in tunisia can never be decoded
and it seems to have been written in a language yet to be understood.
this contest of two forces made up with the strangest composition of chemically
uncompatible material is a typical tunisian chackchouka.
the logic of one side is legitimacy:
user by date in food like in life have to be respected or it may cause bochilisme.
exceeding the time elected for is disrespect of what tunisians strove for.
if this is what we get from the change we wished for by the uprise and what
the current regime has delivered than we must’ve wished for a nightmare.
the present administration thinks we are enjoying these times and hope to deliver
more of the same staple.
as the call to a million fools as way to intimidate us into submission may be ridiculous.
the contest is a ridiculous exercise by both sides.
the medina of tunis is not the medina of saoudi arabia and the times of the seventh
century don’t correspond to the twenty first and ghannouchi is no prophet mohammed.
ask the average tunisian in the streets and see if he is content of what we got now and
would he life to stay on the same diet meaning status co .
the previous electoral method has a lot to answer for;example
allocating ten seats to ennahda is hard to explain,votes of minuscule parties
for lack of attaining suffuscent votes …. the disaster started there and the time it
took to count is……..
the other side of tunisia is anything but a disaster in the making:
initiated by a grave digger so it seems: pulling a mammy named beji from a grave
still putred with previous life flesh and ornating him with destour rcd rotten eggs.
it makes cast iron stomachs spew being around them.
the call of chaos by the rest of the cast of this side is no way to nirvana either.
the opposition wouldn’t differentiate between bacteria or back of cafeteria.
no member of parliament should be paid if absent more than one week a year
and with valid reason…..parliament must be taken seriously and those dismissed
or expelled shouldn’t be replaced automatically from the same party.
A by election in the seat they represent must be held and the electors can do their
choice or punishment….
We are in deep shit creek up to our necks at the moment in tunisia and no one
in the horizon to pull us…….raining zibla still.
TUNISIA send an S.O.S a call to an angel made in tunisia if such a thing exist
Save us urgent,urgent help,help? tunisia needs you now.
aidokom moubarek to all tunisians where ever u may be.
good effort your your.