Ennahda, food strike and constituent assembly

Mohamed Brahmi Tunis – Azhaar al- Jarboui The Secretary General of the Tunisian Popular Movement, Mohamed Brahmi, said the Ennahda movement is responsible for removing the article which criminalised the normalisation with Israel in the drafted constitution. He announced a continuous food strike to protest against the security forces adopting violence and oppression against the residents of Sidi Bouzaid province. What are the reasons behind your decision to go on a food strike? We decided to start a food strike following the renewed painful events in the area of Manzel Bouzian in Sidi Bouzaid. Police forces violently attacked the population on two occasions within 24 hours. Their only guilt was protesting against the governor’s practices, which closed the doors against their rightful demands to work, have drinking water and having the least requirements for living in this poor area. Unfortunately, we failed to stop the governor from his violent methods against the people, which forced us into the open food strike to protest against his decisions. What were the reasons for choosing the National Constituent Assembly as a location for the strike? We wanted to launch a “scream” from inside the assembly which is the last hope for the democracy for the Tunisians. Also, it is known that the power balance between the assembly and the executive power is disrupted, which now depends on it – especially to Ennahda movement. This implements narrow party agendas even if the member swore to represent the people and overcome their partisan loyalty. What about your role as opposition and representatives of the people? We always evaluate, discuss and object and our stances are the best evidence to that. We warned the Troika since the launch of the works of the Assembly and said in several occasions that they are dealing with the situations as if it were a war gain they are dividing upon their victory, while they have the duty to draft a constitution and organise a temporary government awaiting the preparations for elections. The outcome of that is supposed to be legitimate government and parliament, but unfortunately it showed through experience and practice that those people do not believe in sustainable democracy, but only believe in the one use democracy that aims to support Ennahda movement in the power. That’s what we see through the appointments made by the government choosing people they want as governors, mayors, managers and others. It’s cler that Ennahda is leading a methodological armed robbery over the positions in the State and its institutions to have the administration subject to them, in addition to the methodological attack on media to subject honest journalists, and on security forces so that the security officers bow to them which is exactly the opposite of they call for in their preaches to build a republican and independent security. For all those reasons we drew the attention of the Tunisians and the world to us, so that we show them all that the track was misled and has to be corrected before it’s too late. What are your demands from the government in order to stop the food strike? Our first demand is to release the protesters who were detained in Manzel Bouzian area in the last social protests. They are not criminals, but the government is trying to give the image that they are, while actually the government is responsible for depriving them from their gains for a living. The second demand is to have a serious and responsible dialogue about the development issue in Sidi Bouzaid, because we never tackled it seriously. Unfortunately the government is disturbed more about the second demand.Sidi Bouzaid maintain the same problems as before the revolution, despite the fact it started from there. How would you explain this? It is obvious to everyone that the government doesn’t have any political strategy or a clear programme except taking over the state and the society by dedicating hundreds of associations for the preparations to what Rachid al-Ghannouchi calls social dash. It might be that Ennahda militias attacks on the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) headquarters the night before the strike of the transportation sector is the best evidence on this new theory of Sheikh al-Ghannouchi. On the other hand, the government of Ennahda movement is punishing Sidi Bouzaid province because it was the first place to launch the revolution. Also Ennahda presence if weak there, which was shown by the results of the last elections where it couldn’t take more than two seats out of eight, despite the amount of money spent. This forces it to attempt to have the area subject to Ennahda and take the same direction PM Hamadi al-Jebali decided to dismiss the governor and replace him by another. Why do you the think the protests continued? The former governor was an obstacle to the national and social dialogue about development, as he refuses to negotiate with the civil and political components of the society, except those of Ennahda or his close persons. He also played the role of the rough to tame the area through shameful practices so he became a load on the government itself. Even if the government talks frequently about dismissing the remnants of the former regime who belong to the dissolved Tagammu party, actually it uses them to run the state, even the head of the government. We have no “phobia” called Tagammu or Ennahda, what we need is to be just to the qualified people and punish the corrupted. Did the Troika propose that you join the national unity government, which is to be declared soon? No, the government did not because we announced from the beginning that we refuse to share any government - unless on the basis of a national rescue programme capable of solving the complex crisis of the country. How do you see the expected cabinet shuffle, in the hard circumstances lived by the country? I can see that the current expansion of the government is only a political manoeuvre of Ennahda movement in search of partners to share their failure, in addition to the polarization of greedy parties to “take a part of the cake”. Ennahda carries an authoritarian project that shows Tunisia as a cake, where it wants to take the biggest part of it and throwing the leftovers for its followers, not its partners. It doesn’t believe in the logic and values of partnership and alliance. May be its experience in the Troika with the Bloc and congress party is the best proof on that, knowing that the Minister of Finance Hussein al-Disami couldn’t support more that more than four months and resigned even if he is independent. There were many talks about dual polarization between Ennahda and the Salafis from one side, and Tunisia’s Call from the other. How would this reflect on the country? Firstly, I consider Salafis a part of Ennahda - even if some of its supporters try to keep distance from the movement’s hypotheses. Regarding the polarization between it and Tunisia’s Call or the outcomes of the dissolved Tagammu, it is a very serious issue which would terminate any hopes for building a fair development model and distributing the fortune benefiting the deprived. I said that “it is wanted for us to be between two choices, the best of them is sour” but the Tunisian people can avoid the conspiracies targeting it with its intelligence What are the real reasons after suspending your joining the Popular Front? Are the identity and your bases refusing to ally with the leftist part of the problem? There is an internal dialogue regarding this issue because it is a strategic choice. It is not easy to take a decision about it, especially that we respect our strivers and institutions. Despite our joining the Front or not, I believe it is the only one capable of filling the political gap and breaking the attraction between Ennahda and Tunisia’s Call. Consequently, there would be a sort of hope for the Tunisian future considering the history of its founders who were never involved in the failed power. We hope to resolve our internal issue before the beginning of the first conference of the Front, as you said the identity problem is one of the obstacles that can be overcome because the real issue here is the country and saving it from destruction and from the dictatorship project that would touch every one. It came to our knowledge that some bodies are working on dropping the article of the draft constitution about the criminalisation of the normalisation with Israel. Who is doing so? The Ennahda movement. After we signed the approval of the chapter by the rights and freedoms committee, and passed it to the committee responsible for formulating the articles, it was sent back asking for amendments. It doesn’t state clearly that normalisation is a criminal offence. This is not acceptable from the committee which acts according to the instructions of Ennahda movement, and which benefits the Israelis and Americans. Moreover, including in the constitution of “Tunisia the revolution” a chapter which criminalises normalisation with Israel would be an unprecedented deed in the Arab countries, threatening the interests of Israel in the region.