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Capitalizing on deep public anger against Israel and its Western backers, Tunisia is considering laws to suppress NGOs
The war on Gaza has given Tunisia a rare moment of political unity, fueling public appetite for new legislation. There is a risk that would break civil society groups and potentially isolate the country internationally.
Since his July
2021 seizure of power, which the opposition called a coup, President Qais Said
has been fiercely opposed by both supporters of the former parliament and a
powerful trade union, the Union General Tunisian du Travail, or General Labor
Union of Tunisia. Dissatisfaction has been experienced.
For most of
Tunisia's young and progressive civil society groups, Said's presidency has
provided a focal point of dissent, but many resent his authoritarian rule and
what many see as the absence of an alternative, some are divided between.
However, the
military wing of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Israel's relentless
bombardment of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the October 7 surprise attack,
have stirred deep historical threads within Tunisia, and society. has been
brought together in such a way that, if nothing else, the revolution of 2011 is
included.
Piggybacking on public sentiment?
Intense public
anger against Israel and its Western backers, who are unwilling to even demand
restraint from it, has given new impetus to current proposals to curtail the
work of all the country's NGOs. They are seen as legislating curbs on Western
influence.
The proposals,
put forward by a group of members of parliament, would rewrite the
post-revolutionary Decree 88, which at the time was among the best legislation
in the world for free association, and all NGOs in the country can act as a
strap to pull back.
The proposed
bans are based on the objections of Fatima Masidi, a lawmaker from Sfax on the
Mediterranean coast, over support offered by civil society groups to
undocumented black refugees sleeping on the streets of her city. . She wanted
the refugees to be deported and the NGOs helping them to be banned from
receiving funds from abroad.
This law will
affect all NGOs operating within Tunisia. Public resentment of Western
governments' support of Israel - at odds with their past statements on
democracy-building and human rights - has left many Tunisian NGOs reluctant to
fund their criticism.
"I support
the president," Khadija Maliki, 33, who works in a nearby factory, said
from a cafe in the Tunisian medina. Regarding the NGO Bill, he said his
distrust of Western influence had grown since the attacks on Gaza. It's easy to
support the people.
Electrical
engineer Yusuf Jezeri felt the same way: "I don't believe in these
associations anyway. They are just names. I think their presence here is
doubtful."
The mood of the
Tunisian people can also be gauged by their support for a bill that would
criminalize normalization with Israel. Until the president's intervention on
Friday, the bill threatened prison terms for communicating with or dealing with
Israel to any individual or entity, effectively criminalizing members of
Tunisia's Jewish community. will be granted, many of whose family members hold
Israeli passports.
Allowing the state to control NGOs
According to
many NGOs in Tunisia, this legislation will essentially destroy the country's
reputation as a development hub. That reputation is already being tested by the
actions of the country's hard-line president.
The main thrust
of the proposed law is on allowing NGOs to establish themselves. Instead of a
simple notification process, the new system will give the government the right
to decide which NGOs operate in the country and, by extension, how they operate
and for how long.
Since 2011,
international organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
have established offices in Tunisia. A growing domestic NGO community, such as
the parliamentary watchdog Albusala and the anti-corruption NGO IWatch, has
emerged, all of which compete for international grants to maintain their
funding.
Organizations
serving victims of domestic violence, providing legal representation for those
accused of criminal activity or representing sexual minorities have increased
in number since the revolution.
According to
many NGOs, if the new law is passed, their activities will be under state
control.
"This
legislation is badly written, and badly written legislation is dangerous,"
said Amin Khurrat of Al-Bosalah about the proposed amendment to the NGO law.
"Furthermore, the country's anti-Western sentiment is allowing President
Saeed to pass legislation without any real oversight."
In February
2022, Saeed described civil society organizations registered abroad as
"extensions of foreign powers, who try to control the Tunisian people
through their money" to receive foreign funding.
MPs want
something quick. They want to show their support for Palestine, which is
admirable," said Salisbel Chelali, Tunisia director at Human Rights Watch.
"But this should not be done by passing a dangerous law."
Tunisia's
increasingly vocal support for Palestine comes at a time when international
tensions have risen. It also puts the country at odds with the policy
objectives of Tunisia's largest single international donor, the United States,
which continues to pressure Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.
Political
analyst Amin Sanussi said the president knows exactly how he will be viewed.
"It will
affect his negotiations with the IMF [whose majority shareholder is the US]
while damaging his image among Europe's far right, who love both Israel and
Saeed and who with it needs to migrate more."
(Courtesy: Al-Jazeera)
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