Tunis Envy

Could WikiLeaks bring down an entire government? Riots, looting and shootings (lots of folks died) against the incumbent 74-year-old Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali (pictured above in his younger years), who scrammed to safety in Saudi Arabia in light of screaming unpopularity, suggest perhaps that result is possible. Ben Ali handed power to his prime minister on the 14^th, Mohamed Ghannouchi, but as riots continued and the constitutional validity of that transfer of authority was challenged, Ghannouchi stepped aside almost immediately. Parliamentary leader Fouad Mebazaa was then instantly sworn in as chief of state.

But the country seemed far from accepting and settling down; the Army was profoundly “busy.” “Major gun battles erupted outside the palace of Tunisia's deposed president, in the center of the capital, in front of the main opposition party headquarters and elsewhere on [Janaury 16^th] as authorities struggled to restore order and the world waited to see if the North African nation would continue its first steps away from autocratic rule… Police arrested dozens of people, including the top presidential security chief, as tensions appeared to mount between Tunisians buoyant over Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's departure and loyalists in danger of losing major perks.” AOLNews.com (January 16^th).

Did this really start with WikiLeaks? Proponents noted that while everyone in the country knew about brutal suppression, the Wiki-information may have been the snowball that started an avalanche. The original leaked communications – from our ambassador to his superiors in Washington – were actually sent two years ago and included one memorandum title that says it all: ““Corruption in Tunisia: What’s Yours is Mine.” The January 14^th New York Times quotes these communications: “‘Seemingly half of the Tunisian business community can claim a Ben Ali connection through marriage, and many of these relations are reported to have made the most of their lineage,’ the ambassador, Robert F. Godec, wrote in a cable two years ago. ‘Ben Ali’s wife, Leila Ben Ali, and her extended family — the Trabelsis — provoke the greatest ire from Tunisians,’ he added, noting that he heard frequent ‘barbs about their lack of education, low social status and conspicuous consumption.’… He added, ‘Tunisians also argue that the Trabelsis strong-arm tactics and flagrant abuse of the system make them easy to hate.’”

A rich, seemingly de facto “president for life” (he’d been in power for 23 years) and lots of close family and “friends” do (did?) fairly well in this North African nation on the soothingly warm Mediterranean. Close to Europe with many French-speaking residents, life in this seldom-talked-about country was (will still be?) very comfortable for the affluent. For those without resources, however, life was and is hard and unforgiving; unemployment and hopelessness abound. The substance of those cables spread throughout the country like wildfire; the impoverished masses were pissed! Perhaps, however, a tragic protest-by-self-immolation may have been the ultimate tipping point; protesters were then everywhere… rage was growing. Police countered, and dozens, maybe even more than a hundred, have been killed in numerous skirmishes.

The last days were telling. On the 13^th, that seething anger overflowed in the opulent beach town – often labeled the Tunisian St. Tropez – of Hammamet, where the President, his family and the mega-wealthy of Tunisia have summer homes (okay, they conspicuously excessive mansions). On January 11^th, the local disenchantment exploded: “[I]dyllic Hammamet became the latest casualty of that rage, as hundreds of protesters swarmed the streets, the police fled and rioters gleefully ransacked the mansion of a presidential relative, liberating a horse from its stable and setting aflame a pair of all-terrain vehicles.” NY Times. Ben Ali vacated the country the next day.

The U.S. has a stake in all this; Ben Ali was an ally in the fight against terrorism. In the past, at every sign of popular dissent, Ben Ali’s response was quick and brutal suppression, often blaming foreigners for stirring the pot. But this time was different; President Ben Ali was truly scared: “‘I am telling you I understand you, yes, I understand you,’ Mr. Ben Ali, 74, declared. ‘And I decided: total freedom for the media with all its channels and no shutting down Internet sites and rejecting any form of monitoring of it… And he repeated a pledge he first made when he seized power in a bloodless coup: ‘No presidency for life.’ He vowed not to challenge the constitutional age limit of 75 for presidents, which would make him ineligible to seek re-election in 2014.” NY Times. Obviously, his “people” didn’t buy any of it. And even as the government has “transitioned,” “The government has shut down schools, universities and trains running to and from the city, leaving crowds of young people idle and many people with no way to get home.” NY Times.

The subtext here is the balancing of the clear damage to national security brought on by WikiLeaks with the impact of exposed corruption on questionable political systems. Perhaps the answer is to prosecute those who furnished the information and violated their duties, but leave the press unencumbered. Has WikiLeaks opened the door to democratic reform in this North African nation? Isn’t that supposed to be the power of our own First Amendment? Hmmmm… There are more than a few other Arab leaders who are definitely not happy about populist-forced transitions in government; they definitely don’t have Tunis envy.

I’m Peter Dekom, and “black and white” is probably nothing more than a clothing choice; nothing is ever that clear anymore, no matter how much we think it should be.