Tunis, Tunisia – The war on Gaza has offered Tunisia a rare moment of political unity, fueling public appetite for new legislation that risks fracturing civil society groups and potentially isolating the country on the international stage.
Since taking power in July 2021, decried by the opposition as a coup d’état, President Kais Saied has faced latent discontent from supporters of the former parliament and a powerful union, the Tunisian General Labor Union.
For many of Tunisia’s predominantly young and progressive civil society groups, Saied’s presidency has been a focal point of dissent, but many are torn between resentment of his authoritarian rule and what most see it as a lack of alternative.
However, Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip after an October 7 surprise attack in southern Israel by the military wing of Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, has tugged at deep historical threads in Tunisia, bringing society together in a way that nothing else has done. , including the 2011 revolution.
Rely on public opinion?
Deep public anger at Israel and its Western backers, who appear unwilling to even ask for restraint, has given new impetus to existing proposals to restrict the work of all NGOs in the country. They are seen as a legislative check on Western influence.
The proposals, put forward by a group of parliamentarians, would rewrite post-revolutionary Decree 88, hailed at the time as one of the world’s best laws on free association, and could serve as a leash to push back all NGOs from the country.
The proposed restrictions follow objections from Fatma Mseddi, a lawmaker from Sfax, on the Mediterranean coast, over the support offered by civil society groups to undocumented black refugees sleeping rough on the streets of her city. She wanted refugees deported and the NGOs helping them blocked from receiving foreign funding.
The legislation would affect all NGOs operating in Tunisia. Public resentment of Western governments’ support for Israel – at odds with their past rhetoric on democracy building and human rights – has left many Tunisian NGOs they helped fund exposed to the critics.
“I support the president,” said Khadija Malki, 33, who works in a nearby factory, from a cafe in Tunis’ medina. On the NGO bill, she said her distrust of Western influence had increased since the attacks on Gaza, telling a translator: “There are so many associations, but it is easier to side with Tunisians rather than foreigners. »
Electrical engineer Yousseff Jeziri shares this sentiment: “I don’t believe in these associations anyway. They’re just names. I think their presence here is suspicious.
The mood of the Tunisian public can also be gauged by support for a bill that would criminalize normalization with Israel. Until the president’s intervention Friday, the bill threatened prison sentences for anyone communicating or dealing with an Israeli individual or entity, which would have effectively criminalized members of Tunisia’s Jewish community, many of whom family have Israeli passports.
Allow the state to control NGOs
According to many Tunisian NGOs, this legislation would essentially destroy the country’s reputation as a development hub. That reputation is already being tested by the actions of the country’s hardline president.
The central axis of the bill focuses on the authorization granted to NGOs to establish themselves. Instead of a simple notification process, the new system would actually 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 community of domestic NGOs, such as parliamentary watchdog Al Bawsala and anti-corruption NGO IWatch, has grown, all vying for international grants to maintain their funding.
Organizations serving victims of domestic violence, arranging legal representation for those accused of criminal activity, or representing sexual minorities have all mushroomed since the revolution.
According to many NGOs, if the new legislation were adopted, their activities would be under state control.
“This legislation is poorly drafted, and poorly drafted legislation is dangerous,” said Amine Kharrat of Al Bawsala of the proposed revisions to the NGO law. “Moreover, the country’s anti-Western sentiment allows President Saied to pass laws without any real oversight. »
In February 2022, Saied described civil society organizations registered abroad or receiving foreign funding as “extensions of foreign powers, which seek to control the Tunisian people with their money.”
“MPs want something quick. They want to show their support for Palestine, which is laudable,” said Salsabil Chellali, Tunisia director of 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 of heightened international tension. It also places the country at odds with the political goals of Tunisia’s largest international donor, the United States, which continues to push for Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.
“The president knows exactly how this will be seen,” said political analyst Amine Snoussi.
“This will impact his negotiations with the IMF (whose majority shareholder is the United States) while tarnishing his image with the European far right, who love both Israel and Saied and with whom he needs to work on the migration issue.”
