President Ben Ali gives interview to Russian ''ITAR TASS'' news agency

Tunis, 5 July 2003

Question:

The Middle East peace process seems today to be at a turning point which is not without danger. so what is Tunisia's position on the developments of this issue and how do you think it would be possible to revive the peace process as regards the Palestinian issue and have the logic of peace triumph over that of violence?

Answer:

Despite the painful events happening in the Palestinian territories, and despite the continuous violence there, we are absolutely certain that peace is the only strategic option available to the region, and that the cycle of violence will only be broken when Palestinians and Israelis resume negotiations, on the basis of international legality and the agreements signed between the countries concerned, with a view to achieving an equitable settlement.

Although we have supported the peace process since it was launched and helped to reinforce every aspect of it, we have to state very clearly once again that the Palestinians' rights cannot be bargained away, and that there can be no peace without the recovery of all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to create an independent state on their national territory.

We believe that the tragic living conditions of the Palestinian people, resulting from the Israeli occupation, requires immediately granting them international protection and that the revival of the peace process in the middle east depends on the readiness of the international community, starting with the influential powers, to force Israel to pursue, with a sense of responsibility, the requirements of a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement, in accordance with the UN relevant resolutions, in such a way as the aspirations of the Palestinian people to live in freedom and dignity on their national territory and to have an independent state, come true.

Tunisia has followed with interest the proceedings of the Sharm-Esheikh and Aqaba summits on the commitment of all the parties to step up real efforts to revive the peace process and to break the cycle of violence. hoping that the ''roadmap'' will be implemented without further delay, Tunisia urges the members of the four-party commission (the quartet) to follow-up every stage of its implementation, so that this opportunity is not missed and does not end in the same way as the previous initiatives.

Tunisia will continue to support every effort and initiative intended to bring about a just and immediate solution to the Palestinian problem and to guarantee the conditions of security, peace and stability for all the peoples in the region.

Question:

The world seems today to witness a dangerous turning point, made worse by certain theories that argue that there is a clash of civilizations and religions, as well as by hegemonic trends. What are the foundations of the Tunisian approach to achieve peace in the world?

Answer:

Unfortunately, the world is still suffering from instability and contains an increasing number of hotbeds of tension and conflict, despite the progress humanity has made in every field.

We believe that human beings today need to take time to think how to go beyond this situation and turn over a new page in the relations of cooperation and solidarity between all the peoples of the world, taking advantage of every opportunity provided to choose dialogue and entente over clashes and confrontations, and to work to enshrine the values of tolerance and openness, away from all forms of extremism. in this regard, the united nations remains, in our view, the most appropriate framework for establishing this dialogue between nations. this obviously requires consolidation of the role of the UN as the guarantor of international legality, responsible for peace and security throughout the world.

Tunisia has always endeavored to contribute to reinforcing peace, security and stability in the world and to encourage rapprochement and coexistence, while advocating dialogue and negotiation for settling conflicts.

It is within this perspective that we have called for the convening of an international conference to define the common denominators for establishing an international pact for peace and development, which would help reduce the gap between developed and developing countries and alleviate the frustration and despair that so many peoples feel.

We have also called for reinforcing entente and consecrating the values of moderation, tolerance and solidarity between individuals, communities and peoples.

The international pact for peace and development that we have called for will lay the foundations for a better future for the entire international community, within the framework of constructive cooperation, away from conflicts and the squandering of energies, given that the peace/development equation cannot stand without the eradication of the hotbeds of tension in the various parts of the world.

Question:

Is your call for establishing a world solidarity fund in line with this overall approach to international relations?

Answer:

Nobody doubts that today there is a general feeling that the efforts made to fight poverty have not been enough to reduce this phenomenon, as shown by the existing figures and statistics. The same holds true for the ever-widening gap between rich and poor countries.

With all these considerations in mind, we recurrently called for developing cooperation between nations and promoting its mechanisms, as well as for establishing a partnership between the countries of the north and the south, in order to guarantee the conditions for a balanced economic and social development that ensures progress and prosperity for all peoples and gives globalization the human dimension, so as to remedy the forms of economic, scientific and technological development inequality existing between north and south and to help all human beings everywhere enjoy the fruits if knowledge and progress.

We also called for the necessity to strive at international level to accomplish this duty of solidarity between peoples, in order to combat poverty and promote the most deprived parts of the world, especially in the poorest countries.

Our call to establish a world solidarity fund has been met with a wide international support, crowned in late 2002 with the adoption by the UN general assembly of a resolution on the creation of this fund. We hope that the necessary financial means will be guaranteed so that this fund can start operating and achieving its noble objectives.

Question:

And yet, Mr. President, the double standard notion seems to have paralyzed the role of the United Nations. How, according to you, can this failing be corrected, so that this international organization and the notion of international legality may be rehabilitated?

Answer:

Our country's approach to international relations and its diplomatic action are based on a number of tenets, in the forefront of which the support for the UN charter and the principles and values contained therein which serve peace, security and entente among peoples, within a context of international legality that rejects double standards and selective treatment.

The changes occurring on the international scene necessitate, in addition to establishing a fairer world order, conferring further efficiency on the performance of the Security Council. This requires that special attention be paid to reforming the UN body.

To guarantee the right of developing countries to be associated in demarcating the parameters of the emerging world order, we think it is vital to confer a wider representative character on the Security Council, and to take into consideration the interests of developing countries, through widening the composition of this council to allow it to encompass all regional groupings.

In this context, Tunisia supports the request of the African group to give Africa two permanent seats, which will be occupied in turn by the countries of that continent, with the privileges that are at present granted to permanent members. Tunisia also supports granting two permanent seats respectively to Germany and Japan, given the weight these two countries have on the international scene.

Tunisia will pursue its endeavors for peace and security in the world, far from the double standard policies.

Question:

Under your leadership, Tunisia has spoken out for change and reform. How far have the policies followed met the objectives set?

Answer:

Under our approach, the change consists in laying down new bases for a societal model that is in harmony with the requirements of our age and meets the aspirations of the various classes and categories of our society and their longing for progress, social justice and basic freedoms.

The change is also a qualitative leap forward that has allowed us to restore the links of continuity with the country's prestigious past and with the reform movement of which, in the mid-19th century, our country was a pioneer.

We have sought to make the change a deep-seated action as well as an overall intellectual and political ideology, by adopting an innovative style for dealing with problems and changing our language to face up to the new realities.

Thanks to these two concepts - change and reform - we have managed to devise a coherent civilizational approach to our country's development and progress, on the basis of the organic interdependence of economic and social reforms on the one hand, and development, democracy and human rights on the other.

This interdependence expresses our concern not to sacrifice or neglect the social dimension. On the contrary, we made it one of our priorities when we had to make structural economic readjustments and this has enabled us to guarantee the social balance, to distribute the fruits of development equitably between our citizens, to improve the quality of life, and to ensure security and stability for our country and our people.

Today, we can state that we have made enormous strides along the path to sustainable development, and accomplished much in the political, economic, social and cultural fields. The results - as impartial international observers have attested - are positive and encouraging, despite difficulties and constraints.

Indeed, Tunisia of today is different from Tunisia of yesterday, as regards the welfare secured to our people and as the indicators of human development and of economic and social progress show. For instance, we have achieved an average annual growth rate of 5 % since 1997. Besides, Tunisia has become a favored center for investment and tourism, welcoming some 2500 foreign businesses and receiving each year no less than 5 million tourists. Our country has risen to hold the first place in Africa as regards competitiveness, a position which was strengthened when Tunisia was included on the list of the 80 most developed countries in the world. At the same time, our middle class grew to encompass over two-thirds of society, and life expectancy at birth went up from 67 in 1987 to 73 in 2001. We have also achieved a rate of school attendance of over 99 % for six-year-olds of both sexes. The average annual per capita income has risen to almost 3000 Dinars and simultaneously unemployment dropped markedly in our country, about 322.000 jobs having been generated during the ninth plan period (1997-2001).

We have also succeeded in reducing the poverty rate, bringing it down to less than 4.2 % of the total population, against 40 % in the 1960s. This is the result of the mechanisms we have established to back up the state efforts, particularly the national solidarity fund, better known in Tunisia as the 26-26 fund, after the number of its current account. based on voluntary donations and contributions, this has enabled us to save over one million Tunisians from isolation and marginalization, bringing them into the economic and social circuit and providing them with the conditions of a decent life.

These achievements have been made while preserving the major economic balances, since the rate of inflation has been brought down to 2.7 % while the budget deficit has been kept to 2.4 % of national product and the debt service was reduced to 15.6 % of export revenue in 2001, against 26.3 % in 1987. the pace of exports has also improved to reach an annual growth rate of 6.9 %. Here notice should be taken of the major projects we have initiated to strengthen and modernize our basic infrastructure, upgrade our human resources and prepare our economy for a successful integration within the world economy.

Politically, we have opened up the path to liberties and actually consecrated human rights in their various dimensions. We have also paid attention to enhancing the presence of political parties within the elected bodies. The political scene in our country has thus changed and we have now transcended the stage of a monochrome parliament. Moreover, the developing construction of a pluralistic democracy in our country has led to the growth of the rate of women's participation in public life: women's presence is now 11.5 % in parliament and 20.5 % in municipal councils.

We have also entered a new phase of reinforcing the foundations of the republican system and consolidating democracy, pluralism, public freedoms and human rights through a fundamental reform of the constitution that was unanimously approved by the Tunisian people during the first referendum ever held in the history of Tunisia. This reform marked the first steps of what we chose to call the ''Republic of tomorrow'' based on popular sovereignty and the participation of each and every Tunisian.

Today, Tunisia is a country living in stability and security, with a stronger economy. it is a land of dialogue, social consensus and rule of law, in which the values of pluralism and freedom of expression are continuously being consolidated. it is also a country of human rights in all their various dimensions, a country which is making progress and elevating itself from the status of an emerging country to that of a country that is economically, culturally, socially and politically developed. Together, these factors give us a great confidence in the future, despite the potential difficulties and challenges that might confront us.

Question:

What about Tunisia's economic and social choices for the coming period?

Answer:

The coming stage will be one in which we consolidate our achievements in order to bring them up to the level of our people's aspirations to well-being and progress, after having managed to achieve, during the last decade, a quantum leap in the economic and social fields, for which I have just given a few indicators and figures.

Aware that these new achievements have given our people greater aspirations and wider ambitions, we have designed an action plan which we have started putting into effect, in order to guarantee the conditions for a modern, strong and developed economy, one that is able to adapt to change, and that is truly competitive.

Employment remains in the forefront of our priorities. in order to strengthen job creation generated by economic growth, we established the national employment fund (21-21) to consolidate our potential for training young people and integrate them within the economic circuit.

We also work to increase our economy's competitiveness so that it can actively integrate within the world economy by deepening structural reforms and the program of upgrading our economic enterprises, which is today in a fairly advanced state of progress.

We have also decided to extend this program to the agricultural and service enterprises. Also, we gave the private sector a central role in achieving our development objectives, in promoting investments and exports, and in creating jobs.

Given the role of the infrastructure in making our economy more competitive, we will pay particular attention to reinforcing investment in the communication, transport, water and energy sectors.

Certain as we are that the human element is both the instrument and the end-objective of development action, we will strive to go further in upgrading our human resources, through pursuing the program for the promotion of vocational training and employment and through improving the efficiency of the education sector in training skills and upgrading human resources.

The tenth development plan (2002-2006), which we have already started implementing, represents a decisive stage in our development process especially in view of the challenges we will have to face over the coming period. The stake here consists in accelerating the pace of growth so as to translate the objective of employment into reality and increase the level of income, while preserving the social and economic balances and the conditions for sustainable development.

We are closely following the changes on the international scene and their potential consequences, in order to be able to make sure our national economy is strengthened and modernized, performs better and asserts its place on the international level. I am certain that the solid base we have provided for our economy today offers us the best chances of winning this stake, despite the instability and lack of clarity that characterize the current world situation.

Question:

How do you assess the relations between Tunisia and Russia?

Answer :

Relations between Tunisia and Russia are ancient and traditional. In the early 1920s, our country had been a safe refuge for the Russian emigrant community, which, finding life agreeable in our country, settled here and built an Orthodox Church.

This relationship, based on mutual respect, continued over the years and gained even greater depth and richness and after the change of November 7, 1987: political relations and consultation were consolidated, the number of visits increased on both sides, and the legal framework governing our relations was made more dynamic.

In Tunisia, we have constantly striven to establish channels of cooperation, diversify this cooperation and look into how best to permanently boost it so that it reflects our two countries' will to establish an effective partnership that takes into account the potentialities and opportunities offered by our two countries' economies.

We are confident that our relations with this great power, known for its support for noble human ideals and for its contribution to deepening solidarity between nations and peoples, will make notable progress over the coming years. We will continue to strengthen the channels of contact and dialogue between our two peoples, in order to transcend the long distance and geographical barriers that separate our two friendly countries.