President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's gives interview to The Washington Times

19 February 2004

Here is the full text of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's interview with the Washington Times.

1 - What is your main message to Washington ? and what are your expectations from this visit ?

President Ben Ali : Tunisia's relations with the United States of America are excellent, deep-rooted in history, and based on mutual confidence and respect. They date back to the 18th century, more precisely to 1797, the date of the first commercial agreement concluded between Tunisia and the United States.

My visit to this friendly country, to which we have great respect and esteem, comes as part of the regular and intensive consultations and contacts between the two countries' high-ranking officials, and reflects the tight relations between the two nations. This visit will offer a renewed opportunity to have a deep and comprehensive dialogue with President George W. Bush and other American officials. This dialogue will address the ways and means to promote fruitful bilateral cooperation between the two countries, in addition to international issues of common concern. The aim is to elevate the Tunisian-American relations to the level of a strategic partnership in all fields, which will open up new prospects for the development process in Tunisia, consolidate the close ties between the Tunisian and American peoples, and contribute to reinforcing stability, security and peace in the world.

In this context, we look forward to a further consolidation of commercial exchanges and of the opportunities of American investment in Tunisia, so that we make of our bilateral cooperation an example which considers the agreements concluded between the two parties as an appropriate platform for further development. It is to be pointed out that the volume of American or joint investments in Tunisia, not including the energy sector, amounted to 327 million dinars in 2003, against only 30.8 million dinars in 1987. Our country hosts today 50 American or joint enterprises, 34 of which are wholly export-oriented, offering more than 11,000 jobs.

Owing to its excellent geographical location as a bridge linking the two shores of the Mediterranean, and thanks to the legislation it has enacted and the incentives it has provided to investors, Tunisia, we believe, offers an optimum platform for the intensification of investments and the creation of common projects.

The message we carry with us emanates from Tunisia's history and present. It, in fact, reaffirms our country's steadfast belief in the values of justice, freedom and democracy, and its constant endeavor to establish peace and stability in the world, on the basis of solidarity and tolerance among nations and peoples. These, in fact, are values which we share with the friendly American people.

Moreover, this message reaffirms Tunisia's steadfast positions regarding the current international issues, in the forefront of which the Palestinian cause and peace in the Middle-East, and also regarding the necessity to provide further support to developing countries in the promotion of their economies, premised upon our belief in the importance of development in establishing peace and security all over the world.

2 - What is your position concerning the " Roadmap " established by President Bush for the Middle-East ?

President Ben Ali : Tunisia has effectively contributed to all stages of the peace process in the Middle-East and has supported this process from its beginning, by hosting the first official Palestinian-American meeting, based on its belief that peace remains the only strategic choice for the region. Tunisia was also in the forefront of the countries which supported the " Roadmap " and welcomed the Security Council's adoption of a resolution supporting the implementation of this initiative and exhorting the concerned parties to be committed to all its obligations in order to achieve the vision of two states living side by side in peace and security. We commend the US Administration's position and President Bush's personal and clear support to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

We hope the US Administration will pursue its endeavors with all the concerned parties in order to put an end to the grave deterioration of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, to revive the negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and also to revive the other processes, in such a way as to establish the foundations of a real, just and durable peace for all the peoples of the region.

In this context, we exhort the Quartet members to intensify their efforts for the implementation of the provisions of the " Roadmap ", in order not to miss this opportunity, as was the case for the other previous peace initiatives.

Violence and extremism can never solve the region's problems; rather, they certainly lead to the intensification of grudges and hatred among its peoples. The spiral of violence will be broken only by returning to the table of negotiations on the basis of international legality and the agreements concluded.

Tunisia will spare no effort to make sure the logic of peace prevails over the logic of violence, so that the Palestinian people can establish its independent state on its land, and in order to offer all the peoples of the region the conditions of peaceful coexistence and devotion to development and construction.

3 - What about Iraq, Mr. President ?

President Ben Ali : We consider it necessary to promptly tackle the situation in Iraq, to endeavor to provide appropriate conditions in order to bring life back to normalcy, and to further involve the international community and the United Nations in managing the post-war period and in the reconstruction work. The aim is to ensure for this country the conditions of stability and security, while respecting its sovereignty and territorial unity.

4 - What role for the United States do you see in North Africa ?

President Ben Ali : We are firmly convinced that the establishment of a strong and integrated Maghreb Union constitutes a major element for the reinforcement of stability and peace in the world, given the important strategic position of this region.

With much determination, we endeavor to consolidate the conditions of complementarity and integration among the countries of the Arab Maghreb Union, hoping that our European and American partners will support our common Maghreb action and consolidate the Maghreb-American partnership in addition to the Maghreb-European partnership.

It is on that very basis that we supported the American initiative for the establishment of a partnership with the countries of North Africa, given the important role of this partnership in reinforcing economic integration in the region and in activating the process of building the Maghreb edifice. We are pleased that our country was chosen to host the regional office of the US-Middle-East Partnership Initiative which we welcomed and announced our participation in its programs.

The materialization of such an initiative will certainly accelerate the pace of development in the Maghreb countries, which will promote security and stability in this region, given the close correlation between peace, security and stability on the one hand, and development on the other hand. This initiative will also consecrate the principle of solidarity-based partnership and consolidates the channels of cooperation and rapprochement between the United States and the countries of North Africa, as part of a balanced policy that takes into consideration the interests of all parties.

5 - How do you assess the harvest of the process of change in Tunisia? and what are the major achievements ?

President Ben Ali : While I prefer to leave to history the task of recording and assessing the harvest of achievements, I can today assert that in Tunisia, we have made major strides on the path of sustainable development, and recorded numerous achievements in the political, economic, social and cultural fields. This has been testified by international institutions and bodies, known for their impartiality, sincerity and the absence of compliments in their reports.

Our economy has acquired further strength and invulnerability, and a greater capacity for openness on its international environment. The annual growth rate has, over a long period, exceeded 5%, the fact which has reinforced our capacity to export and to create job opportunities. Unemployment has gone down, the per capita income has gone up, and the poverty rate has been brought down to 4.2% of the population. Tunisia has become a preferred place for investments and tourism, attracting nearly 2500 foreign enterprises and annually visited by more than 5 million tourists.

Tunisia ranks first in Africa in the field of competitiveness, and has been included within the list of the 80 most developed countries in the world. The middle class has been widened, so that it now accounts for two-thirds of the population. The demographic growth rate is 1.1%, and life expectancy at birth has reached 73 years in 2001, against 67 in 1987. The schooling rate exceeds 99% for male and female six-year-olds.

These are some of the social and economic indicators that allow Tunisia to realistically aspire to join the ranks of developed countries.

On the political level, we have restored the values, principles and institutions of the Republic, and endeavored to establish justice and the rule of law. We have reinforced liberties and protected human rights. We have changed Tunisia into to a pluralist society, and its Parliament into a multicolored legislative body, in which six political parties are represented and women hold 11.5% of the seats. Democracy has been consecrated in municipal councils, with the presence of Opposition and independent parties, and with a women's presence of over 20%. The associative fabric has been reinforced, and civil society organizations have considerably increased in number and influence. We have also guaranteed freedom of expression and of the press, and protected the right to communication. All these achievements have been made within a healthy social environment, based on dialogue and entente.

Furthermore, we have attached a crucial importance to anchoring the values of solidarity and mutual assistance among all categories of the Tunisian people. This has been illustrated mainly through the establishment of the National Solidarity Fund (26-26) as a mechanism that has helped get more than one million Tunisians out of socio-economic marginalization, and offered them the attributes of a decent life. We do appreciate the UN General Assembly's decision to establish a world fund for solidarity and the eradication of poverty, based on the success of the Tunisian experience in this field, and given the fact that the values of solidarity and mutual support are necessary for the stability of peoples.

At a time when many countries are reviewing their policies and approaches, Tunisia can pride itself on the soundness of its choices which allow it to look to the future with great optimism and ambition.

6 - What has remained to be done politically and economically in the coming stage ?

President Ben Ali : Our country witnessed a constitutional reform for the edification of what we labeled the "Republic of Tomorrow". This reform, which won the Tunisian people's support in a referendum held for the first time in Tunisia's history, was intended to promote our political system, so that it can keep up with the new face of Tunisia and responds to the aspirations of the coming generations.

We have already started implementing the provisions of the new text of the Constitution, concerning the reinforcement of the plurality of candidacies for the coming presidential elections and the participation of all parties in a context of transparency and democratic competition. The reform consolidated the legislative function, established a chamber of Advisors (a second chamber in addition to the Parliament), and further reinforced human rights and enlarged the scope of their protection.

These achievements constitute a new step in the process of establishing democracy and the rule of law.

On the economic level, we have been keen on ensuring Tunisia's adaptation to the economic changes witnessed in the world today. Since 1995, we have established a coherent program to provide our economic enterprises with all that is required to consolidate their competitive capacity, in addition to upgrading human resources and encouraging the private initiative.

The results achieved have prompted us to pursue our work for the building of an economy that is more diverse and open on the world. We have also worked to increase our exports, to provide a propitious environment that attracts foreign investments, to reinforce the market mechanisms, to reduce the state's intervention, to develop the stock exchange and the banking system, and to foster privatization. All this has been crowned with the adoption of a comprehensive program for the upgrading of enterprises. A large part of the program has already been implemented as regards industrial enterprises. We also started upgrading the sectors of agriculture and services, in order to further prepare our economy to the coming stages of openness on the world market.

Besides, we have taken measures and offered incentives to consolidate the investors' confidence in Tunisia and in its economic policy.

We are well aware that preserving these gains and promoting the performance of our national economy require that we further upgrade the economic and social environment in such a way as to reinforce the factors of effectiveness at all levels. This is, in fact, what we will carry on materializing during the coming years, despite the delicate international juncture and the stagnation characterizing the world economy.

In the coming stage, we will strive to consolidate the foundations of comprehensive development and our people's gains in all fields, to continue improving living conditions, and to further promote employment and upgrade our economy, so that it becomes an intelligence-based economy in a society of knowledge which we endeavor to consolidate, and for which we are preparing investment in education and modern technologies.

7 - Are you satisfied with the performance of the legal Opposition and its contribution to the country's development? What role does the Tunisian press play in this regard ?

President Ben Ali : The existence of political parties is part of our irrevocable pluralist choice which we consecrated by elevating it to the status of a constitutional rule.

We have worked to confirm the constitutional status of political parties, offered them vast prospects for action, and provided them with all the legal and financial requirements so that they can accomplish their role in the process of national construction.

The measures we have initiated ensured the Opposition's presence in the Parliament and in municipal councils, as well as its participation in national consultations and contribution to the dialogue on major questions of concern to the nation.

As the political and legal platform existing today in our country constitutes the most optimum framework for the consolidation of the Opposition's presence, influence and action in all liberty, we expect Opposition parties to pursue the reinforcement of the pluralist process, to achieve higher levels of efficiency and influence, and to continue contributing to developing the political life, materializing the national choices, and winning the stakes of the current period which requires the mobilization of all Tunisians' potentialities.

We will carry on supporting political parties, premised on our conviction that the Opposition is a crucial element in our democratic system. These parties are thus called upon to show perseverance and efficiency in their political action, so that they can assert their presence, after we have provided them with optimum conditions for action and development.

Indeed, laws have been enacted, offering them fresh prospects and facilitating their field action so that they can make known their programs and views. Political parties are indeed free to use all legitimate means to reinforce their presence and, therefore, to enrich the political scene in the country.

On the other hand, our belief in the role of the information sector in consecrating the policy of reform and change has promoted us to offer this sector optimum conditions and means, so that it can accomplish its role in a context of freedom of expression and acceptance of different opinions.

We have amended the Press Code in such a way as to offer journalists best conditions of work. We have also facilitated the contribution of the Opposition press to the enrichment of the media scene through a public grant that ensures the regularity of its publication and allows it to make known the Opposition's programs.

We have made major strides on the path of establishing new information traditions based on sincerity and audacity in addressing issues as well as on the acceptance of criticism and different opinions. This has made the pluralism of the media scene a tangible reality in Tunisia, under laws guaranteeing freedom of opinion and of expression.

As part of the continuous reform and development of the information sector, the private sector was offered access to the audio-visual scene which was enriched by a private radio station and a private TV station. Our hope is that this step will contribute to the consolidation of the new information policy, so that our media will pursue the development of their discourse and contents.

The means and appropriate conditions provided by the state to the information sector have helped it accomplish its role in keeping up with national changes and in promoting advocacy, sensitization and dialogue. We take note of the comprehensiveness marking the Tunisian press in expressing the citizens' aspirations, the fact that further anchors the values of pluralism and freedom of expression in our society and allows the information sector to fully discharge its role in serving national questions.

8 - Has Tunisia managed to eradicate the danger of fundamentalist extremism or has it contained it?

President Ben Ali : Terrorism and extremism are nothing but accidental phenomena which Tunisia, with God's help, eradicated once and for all from the early 1990s. Terrorist and extremist groups are, in fact, in total contradiction with the nature of our sublime religion and with the values of the Tunisian Man, mainly moderation, tolerance and openness on all civilizations.

Aware that religion-masked extremism feeds on poverty, deprivation and ignorance, we have endeavored to tackle its roots socially, economically, culturally and educationally, and to address the conditions conducive to its emergence and propagation. We have adopted a development process covering all regions and all social categories, and worked to eradicate the pockets of poverty and to integrate deprived regions within the socio-economic mainstream. We have also tackled all forms of exclusion and marginalization which used to feed extremism, violence and terrorism. In parallel, we have anchored the values of democracy and pluralism, and endeavored to disseminate noble civic values, in order to preserve society's balance, stability and solidarity. We have adopted moderation as an approach to build a modern society and a Tunisian Man deeply rooted in his authenticity and open on other cultures. Indeed, the Islam in which we believe and which we advocate is the Islam of ijtihad (enlightened interpretative thinking) and toleration, of moderation and the golden mean. It is the Islam that keeps up with the developments of the age.

Reforming education was one of the solutions we adopted. Since the early 1990s, we have launched a comprehensive review of educational program, in order to fashion new generations imbued with the sense of civism and with the values of modernity, tolerance and human rights, while being at the same time proud of their identity and their assimilation of the authentic teachings of our sublime religion.

Moreover, the process of promoting women and elevating them to the status of equality and partnership with men is one of the decisive factors that helped defeat the phenomenon of extremism, fanaticism, terrorism and hatred.

If one adds to the foregoing the facts that the middle class in Tunisia is continuously widening, that the percentage of substandard houses has gone down to 1.9%, that 80% of Tunisian families own their houses, that four out of five rural families are supplied with electricity and drinkable water, that the poverty rate-as we stated earlier-has been brought down to 4.2%, and that the schooling rate covers almost all who reach the school age, in addition to the other development and human development indicators we mentioned earlier, one can clearly see the considerable achievements recorded in the process of establishing a balanced and modern society, in which the values of modernity and moderation are anchored. Indeed, the factor conducive to nihilism and despair are now inexistent in our country.

It is to be pointed out that the danger of extremism and terrorism remains-as we warned many years ago-a danger that transcends borders and requires a diligent action, a constant caution, and a continuous cooperation among all the members of the international community, in order to ward off the perils of criminal practices that feed terrorism, in addition to the attempts to exploit the globalized communication scene to spread out the culture of hatred and animosity among nations and religions.

9 - Is there a conflict between Islam and the Western World ?

President Ben Ali : It is clear that such a conflict has no existence in reality. We are firmly convinced that what is really taking place in the world today is a battle of interests rather than a conflict among civilizations and religions. Dealing with these notions in a simplistic way does, in fact, jeopardize the values of tolerance and dialogue.

Once again, we reaffirm that terrorism has nothing to do with religion. Nothing, in our view, support the notion of conflict among civilizations and religions. Islam, in fact, is not in conflict with the West, nor with other monolithic religions. Nothing in Islam calls for killing and bloodshed; it is indeed a religion of tolerance and non-coercion, a religion that considers the killer of one person as the killer of all humanity. This shows that terrorist movements have nothing to do with Islam. It follows that no conflation should be made, at this critical juncture of history, between terrorism and extremism on the one hand, and Islam on the other hand. Islam, like all other monolithic religions, advocates tolerance, justice, freedom, equality, respect of the other and rejection of violence, extremism and exclusion.

Today, our world needs to embrace the concept of dialogue of civilizations, with no superiority of one over another, so that the unity of universal civilization will be materialized as a matter of fact, this civilization which rests upon the premise that the richness of the world is derived from the diversity of its races and cultures, and that the universality of values does not rule out the respect of each society's characteristics and specificities.

We, in fact, dismiss the notion of conflict in light of two realities : first, our belief that the world needs rapprochement and peace, not hatred and confrontation. Second, our belonging to a land known for its being a cradle of successive deep-rooted civilizations, a land in which the values of dialogue, tolerance and the meeting of civilizations, races and religions have been anchored throughout its history. Currently and in that past, Tunisia has always rejected any doctrine that takes from human history nothing but its darkest moments and turns a blind eye to the many shining periods of coexistence.

The long human experience clearly shows that the contemporary civilization is the synthesis of various civilizations that succeeded one another all over the ages. We are absolutely keen on pursuing our endeavors so as to anchor cultural and civilizational dialogue among peoples, and to reinforce its channels, in such as away as to reflect the richness of the various human civilizations which share the values of tolerance, dialogue, solidarity and cooperation, to reject fanaticism and seclusion, to open up for religions vast prospects of action to achieve Man's happiness, and to promote the values of freedom, tolerance and human rights among all religions and in all societies.

Establishing the bridges of contact and complementarity among civilizations, cultures and religions is, in our view, the most effective way to ward off the dangers of extremism and terrorism, so that humanity can surmount its predicaments and imbalanced relations, and manage to build a better future for all, based on cooperation and solidarity, in a context of harmony and stability.

10 - Your country will host the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society in November 2005. What are the grounds underlying your vision to narrow the divide in this field at the international level, and to consecrate the information society at the national level ?

President Ben Ali : We were among the first who called for fostering international and regional cooperation in order to reduce disparity between countries and peoples in possessing knowledge and mastering modern technologies.

Deeply aware that the digital divide between countries is essentially a development gap before being a technological gap, and based on our belief in the importance of this dynamic sector in achieving balanced and just human development and in materializing humanity's aspirations for freedom, justice and dignity, we launched our proposal, in 1998, for the organization of a world summit under the auspices of the United Nations. The first phase of the Summit hosted by Geneva was an opportunity to reaffirm the fact that the recentness of this question and the rapid technological changes and the striking development of their applications in all economic, social, cultural, educational and environmental fields all make it difficult to reach a consensus on the principles and the means of action in this regard. But still, it stressed the fact that a deep examination and research in light of the common universal values do, in fact, facilitate the achievement of the hoped-for consensus.

The information society for which we aspire is a society offering equal opportunities to benefit from the advantages of this technology, and offering all persons and peoples, without discrimination, access to the sources of knowledge and information.

Tunisia, which is proud of hosting the second phase of the Summit in 2005, will work to ensure the success of the preparatory process and to provide optimum conditions for its holding, so that this Summit can meet the expectations of all and open up opportunities of participation for the civil society, international organizations, and the private sector, in addition to governments. We hope the Tunisia Summit will establish a solid ground that will make of these technologies a tool for the improvement of the conditions of less developed countries, as part of an effective solidarity-based vision, so that these countries can meet their needs and materialize their aspirations.

Worth pointing out is the fact that Tunisia's action at the foreign and international levels in the field of consecrating the information society parallels its action at the national level. For the edification of the information and communication society is, for Tunisia, a fundamental choice which we have striven to materialize, as part of a comprehensive approach based essentially on continuous structural reforms as well as on the consolidation of the ICT infrastructure, this latter being a major foundation for the knowledge-based economy and an essential factor for the stimulation of the pace of growth.

In this context, we have worked to promote our human potentialities. We have generalized the teaching of the computer science at all educational levels, created high institutes for technological studies, and established technological centers and forums for innovative projects in all the country's governorates. This in addition to training computer and communication specialists and encouraging them to promote their capacities and to assimilate modern technologies and mobilize them for development objectives.

We have also been keen on disseminating the digital culture on the widest scale possible, through the mass media and child-oriented computer centers, and by connecting all educational institutions to the Internet. This in addition to the generalization of the Internet and computer clubs in cultural centers, and the establishment of a network of Internet centers accessible to the public. We have also provided medium-income Tunisian families with facilitations and incentives to purchase "family computers". Besides, we have provided Internet buses to reach the remote rural areas.

Thanks to this strategy, we have managed to increase the number of those connected to the Internet. Indeed, what has been achieved since the Change in the field of providing and generalizing communication services to all categories of Tunisians exceeds 13 times what was achieved during a whole century. Moreover, the volume of investments allocated to this sector has increased, and the private sector has been offered the opportunity to support the State's efforts in this regard. We have also consolidated the new economic sectors such as the electronic commerce.

On the other hand, the number of Internet users in Tunisia has gone up to 600,000, and will further increase thanks to the many incentives we have initiated. This in addition to the establishment of a flexible and effective legal framework in order to keep pace with the changes witnessed by this sector at the national and international sectors.

All these achievement confirm our endeavor to ensure for Tunisia a future based on the awareness that the society of information and knowledge is the society of the future, and that all have the right to benefit from it.