بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
What is this new Constitution in Tunisia?
News:
Constitutional referendum in Tunisia.
Comment:
A constitutional referendum is scheduled to be held in Tunisia on the 25th of July. If it passes it will be the second constitution in the aftermath of the revolution in 2011. Even though both constitutions are exclusively secular constitutions there is a difference between the two. The first constitution which was applied in 2014 gave more power to the parliament, as opposed to the new constitution who centres the power around the President. This will give the Tunisian President Kais Saied much more power and control over Tunisia then before. In the run up to the draft constitution, the President gave already an idea of what he is up to with the new constitution. He seized control by invoking emergency powers, removed the prime minister, minister of defence, the acting minister of justice, the CEO of Tunisia’s major national television channel, Wataniya, members of government, suspend the parliament for 30 days, parliamentary immunity, dismissed the constitutional commission and most part of the constitution itself.
Writing this article, I’m in Tunisia. What’s evident in this country is that the French influence is almost tangible and definitely did not end with the decolonisation of Tunisia. That’s why the Arab Spring which started here was a nightmare for France as it was afraid of losing its long-lasting grip in Tunisia and an opportunity for other Western countries to enter and enforce their dominance. Especially since the revolution, Tunisia became a playground for dominance of Western powers, like France, England and the US. That’s why the real instigator for the quest for more dominance over Tunisia is beyond President Kais Saied and his entourage. It’s France whom he is allying with, which pushes this new constitution in order to tighten its reins as it did for the past one and half century.
The position of al lot of political parties and the bulk of the people is that they are against this dictatorial move due to the fear of going back to the situation before the revolution. So, in order to succeed and get the approval of the Muslims in Tunisia they used some “Islamic” wordings in the new constitution, like that Tunisia is a part of the Ummah and that Islam will be protected, but within the framework of secularism. So, they try to fool and mislead the Muslims with empty words.
The strong push for a second constitution is also a meant as a message to the people that the revolution has come to an end and has been concluded with this final constitution. Hereby diverting the people of real change and canalizing the sentiments of the people towards acceptance of the old system.
But the flipside is that the Muslims have remained a strong desire for Islam. Whatever the plans of the Western states and their agents are, they were not able to change the love and dedication of the Muslims for Islam, even after centuries of Western cultural colonization. It’s just a matter of time that Light of Islam will dominate once again, whether the capitalist like France, England and the US like it or not.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Okay Pala
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in The Netherlands