Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TUNIS102
2007-01-23 15:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tunis
Cable title:  

DAS CARPENTER'S ROUNDTABLE WITH TUNISIAN CIVIL

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM KMPI TS 
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VZCZCXYZ0115
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0102/01 0231553
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231553Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2515
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000102 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO - GRAY, CARPENTER, NEA/PI - ORBACH,
NEA/MAG - HOPKINS/HARRIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KMPI TS
SUBJECT: DAS CARPENTER'S ROUNDTABLE WITH TUNISIAN CIVIL
SOCIETY

REF: A. 06 TUNIS 2856


B. 06 TUNIS 2844

C. 06 TUNIS 2688

D. 06 TUNIS 2408

E. 06 TUNIS 1255

F. 06 TUNIS 816

G. 05 TUNIS 2100

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for Reasons 1.4 b & d

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000102

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO - GRAY, CARPENTER, NEA/PI - ORBACH,
NEA/MAG - HOPKINS/HARRIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KMPI TS
SUBJECT: DAS CARPENTER'S ROUNDTABLE WITH TUNISIAN CIVIL
SOCIETY

REF: A. 06 TUNIS 2856


B. 06 TUNIS 2844

C. 06 TUNIS 2688

D. 06 TUNIS 2408

E. 06 TUNIS 1255

F. 06 TUNIS 816

G. 05 TUNIS 2100

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for Reasons 1.4 b & d

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) During his January 10-12 visit to Tunis, NEA Deputy
Assistant Secretary J. Scott Carpenter met with six leaders
of Tunisian civil society. In a wide-ranging two-hour
discussion, several common themes emerged:

-- critiques that the United States, rhetoric was falling
behind it actions in promoting democracy in the region

-- their difficulty in working with the USG due to pressure
from Tunisian society and the perception that the US was
continuing to support Tunisian President Ben Ali and other
"dictatorships"

-- opposition to US involvement in Iraq and a perception of
USG inaction on the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP)
Carpenter reinforced the USG's commitment to the Freedom
Agenda, while looking for concrete ways to work with Tunisian
civil society to promote shared goals. End Summary.


2. (U) Ambassador hosted and moderated a roundtable for NEA
DAS Carpenter on January 11 with prominent members of
Tunisian civil society including Khelil Zaouia, steering
committee member of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH,
Ref C),Taieb Baccouche, President, Arab Human Rights
Institute (AIHR, Ref G),Mohsen Marzouk, Program Coordinator,
Freedom House (Ref E),Lotfi Hajji, President, Tunisian
Journalist Syndicate (SJT, Ref C),Mokhtar Jellali,
lawyer/activist (Ref F),and Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Secretary
General, opposition party Democratic Forum for Labor and
Freedoms (FTDL, Ref A). In a wide ranging discussion,
several prominent themes emerged, reflected in the headings
below:

--------------
Strong Stigma in Associating with USG
--------------


3. (C) DAS Carpenter began the roundtable by thanking the

attendees for coming, noting that it was particularly
important and courageous for them to have done so in an
environment where contact with the US Embassy draws criticism
from other Tunisians (Ref D). This theme was reinforced
throughout the roundtable by different interlocutors, who
complained of a strong stigma attached to dealing with US
officials -- a stigma propagated by both GOT (and
GOT-controlled media) and civil society colleagues alike, and
made more difficult by the perception that the US had given
up on promoting democracy. Ben Jaafar said that this stigma
prevented a closer
relationship between the USG and democracy activists, as
"today we talk with the United States, tomorrow we are
labeled as traitors and what for? The US continues to
support Ben Ali and other dictatorships."

--------------
Tunisian Civil Society Needs USG Political,
Not Financial Support
--------------


4. (C) Several interlocutors, responding to a question from
Ambassador on concrete ways the USG could support reformers,
noted the need for "moral and political" support in an
environment where programmatic support was next to
impossible. Jellali said that the United States could best
support Tunisian civil society by "denouncing (Ben Ali)
regime excesses." Jellali emphasized an oft-heard point that
Tunisia could be the model for democratic reform in the
region. Ben Jaafar added that Tunisia's progressive and
moderate traditions, not internal security measures, were the
best protection against extremism. Ben Jaafar continued that
USG political support should focus on institutional and
legal/constitutional reform in Tunisia, particularly on
judicial independence. Marzouk, the only representative of
an organization currently receiving MEPI funds at the
roundtable, recognized the importance of programmatic

efforts,
mentioning MEPI initiatives and the Forum for the Future.
However, Marzouk emphasized that the USG needs to develop a
long-term strategy to address democratic reform. Short-term
tools, such as MEPI programs, are an essential part of
addressing reform needs in the region, he said, but should be
under the umbrella of a long-term strategic approach.
Marzouk also pointed out that Tunisian civil
society should seek out partnerships with private sector
American organizations and individuals, recognizing that not
all assistance should come from the USG.

--------------
Iraq/Palestine
--------------


5. (C) Much of the roundtable was dedicated to Iraq and
Palestine, with most invitees describing perceived USG
"inaction" on the MEPP, and pointing to Iraq as the immediate
reason for the stigma against working with the US. Several
interlocutors claimed that problems in Iraq and Palestine
were negatively affecting human rights defenders across the
region. Taieb Baccouche said that in analyzing the current
"catastrophe" in the region, "everything starts from the base
of Palestine." Baccouche also lamented that Saddam Hussein,
due to the broadcast of the surreptitious video of his
execution, had "become a martyr." DAS Carpenter responded
that although he regretted the manner in which he was killed,
he did not "weep for Saddam." DAS Carpenter and Ambassador
also explained USG involvement in the MEPP at length,
describing the complexity of the process, and highlighting
current challenges, such as the weakness of Abu Mazen and the
rise of Hamas.

--------------
Not Enough Progress on Freedom Agenda,
Too Much Support for Regime
--------------


6. (C) Several invitees focused their remarks on a perceived
lack of progress by the USG in promoting democratic reform,
juxtaposed against what they considered continued support for
"dictatorships" in the region, and the Ben Ali regime in
particular. Lotfi Hajji and Mokhtar Jellali both mentioned
having been to similar roundtables with high-level USG
visitors in past years, where these
officials had "pledged not to support dictators", but that
nothing had changed in the interim in terms of either
political liberalization in Tunisia or USG support for the
GOT. Hajji questioned the utility of discussions with
visiting USG officials if these talks provided no forward
movement on political freedoms in Tunisia. "We cannot and
should not come to the Embassy like the Wailing Wall, simply
depositing our concerns and getting nothing in return,"
remarked Hajji. Marzouk added that the United States should
"treat dictators like Cuban cigars: they should be sanctioned
and banned."


7. (C) DAS Carpenter closed by reemphasizing that the USG
push for democracy in the region was going to continue,
despite rumors to the contrary -- rumors that governments in
the region were fanning. He continued that even if many in
the region viewed our policy and actions as contradictory, it
would be hard to imagine that civil society in these
countries would want the USG to stop this push for democracy.

--------------
Comment
--------------


8. (C) Although the tone of the roundtable was, on the
Tunisian side, largely pessimistic, invitees expressed
afterwards their appreciation for the discussion. Ben Jaafar
in particular said that it was the best event he had attended
at the Embassy in recent years, positively noting DAS
Carpenter's frankness and "passion".


9. (U) DAS Carpenter has cleared this message.


GODEC