OPPOSITION PARTY GRANTED PUBLIC SPACE TO HOLD

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000388

SIPDIS

NEA/MAG (HAYES); DRL (JOHNSTONE/KLARMAN)
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO TS
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION PARTY GRANTED PUBLIC SPACE TO HOLD
CONGRESS: ILLUSION OR INCLUSION?

REF: A. TUNIS 259

B. 08 TUNIS 864

C. 08 TUNIS 851

Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) In an unprecedented political move, President Ben Ali
granted access to a public hall for the Democratic Forum for
Labor and Freedom (FDTL) opposition party to hold its first
official national congress on May 28-30. FDTL founding
member Dr. Mustapha Ben Jaafar was elected party Secretary
General and he announced his candidacy for the October 2009
presidential elections. It remains to be seen whether the
GOT Constitutional Council will allow him to run, however.
The FDTL publicly praised President Ben Ali, but privately
stated President Ben Ali's move was a calculated approach to
pit the FDTL against the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP)
and Ben Jaafar against PDP founder and declared presidential
candidate Nejib Chebbi. An FDTL representative opined to
PolOff that calming the opposition with some degree of
political acquiescence was not an unexpected Ben Ali ploy in
the run-up to elections. The representative did not foresee
any political changes post the 2009 presidential and
legislative elections. End Summary.

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Ben Jaafar "Takes" Charge
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2. (SBU) In an unprecedented political move, President Ben
Ali intervened to grant an opposition party, the Democratic
Forum on Work and Freedom (FDTL),access to a public hall to
hold its first official national congress on May 28-30.
Prior to Ben Ali's intervention, prompted by a letter from
Ben Jaafar to the President, the FDTL had been unable to
obtain permission to use public space or to rent space from a
private organization. (Note: The inability to rent space for
meetings is an oft-heard complaint from Tunisian opposition
and civil society groups. Hotels and other public venues
often turn away such groups claiming that they are "fully
booked" or "under renovations.")


3. (C) As is usual in Tunisia, the FDTL hosted members of
other parties at its congress. Notably, and in another
unusual move, the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally
(RCD) was represented by its Deputy Secretary General, Faouzi
Aouam. Ben Jaafar later publicly referred to Aouam's
presence at the congress as a pleasant surprise and a
possible step in easing political tensions. At the congress,
Mustapha Ben Jaafar was elected formally FDTL Secretary
General, a position he has long held. He announced his
candidacy for the October 2009 presidential elections and
raised the possibility of having a single candidate represent
the opposition in the presidential elections. It is not
clear whether Ben Jaafar meets the candidacy requirements
laid out in the extraordinary amendment to the constitution
for the 2009 elections, however (Ref C). How the criteria
with respect to being the "elected" head of the party for the
previous two years are interpreted will determine whether Ben
Jaafar is allowed to present his candidacy. This decision
will rest with the nine-member Constitutional Council. Asked
by Pol/EconCouns whether he thought he would be allowed, in
the end, to present his candidacy, Ben Jaafar replied,
laughing, "That depends on whether I'm a good boy."


4. (U) In a speech at the congress, Ben Jaafar publicly
thanked President Ben Ali for his personal intervention.
Privately, FDTL officials later said the expression of
public gratitude was the "least they could do," emphasizing
that the party was not vying for additional favors from
President Ben Ali. Also during the congress, Ben Jaafar
called for the creation of an independent body to monitor the
October 2009 elections as opposed to the Ministry of the
Interior. He also asked for guaranties of judicial
independence, freedom of association, and the right to
assemble, and he called for the relaxation of all political
restrictions and for reforms to address education,
unemployment and increasing economic disparities.

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Tales from the Congress
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5. (U) Dr. Khelil Ezzaouia, FDTL political bureau member in
charge of external relations, told PolOff on June 11 that the

FDTL congress was successful on various fronts: Ben Jaafar
was elected Secretary General and with unanimous party
support announced his presidential candidacy; the congress
brought together all members of the opposition, allowing for
free and frank political discourse; it illustrated the FDTL's
organization and productive working relationship with the
rest of the opposition; and, provided the forum for Ben
Jaafar to call for a united opposition with a single
representative candidate for the October 2009 presidential
elections.


6. (U) Ezzaouia opined that the congress was additionally
successful because the attendance of the RCD's second highest
ranking member, Deputy Secretary General Faouzi Aouam, gave
the FDTL political credibility. Ezzaouia qualified Aouam's
address as an "intelligent discourse," far from the
traditional rhetoric on the legitimacy and continued need for
the RCD to remain in power that the opposition expected.
Aouam's speech centered on the increasing need for pluralism
and the current challenges of the country, particularly youth
unemployment.

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Ben Ali's Gesture: Illusion or Inclusion?
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7. (C) While FDTL officials have publicly thanked President
Ben Ali and called President Ben Ali's personal intervention
a positive sign, they are also asking for further steps
towards political openness. Privately, they maintained that
the FDTL had no illusions that President Ben Ali was moving
towards pluralism. Ezzaouia on June 11 highlighted to PolOff
the fact that President Ben Ali's intervention coincided with
the visit of Nejib Chebbi, the declared candidate of the
Progressive Democratic Party-PDP, to the United States. He
claimed that the FDTL believed the RCD was pitting the FDTL
against the PDP, by giving the FDTL what it has continuously
denied the PDP-public access. (Note: During PolOff's meeting
with Ezzaouia, FDTL leader Dr. Ben Jaafar was holding a
meeting with the PDP's Secretary General, Maya Jribi at the
FDTL headquarters.) According to Ezzaouia, the FDTL
interpreted Ben Ali's gesture as a calculated effort to give
the impression of inclusion, and calm the opposition in the
run-up to elections. The FDTL expected the status quo in
Parliament to remain the same post the 2009 legislative
elections, with no seats for the FDTL.


8. (C) Ezzaouia said the FDTL had not changed its party
stance on requesting international election observers for the
2009 elections. He claimed that Ben Jaafar's current call
for "unbiased local observers" was in accordance with his
previous rhetoric since the overriding goal is to have
Tunisians involved in the electoral process. He also
admitted that the FDTL's proposal for a single candidate to
represent the opposition would not pass muster. According to
Ezzaouia, contradictions and divisions within the opposition
weakened them and made them less credible to the public. The
FDTL planned to meet the week of June 15-20 to decide on a
national campaign strategy. For financial and political
reasons, Ezzouia claimed the FDTL would focus particularly on
strategies for the 2014 elections. (Note: In an aside,
Ezzaouia told PolOff that the FDTL was struggling
financially. Local Arabic weekly magazine, Haqaiq, however
reported on June 15 that Ben Jaafar confirmed the FDTL
received financial support from the
presidency to help organize the FDTL congress.)

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Comment
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9. (C) Although the FDTL's private assessment of President
Ben Ali's gesture is credible, the party also understands
that it stands to gain from the ruling party's largesse. As
Ben Jaafar told Pol/EconCouns, however, this will require
that he stays in the ruling party's good graces. Ben
Jaafar's call for "unbiased local election observers" as
opposed to "international observers," appears to be a step in
that direction. It distances his party line from that of the
PDP's Nejib Chebbi, who has just returned from a trip to the
United States to court potential international elections
observation groups, such as the Carter Center and the
National Endowment for Democracy. The FDTL is trying to walk
a fine line between maintaining credibility as an independent
opposition party and accommodating a government and ruling
party that embrace political pluralism in principle, but
actively obstruct genuinely independent political activity.
Thus far, the FDTL's accommodations vis-a-vis the authorities
seem to be paying dividends in terms of access to public

space and reported financial assistance. The FDTL has also
been the subject of greater media coverage from both private
and state-run news media. The extent to which the FDTL's
strategy will succeed in the long term, however, remains to
be seen. Whether the Constitutional Council will allow Ben
Jaafar to present his candidacy and the GOT will allow him to
campaign freely will be important indicators. End Comment.
Godec