PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER OF ADVISORS DEFENDS THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000110 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR TS SUBJECT: PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER OF ADVISORS DEFENDS THE GOT AND SEEKS U.S. SUPPORT REF: TUNIS 15 Classified By: Ambassador Gordon Gray for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Abdallah Kallel, the President of the Council of Advisors, gave the Ambassador a practiced defense of the GOT's goals and development strategy. He argued for continued USG support for Tunisia based on shared political values and the shared goal of eliminating terrorism. He underlined the continued danger of Islamists crossing the border from Algeria and defended President Ben Ali's "gradual approach" to building a democratic culture in Tunisia. He stressed the concern that if the GOT opened the way to full democracy too quickly it could be destabilizing. Replying to Kallel's pitch for more assistance, the Ambassador noted USG military assistance, and briefed Kallel on the trade mission arriving next week. Kallel also pointed out that the members of the Chamber of Advisors and expressed potential interest in a visit to their counterparts in the United States Senate. End summary. -------------- A Broad Defense of the GOT -------------- ¶2. (C) Abdallah Kallel, the President of the Tunisia's upper chamber of parliament, the Council of Advisors, presented a broad defense of the GOT's goals and strategy for the country's development in a February 10 meeting with the Ambassador. He said President Ben Ali is moving forward slowly and carefully to build a solid democracy in Tunisia. His verbose message boiled down to the following points: -- The GOT fought a stiff battle against the Islamist "Ennahda" movement in 1991, and remains concerned about Islamist influences in a population that is 99 percent Muslim. If the GOT is not vigilant, Islamists forces operating in Algeria could cross the border and create problems in Tunisia. -- The GOT is working to counter the appeal of the Islamists by developing the country socially and economically. The goal is a secular, democratic country that is private-sector oriented, but this process will take time, and if the leaders move too quickly they risk a reversal. -- Tunisia has been growing at an average rate of five percent a year for the last ten years, but suffered a setback in 2009 because of the economic crisis. However, this average growth rate is not creating enough jobs, especially for university graduates. Tunisia continues to lose its best young people to better jobs in Europe. He said there are a million Tunisians abroad; approximately 600,000 of them in France. (Note: the population of Tunisia is approximately 10.4 million. End note.). The GOT is working to encourage foreign investment, and to solicit foreign assistance in targeted areas to counter the attraction of Europe. -- The USG should support the GOT because our two countries share the goals of fighting terrorism and promoting democracy and capitalism. -- Kallel suggested that Tunisia was a better political investment than Portugal and Greece because Tunisia had proven itself to be more fiscally responsible during the financial crisis, and Tunisia provided a platform for Africa while Portugal looked out onto "the empty" Atlantic. He also said the United States has to take the lead in reforming the international financial system. He pushed several times for increased USG assistance, particularly for the military and education. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador noted our continued military assistance, pointed out anticipated U.S. budget restraints, and briefed Kallel on the arrival of a U.S. trade mission the following week. -------------- Structure of the Chamber of Advisors -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Kallel described the structure and function of the Council of Advisors. The Council is divided among three groups; one-third senior dignitaries, (mainly former ministers, politicians, and other prominent citizens),who are appointed directly by President Ben Ali; one-third elected indirectly by local level RCD officials; and one-third societal sector representatives. (Note: These last seats are distributed equally among the agricultural unions; the employers union; and the UGTT, the national trade union. The trade unionists have refused to accept their allotted seats because they object to the method for selecting representatives. End note.) ¶5. (SBU) The Council has the right to suggest amendments to legislation submitted by the government to the Parliament and to summon ministers to review proposed legislation. Revealing a point of tension between the two chambers of Parliament, Kallel said his chamber should be able to suggest amendments to proposed legislation before they are considered by the lower house, but instead both chambers receive proposed legislation from the government the exact same day. -------------- The Opposition is "Welcome" -------------- ¶6. (C) Kallel made a point early in the discussion of asserting that the GOT provides space for the opposition to work within the system, as part of the process of building a full democracy. Discussing the make-up of the parliament, however, he admitted that while 25 percent of the seats in the lower chamber are reserved for the opposition, in the Council of Advisors only 8 of 112 seats are held by opposition figures. Later he said everyone who is successful has enemies. He specifically named Najib Chebbi, the founder of the Progressive Democratic Party and one of the most prominent independent opposition figures, saying "there are figures who criticize the government but have no ideas of their own." Such opponents are working against the interests of their country, Kallel remarked, using GOT boilerplate rhetoric. -------------- Relations with other Senates -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Apparently angling for an invitation to Washington, Kallel mentioned that the Chamber of Advisors had sent representatives to visit the Senates of many other countries but had not yet visited the United States. -------------- Biographic Information -------------- ¶8. (C) During his conversation Kallel mentioned that he was sent as a Special Envoy to the United States after the first Gulf War, charged with smoothing the way after the "misunderstanding" created when Tunisia did not support the United States during the war to liberate Kuwait. Kallel served as the Minister of Interior in 1991, Minster of State and Special Advisor to the President in 1995, Minister of State for National Defense in 1996, Minister of Justice in 1997, Minister of Interior again in 1999, and Minister Advisor to the President 2001. In January, 2004 he was named Chairman of the Economic and Social Council, and in October, 2005 he became President of the Chamber of Advisors. ¶9. (C) Kallel mentioned three children: his eldest daughter has been living and working in Paris for the last ten years after studying at the Ecole Polytechnique in France. His son studied information technology in Toulouse and then returned to Tunisia and started two businesses, a call center, and a GPS locating service. A second daughter is teaching medicine in Tunisia after studying in France. ¶10. (C) Kallel told the Ambassador that he shared the Ambassador's interest in running and exercise. He explained a detailed regime consisting of a 5-8 kilometer run followed by another hour of gymnastics and weight-lifting three days a week, another three days of lighter exercise - walking rather than running, and Sunday off. He said he pays special attention to his diet eating a traditional diet with a maximum of fruits and vegetables and a minimum of cooked meats. GRAY