Several influential personalities have been arrested in Tunisia. The president tackles corruption head-on. An endemic disease in this country.
It is the fifth of the 12 labors of Hercules. The hero of Greco-Roman mythology had one day to clean the stables of Augeas which had a great particularity, that of never having been cleaned for three decades, in particular thanks to the immunity against the disease enjoyed by livestock, considered a divine gift. One day, this is also what it took Kaïs Saïed, the Tunisian president, to begin his clean-up operation last Saturday.
On February 11, the Tunisian police arrested several public figures. Since then, those who made - or rather unmade - Tunisia yesterday no longer sleep peacefully: this Monday, it was the former Minister of Justice and leader of the Islamist party Ennahdha Noureddine Bhiri who was arrested, just before Noureddine Boutar, the managing director of the private Mosaïque FM radio station. They join, behind bars, the former leader of Ennahdha Abdelhamid Jelassi, the political activist Khayam Turki, two former magistrates and the businessman Kamel Eltaïef.
Kamel Eltaïef, symbol of corruption
The latter is undoubtedly the most symbolic personality of this regular cleaning. At 68, Kamel Eltaïef is indeed one of the figures of corruption. A stakeholder in the "medical coup" which ousted Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba from power in 1987, in favor of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Eltaïef has fallen between the drops of justice in recent years, despite the changes of presidents . An extremely rare fact which shows how much the businessman had to use his networks and make use of his fortune to accommodate himself to different regimes.
“We often say that Kais Saïed is crazy. It took courage, even a certain 'madness' to attack a corrupt Tunisia both in politics and in business”, describes a wise observer of Tunisian political life. Tunisia has nothing to envy to the stables of Augeas and Kaïs Saïed, despite all the reproaches that can be made to him, sees himself willingly in Hercules. "When one is concerned about the future of a country, the first thing to do is to attack the evil at the root," continues our observer. And Eltaïef has been, for decades, the symbol of an evil that has become endogenous”.
BCE, Chahed, Ghannouchi… The gravediggers of the Republic
Was tackling the root cause the only solution? Several successive regimes have tried — or pretended — to introduce reforms. But in reality, "nothing could help straighten out a Bourguibo-Benalist Tunisia built on appearances, which the Ghannouchi, Caïd Essebsi and other Youssef Chahed, the worst gravediggers, ended up finishing under the deceptive appearances of a country democratically run," said a Tunisian journalist, on condition of anonymity. Inaction, corruption and lack of vision… This is what has characterized each of the successive regimes in Tunisia.
It remains to be seen what the consequences of Kaïs Saïed's actions will be. In the eyes of the West, he remains the one who confiscated all the powers and flouted the institutions of the Republic. "In Tunisia, no one can doubt the probity of Kaïs Saïed, no one can doubt his courage under these pretexts", admits a specialist in Tunisian politics who asks the real question: "What institutions are we talking about? We ? Mostly corrupt institutions? This is what it is. And if no party is responsible, in fact they all are”.
History will judge the actions of Kaïs Saïed
Looking at the situation in Tunisia and taking stock of the first actions of Kaïs Saïed is rushed. We will have to see what history retains of its passage. Today, appearances can be deceiving, political commentators seem frightened by the situation. A situation with which part of the Tunisian bourgeoisie was satisfied until today, preferring to retain its privileges in a corrupt country. “The road will be long, but at least Tunisia is on the right track. Kaïs Saïd is the only one to have taken the path of honesty,” admits the Tunisian journalist.
It is therefore a highway that opens at Kaïs Saïed. Today, by posing as the main enemy of corruption, the Tunisian president is opening the way to true freedom for the Tunisian citizen. Corruption “undermines trust in public institutions, hinders economic development and dangerously harms the exercise of human rights”, sums up the Council of Europe quite rightly. For decades, Tunisians have put up with corruption, sinking into self-loathing.
Saïed peach with pomegranate
Still, the actions of Kaïs Saïed will have consequences. Positive first of all: we should finally see the disappearance of this impunity which is the engine of corruption. Personally, Kaïs Saïed should obtain a resurgence in popularity, in particular by making Ennahdha face up to its responsibilities. A few days ago, the Ministry of Justice created a pool of investigating judges who will investigate the assassinations of Chokri Belaïd and Mohammed Brahmi, whose files have been split into six parts. This new method should finally shed light on these murders.
“The Tunisian president has started a real pomegranate fishery. There will inevitably be collateral victims, but it is essential as the pond is soiled by corruption, ”sums up a political exile. For the latter, there is no longer any question of an ideological struggle: "Even if we did not support Kaïs Saïed, we follow him by force of circumstance, because corruption and impunity have always been the gangrene of Tunisia".