Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1998, pages 71-72

A Country Report on Tunisia

Third RDC Congress in Tunisia Emphasizes Women’s Equality, Education and Job Creation

By Delinda C. Hanley

Four thousand people, including representatives of Tunisian political parties and committees, 73 dignitaries from nations around the world, and more than 54 journalists attended the third congress of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RDC) in Tunis from July 30 to Aug. 2. This congress of the country’s ruling party unanimously re-elected President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as the party’s candidate for the next presidential elections. It also provided an opportunity for the party to demonstrate its strong support among Tunisian women.

President Ben Ali opened what was called the “Congress of Excellence” with a speech frequently interrupted by standing ovations, enthusiastic applause and spontaneous bursts of the national anthem. In his speech the president said that Tunisia was about to “embark upon a crucial stage in the history of our country, as it prepares for the coming century with enthusiasm and optimism.”

He described the Congress of Salvation, held 10 years ago when Tunisia was recovering from a serious social and political crisis. Then, he said, the country “was in urgent need of initiatives in every field and sector.” Next when the “Congress of Perseverance” was held in 1993, the role of voices from the grass-roots was restored and frank debates including diverse views were encouraged.

Now, the president said, the focus of the 1998 “Congress of Excellence” was to help prepare Tunisia to excel in the coming century.

“Achieving our goals and attaining our ambitions will require the mobilization of every active element in our population,” Ben Ali said. “Tunisian women are capably and skillfully asserting themselves in every field, consistently registering new successes and rising with great merit to the highest degrees of excellence and distinction.

“This is demonstrated by their presence in public life, their assumption of responsibility and their full accomplishment of their duties, on an equal footing with men,” Ben Ali said as supporters cheered. “Having stated that the Congress of Excellence is the bridge over which we will pass into the next century, we refuse to admit any difference in advancement between men and women during this transition; we cannot win the wager of excellence without women.”

By this time every woman in the audience was standing, chanting, and singing. One woman announced, tears running from her eyes, “Ben Ali loves his women.”

Later, when asked why everyone kept breaking into song, she said, “We are supporting our president and his work. It is our national spirit that makes us want to sing the anthem when we are proud.”

Next President Ben Ali addressed Tunisian youth and its teachers. “We expect much of our youth, as we work to build their future, at the same time preparing them for that same future,” he said. All levels of education should be able to take advantage of modern technology as schools hook up to the Internet.

He also spoke to Tunisian expatriates working in such countries as Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Gulf states. Tunisia’s investment in education has created a highly trained labor force which benefits the host countries and is a valuable part of Tunisia’s economy, he pointed out.

President Ben Ali asked Tunisian expatriates to help strengthen the bridges between Tunisia and their host countries, but enjoined them also to retain the sense of belonging to their fatherland and its history.

Turning to Tunisia’s problems, Ben Ali expressed concern over the unemployment problem at home, and called for improved private sector investment to generate new jobs and promote competition.

For many of the foreign guests, the highlight of President Ben Ali’s speech was his call for cooperation in world affairs and his pledge of “support for the causes of right and justice throughout the world, foremost among which is the cause of the brother Palestinian people, who know that Tunisia, its population, and the RCD will always be standing beside them in their struggle to recover their full rights and create their independent state on their nation’s soil, with Al Quds as its capital.”

Ben Ali noted also that, “We stand firmly by the brother Syrian and Lebanese peoples in their efforts to recover their occupied territories, and we support the brother Libyan and Iraqi peoples for the raising of the blockade imposed on them.” He said that Tunisia continues its efforts to pursue joint Arab action as well as to revitalize cooperation with other African and Euro-Mediterranean countries.

In closing the congress, after busy days electing delegates, and discussing, voting and ratifying resolutions, the president described the fine line Tunisia walks as it enters the 21st century. “We are striving to raise our country to the ranks of the developed countries...preserving our identity while avoiding isolationism, and interacting with others but refusing assimilation.”

President Ben Ali thanked the RDC for electing him to be the party’s candidate for the next presidential election, welcomed the newly elected delegates, 21 percent of them women, and asked that all party members continue to work hard for Tunisia’s future.