Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki believes that current President Kais Saied is “trading” on the Palestinian cause, but, on the other hand, he thanked him for his indirect contribution to unifying the various factions of the Tunisian opposition .
Commenting on the continued detention of activists from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, he said: “This man (Saied) is trading on the Palestinian cause like most Arab presidents.”
He added “To remind you: he refused to receive the Hamas delegation when it came to Tunisia, and obstructed the departure of the Freedom Flotilla by all means, and now he is exploiting financial irregularities that may be a result of the youth’s lack of experience, to put them in prison. These are messages to the American administration: Look how cooperative we are.”
“The battle today is between supporters of the democratic system and the rule of law, and advocates of autocratic rule and control over subjects.”
Eleven Tunisian detainees from various intellectual currents addressed a message to Tunisians calling for overcoming the ongoing disputes between the various factions of the Tunisian opposition.
Marzouki commented on this by saying: “This is the only sound political stance in the face of a tyranny that has put all opposition movements in the same basket, and it is proof of what I have always called for, that the Islamic-secular conflict is outdated and only serves tyranny, because the political conflict is what must prevail over the ideological conflict.”
He added: “The battle today is between the supporters of the democratic system, the rule of law, institutions, and the people of citizens, and the advocates of autocratic rule and the apparatuses to control a people of subjects.”
Marzouki continued: “I am watching with great optimism that this sorting is taking place. I would almost say: Thank you to Kais Saied, for he is the one who is accelerating this awareness.”
He commented on the harsh prison sentences against the leader of the Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi (85 years old), saying: “A despicable act of revenge that reflects a sick mind.”
Marzouki also expressed his solidarity with “the activists who are confronting the shameful wave of racism that has escalated in Tunisia, and renewed the call for Tunisians to treat involuntary migrants as they would like Europeans to treat our children who have also migrated involuntarily.”
He added: “We have complained a lot about the double standards of the West, so please do not practice this intellectual and moral hypocrisy.”
“Israel has eaten its white bread, its narrative has crumbled, and it has become hated throughout the world.”
He argued that the Tunisian regime was in a predicament, adding: “It was incapable of preventing the influx from two neighboring countries, Algeria and Libya, who rid themselves of their burden on us instead of sitting down at a joint negotiating table. And of course, the coup leader (referring to Saied) agreed to play the role of policeman in exchange for some money, which means de facto resettlement. The tragic irony is that his supporters accuse me of what they cannot accuse him of, and his responsibility is as clear as day.”
He considered that the political, economic and social crisis that Tunisia is experiencing is “an unprecedented crisis, because the economy was achieving a modest growth rate even during the revolution, but today the combination of besieging the domestic investor, the aversion of the foreign investor, the squandering of public money in failing private companies, and the increasing debt, is causing Tunisia to sink day after day into unprecedented poverty, whether it is the poverty of the poor class or the collapse of the middle class.”
He added: “A situation like this cannot continue. I think the military and security establishment understands this, but I believe it is waiting for the street to act, while the street is waiting for the army to act.”
He added: “Ultimately, one of them will make a move, and this shameful chapter in our history will end.”
Marzouki commented on the American-Israeli wars in the region, saying: “What we are witnessing today is an unprecedented historical transformation. The process of restoring prestige after October 7th, and formulating a new Middle East under Israeli control, ended with the strategic failure of the American-Israeli war against Iran. Indeed, a new Middle East has begun to take shape, but it is not what the American administration and Israel planned.”
He considered that “the biggest winner is the Iranian regime, and its targeting of Qatar and Oman was a major mistake. The important thing is that we are facing a new situation that we Arabs can exploit to our advantage. If a Turkish-Egyptian-Saudi-Qatari-Pakistani alliance is formed, it will definitively deter Israel’s arrogance, impose a just solution to the Palestinian issue, and prevent the Iranian regime from returning to the policy of: We control four Arab capitals.”
Marzouki summarized his vision for the future of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, saying: “Israel has eaten its white bread. Its narrative has been shattered throughout the world, and it has become hated, not only in the Arab and Islamic world, but even in Europe and America, and this will have devastating political repercussions. As they say: it won all the battles and lost the war.”
He added: “But we must be careful, for a wounded and besieged predator is more dangerous than ever. Therefore, we must build a joint defense alliance against a country that has no friends and is harassing Jordan today and Egypt and Turkey tomorrow.”
He concluded by saying: “Our people in Gaza have fallen victim to the war against Iran. The world has forgotten that Gaza is bleeding, starving , and suffocating, and what is happening in the West Bank is no less horrific. Therefore, the Arab peoples must overcome their passivity, and the Arab regimes must come to the aid of Gaza as soon as possible.”
