Tunisia: as the ruling class manoeuvres at the top elements of dual power develop from below

 

Demonstration against RCD ministers. 19 January. Photo: Nasser NouriThe
seven key ministries (including the prime minister, finances, foreign
affairs, interior and defence) are held by the same people who held
these ministries under the hated dictator Ben Ali. The people feel that
their revolution, which forced Ben Ali to flee the country on Friday 14th,
will not be finished until the old regime is completely destroyed. "Ben
Ali has gone to Saudi Arabia! The government should go there too," was
one of the slogans. The rallying cry of these demonstrations was: "We
want a new parliament, a new constitution, a new republic! People rise
up against the Ben Ali loyalists!"

It is worth watching some of the videos of these demonstrations in
order to get a feel for the real mood of the Tunisian workers and youth:
Bizerte, Jan 19, Tunis, Jan 19, Gabes, Jan 19, Bizerte, Jan 19, occupation of the RCD offices in Sousse (now renamed Bouzazi Peoples’ House), Jan 19, Sfax, Jan 19, Bizerte, Jan 20, Touzer, Jan 20, Touzer, Jan 20, Almzop, Jan 20, Kairouan, Jan 20.

These angry and militant marches are not just demanding the disbanding of the RCD and the old regime at all levels, but they are taking direct action to implement
their demands. In more than 30 towns and cities in the provinces
massive demonstrations, mainly gathering outside the offices of the UGTT
trade union, have marched on the RCD headquarters and occupied them. As
a matter of fact, as the RCD controlled not only the national, regional
and municipal governments, but also controlled all aspects of public
life (professional associations, the police, the judiciary, etc), the
destruction of the power of the RCD means that power is passing from the
old regime to the masses on the streets and to the neighbourdhood
committees which have sprung up over the last week. These committees are
tasked with maintaining public order and defending the population
against the remains of the old regime (police officers, secret services,
the presidential guard), which are still desperately trying to protect
what is left of the old dictatorship.

The most advanced example of these emerging elements of dual power
that we know of is in the town of Sidi Bou Ali, in Sousse, with a
population of just over 10,000 people. There, on Sunday 16, the masses
gathered in the town square and after deliberating about the “new”
national unity government, decided to take power into their own hands.
This is the statement that was passed which we reproduce in full:

“Following the decision to entrust ‘Mohamed Ghannouchi’ with forming a
new government tasked with overseeing the new presidential elections
for the country; following the administrative vacuum and in the city of
Sidi Bou, Sousse Governorate; we, citizens of the town of Sidi Bou
meeting in the "People’s Square" in the city resolve the following:

Protest against goverment 19 January in Tunis. Phtoto: Nasser Nouri.The functions of this Council will be:

• The formation of committees to protect the neighbourhoods and their coordination;

• To work to restore economic life and to secure the necessities of daily life for the citizens;

• To work to re-establish working civilian institutions (banks,
  hospitals, municipalities, schools, institutes, post offices, the
  tax office …);

• To protect public property;

• Coordination with local and regional councils formed;

• Communication and contact with the national army as the only existing force in the country.

We have decided on the distribution of tasks amongst the following commissions:

• The commission on Publicity and Media;

• Commission on contacts with the National Army;

• Defence Committee for the Protection of the Neighbourhoods;

• Commission on protection of municipal property;

• Commission of supply of essential goods;

• Awareness, leadership and culture Committee (because of the
  importance of this statement we provide below a French translation
  and the Arabic original, which should be given as much publicity as
  possible)

This statement is most extraordinary, and we have no doubt that
similar action has been taken in many other towns and cities. Faced with
the vacuum of power left by the destruction of the old institutions the
youth, the workers, the people in general, have taken it upon
themselves to start building a new “institutionality”, based on
democratic committees “publicly elected” in mass meetings.

In Sidi Bou Ali, the “provisional council” which has been set up is
not just a committee of struggle, but has taken over the running of all
affairs (public order, provisioning, the economy, the post office,
education, etc). They have de facto taken power in the town.

These are in fact, in embryonic form, soviets (i.e. workers’
councils), the emergence of which is a true sign of a genuine revolution
taking place. It is clear that in some cities it has been the local
executives of the UGTT trade unions which have taken the initiative in
creating such committees.

These are the first steps in the right direction. These committees
must now be generalised in every factory, in every workplace, in every
neighbourhood. The committees should be coordinated at a local, regional
and national level through representatives elected democratically and
subject to the right of recall, as the resolution from Sidi Bou Ali
clearly points out.

Tunis, 19 January. Photo: Nasser Nouri.We
would like to make two comments on this statement which are relevant
for the whole of the revolutionary movement in Tunisia. The first is in
relation to the question of the Army. The statement talks of liaising
and communicating with the Army. It is clear that the Army at this point
commands a lot of respect amongst the people. As we have reported
before, there were many instances of fraternisation between the Army and
the demonstrators during the uprising last week and it was the police
and the presidential guard, rather than the Army, which played the key
role in the brutal repression of the people which took between 100 and
200 lives. In the last few days, the Army has fought running battles
with the remains of the Ben Ali loyalist police forces. This explains
the attitude of the people.

However, we must warn that one thing is the rank and file soldiers
and even some lower ranking officers who can be won over to the side of
the revolution, but the Army as an institution and particularly its top
command is a completely different matter. The Army is part of the
capitalist state apparatus of the Ben Ali dictatorship and if the
revolutionary movement of the people presents a decisive challenge to
the capitalist system, it will either split down the middle along class
lines or side with the ruling class.

In the last few days we have already seen incidents in which the Army
has been used to “maintain order” as against the anti-RCD
demonstrators. In the capital marchers were allowed to demonstrate but
prevented by the Army to reach the Ministry of Interior. The reason is
probably that inside the Ministry of the Interior, the Ben Ali henchmen
are busy destroying any proof of their brutal repression, torturing and
spying on the Tunisian people.

On the evening of January 19th, a small group of a few hundred youth
decided to challenge the curfew (starting at 8pm every night) declared
by the “new” government. A detachment of the Army went to try and
disperse them. A tense situation developed. The army officer in charge, a
Colonel, was received with shouts of “long live the Army”. He argued
that “the army is with the people”, that they had a “legitimate right”
to demonstrate, and that the “Army would not fire on the people”, but
that they had “to respect the curfew”, that “a palace of gold cannot be
built overnight”, that they should be “patient” and “return the day
after”. In the end the standoff ended in a draw and the protestors
stayed, therefore breaking the curfew. The day after, January 20th, when
thousands marched on the RCD offices in Mohammed V Avenue, the Army
fired warning shots in the air to try to disperse them. In the end the
building was taken over by the protestors (video).

These are early days regarding the Army. The top generals know full
well that they cannot use the conscript soldiers, infected by the virus
of revolution during the last few weeks, against the people, and it
would be foolish to try to do so. However, step by step, they will work
to reclaim the streets, and if the revolutionary people lowers its
guard, and withdraws from the streets, then the Army will be back in
power as the armed wing of the ruling class and its state apparatus and
it will be used to defend the interests of the capitalists, not those of
the people.

For this reason, it is necessary to build and strengthen the links
with the army ranks, with the soldiers and lower ranking officers which
are closer to the people. They should be encouraged to set up their own
committees and send representatives to the local revolutionary councils.
The soldier’s committees must take it upon themselves to denounce the
reactionary officers, all those who were directly involved in
repression, those who had personal, economic and other ties to the
ruling class and the Ben Ali regime and publicly expose them, arrest
them and put them on trial.

Soldiers committees linked closely to the revolutionary committees of
workers and youth would be a guarantee that no-one has either the power
or the strength to make a move against the will of the people.

The second observation we would make on the statement of the
revolutionary people of Sidi Bou Ali is that it talks about a new
constitution, democratic elections and the representation of all parties
(it is understood that the RCD would be excluded). We would say that
this can be achieved through a constituent assembly, but who would
convene such an assembly? As of yet there is no power which has the
legitimacy to do so. The “new” national unity government is nothing but
the continuation of the old regime. But if the revolutionary councils
were to be linked at a regional and national level, they would have the
legitimacy to convene such a constituent assembly to decide over the
profound reorganisation of the country’s life.

Manoeuvres at the top

While the workers and youth continue the struggle on the streets, the
ruling class continue their manoeuvres at the top to try to create a
“new” government with some legitimacy. The resignation of the three UGTT
trade union members from the government (less than 24 hours from its
announcement and even before its first meeting), was followed by the
resignation of the minister representing the social democratic FDLT. The
former Communist Party issued a strongly worded communiqué demanding
the removal of all RCD ministers from the government and conditioning
its participation on their withdrawal… but stayed in the government
nevertheless.

In a surreal twist to the story, all RCD ministers in the “new”
government then proceeded to resign from the RCD, as if this changed
their character. The RCD in turn expelled Ben Ali, trying to distance
itself from the dictatorship, and disbanded its Central Committee from
which most of its members had already resigned. Now, one of the RCD
ministers has also resigned from the government. This is a bit like all
the world’s Archbishops resigning from the Catholic Church and then the
Church deciding to expel the Pope from its ranks. These are clearly
desperate manoeuvres which will not fool the Tunisian people.

The different imperialist powers, having been caught by surprise by
the revolutionary uprising, are now busy behind the scenes, attempting
to make sure that “order” (i.e. normal capitalist exploitation) is
restored as soon as possible. The Tunisian people should reject any
foreign imperialist interference. The US and particularly the French
imperialists (of both right-wing and social-democratic varieties) have
their hands soaked in the blood of the Tunisian people. They fully
backed Ben Ali right until the end. They have no right to pretend now
that they are friends of the Tunisian revolution and that they can help
“supervise” democratic elections. On the contrary, the Tunisian workers
and youth must launch an internationalist appeal to their class brothers
and sisters in the whole of the Maghreb and the Middle East to follow
their example, and to the workers of Europe to join them in the struggle
against their imperialist masters.

A situation is developing in which a rift has opened between the
power of the streets and the official power of the new government.
Elements of dual power are clearly present, but these cannot last
indefinitely. The workers and youth must take the initiative and push
forward, otherwise the initiative will return to the official
institutions of power… and this will mean the restoration of the old
regime with some new faces.

Mass demonstrations in the streets and the setting up and linking up
of the revolutionary committees must be continued and strengthened.
That, however, will not be enough. The UGTT national leadership, under
immense pressure from below has been forced to abandon the so-called
national unity government. It should now organise and call a general
strike to render the government powerless. The regional and local bodies
of the UGTT should take the initiative for this in close coordination
with the revolutionary committees.

Political and social revolution

Source: The EconomistA
thorough purge is required at all levels of society. All the agents of
the old regime in all public and private institutions should be removed
and put on trial. The revolutionary people have already started the job
by occupying the RCD headquarters. This should be extended to the forces
of repression (the secret police, the presidential guard, etc) which
should be disbanded and their officials put on trial.

But this revolution was not only about overthrowing a dictatorship.
The slogans of the people were demanding “Jobs, bread – out with Ben
Ali”, clearly linking political with social demands. The achievement of
democracy, in itself, without a change in the socio-economic system,
will not fundamentally change anything.

The question of the property of the means of production should be
posed by the movement. To start with, the property of the Ben Ali family
and his Trabelsi clan should be expropriated and put under the
democratic control of the working people. That in itself would mean a
serious blow to capitalism in Tunisia, as the Trabelsi clan controlled
large parts of the economy (banking, construction, housing, car
dealerships, telecommunications, media, tourism, airlines,
import-export, agriculture, oil, cement, etc. there is almost no sector
in which the clan did not have decisive business participation.) It is
said that “half of the Tunisian business world is linked to Ben Ali in
one way or another”. The Tunisian revolution, in order to be genuinely
democratic, must also become a social revolution against the capitalist
system.

Down with the “unity government”– RCD Out! Disband the forces of
repression! Arrest and trial of all those officials linked to the old
regime at all levels! Strengthen the people’s committees at a local,
regional and national level! A democratic Constituent Assembly to decide
the country’s future! Soldiers’ committees! Expropriation of the
property of the Trabelsi clan under the control of the working people!
No to imperialist intervention!

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Suite à la décision de confier à «Mohamed Ghannouchi" de former un
nouveau gouvernement chargé de surveiller les nouvelles élections
présidentielles; et après le vide administratif et administratif dans
les villes de Sidi Bou Ali province de Sousse, nous, les citoyens de la
ville de Sidi Bou Ali rassemblés dans la "Place du Peuple" de la ville
déclarons ce qui suit:

• Nous rejetons cette décision puisque elle est basé sur une
  constitution non démocratique, non populaire, qui était violé plusieurs
  et qui ne garantit pas les droits de toutes les sensibilités nationales
  dans le pays.
• notre refus de la domination du parti au pouvoir sur la vie
  politique dans le pays, représentés par tous ses symboles dans le
  gouvernement actuel et de ses laquais;
• L’élection en public d’un conseil locale intérimaire pour la gestion
  des affaires de la ville et pour agir localement et en coordination sur
  le niveau régional et nationale pour maintenir l’ordre de la vie civil,
  économique, culturelle et politique dans le pays jusqu’à l’élaboration
  d’une nouvelle constitution démocratique et populaire qui va ouvrir la
  voie à des élections qui assureront une alternance pacifique et sans
  monopole du pouvoir. Et veille à ce que tous les partis national soit
  représentés

Les fonctions de ce Conseil serons:

• La formation des comités pour protéger les quarties et de la coordination entre elles.
• garantir la restauration de la vie économique quotidienne et les nécessités de la vie des citoyens
• garantir l’ouverture des institutions civiles (banques, hôpitaux, municipalités, écoles, instituts, poste, bureau d’impôts…)
• Assurer la propreté de la ville
• la Coordination avec les conseils locaux et régionaux.
• Communiquer et assurer la liaison avec l’armée nationale, la seule force existant dans le pays

Nous avons décidé de la répartition sur les comités suivants:

• Comité sur la publicité et l’information
• Comité de communication avec l’Armée nationale
• Comité de surveillance pour la protection des quartiers
• Comité de la propreté de la ville
  – Comité d’approvisionnement des nécessités de base
• Comité de la sensibilisation, l’orientation et la culture

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