Tunisia: “We are here to overthrow the government”

“Several dozen police officers, some in civilian clothes and some in
uniform and wearing red armbands, arrived today [Friday 21] at the
Regional Workers’ Union in Ben Guerdane [on the border with Libya], to
demand the formation of a trade union in order to defend their moral and
material rights,” reported Hssine Betaïeb, a UGTT trade unionist to
AFP. “They have told us that whatever the regime might be, they will
never in the future use violence against the population again.”

This is very significant. It is clear that in a police force composed
of 120,000 people there are many different layers, from the brutal
torturer to the callous anti-riot police, to the traffic police, etc.
Some of them wish to disassociate themselves from the Ben Ali regime in
order to protect themselves. Others have been infected by the prevailing
revolutionary mood and are bringing out their accumulated grievances.
What is true is that the state apparatus in Tunisia, the armed bodies of
men in defence of private property of which Engels spoke, has been
extremely weakened by the revolutionary events, though not yet
completely destroyed.

This was graphically demonstrated when the demonstration on Saturday
arrived at the office of the Prime Minister, which was protected by
barbed wire and the presence of anti-riot police. Faced with thousands
of angry demonstrators carrying Tunisian banners and a Che Guevara flag
the police could only plead with the protestors: “Do whatever you want to do but please
don’t storm the office of the prime minister.” Had there been a clear
leadership, they could have taken over the Prime Minister’s office. The
government is truly suspended in mid-air, in the face of the developing
revolutionary movement.

On Friday 21, Gannouchi made a speech on live TV begging the
people to allow him to rule. Further to all the promises he had already
made, he added that the victims of repression would be compensated and
that he would quit politics altogether after fresh elections take place.
“My role is to bring my country out of this temporary phase and even if
I am nominated I will refuse it and leave politics," he said. He added
that he had “lived and suffered” like ordinary Tunisians under the
dictatorship. What utter hypocrisy from someone who was a minister of
Ben Ali for more than 20 years!

These incidents reflect the real balance of forces in the country: the government on the defensive, asking the people for trust, the masses on the streets taking power into their own hands, but still lacking the national coordination and clear leadership which would allow them to take power once and for all.

The trade union movement

Prime Minister’s Office. 20 January. Photo: Nasser NouriOn
Friday, there was a further meeting of the Central Committee of the
UGTT. There is a clear split within the trade union body between those
who were loyal to Ben Ali until the last minute but who have been forced
into opposition by the mass movement and a growing number of union
federations (including postal workers and teachers) and regional union
bodies which are further to the left and playing an important role in
the movement. It was a meeting of the CC last week, which forced the
Executive Bureau to go back on its decision of joining Gannouchi’s
government of “national unity”. There were rumours that the Executive
was moving again in the direction of rejoining the government, but they
were soundly defeated at the CC meeting on Friday.

The union issued a statement calling “for the dissolution of the
government and the setting up of a national coalition government which
responds to the demands of the demonstrators, the political parties, the
NGOs and the population as a whole.” The statement further declared
that the UGTT is “committed to continuing the legitimate struggle be
that through strikes or peaceful demonstrations until the recomposition
of the government according to the conditions set by the UGTT”. In
reality, the UGTT national leadership is trailing behind events, as the
regional bodies of the union are already calling regional general
strikes and demanding that talk be followed up with action.

The way to bring down the government would be to call a national
general strike and paralyse the country’s economy. In Jendouba for
instance, the regional UGTT has called for a regional general strike on
Wednesday 26. The teachers’ union has called for a national indefinite
strike “until the fall of the government” starting today, Monday 24,
which is the day schools and universities are resuming activities.
According to Nabil Haouachi, from the national leadership of the primary
school teachers’ union, the strike is already “an unprecedented
success”. He confirmed a very high participation throughout the country
with “rates of 100% participation in the strike in Médenine (South
East), Sidi Bouzid, Kasserine (Centre West), Béja, Jendouba (North West)
and Kairouan (Centre)… and 90% in Zaghouan (near Tunis) where there is
no trade union tradition and also a very solid strike in Tunis.”

The national executive of the UGTT, as a matter of fact, is more
concerned about establishing a “restoration of normality” than actually
bringing down the farcical government of national unity. In a separate
statement the union’s general secretary calls "upon all workers to
respond to all attempts to stop the activity of our economic order and
to maintain the normal mode of activity and vigilance to ensure the
smooth running and management of the companies, and renews the call upon
all progressive and democratic forces to maintain what has been
achieved by the uprising of our people, to avert all risks to circumvent
them and their objectives."

Reports coming in at the end of last week referred to the resumption
of production at the country’s main industrial centres by Friday,
meaning that they had been paralyzed, either by strike action or the
general chaos caused by the revolutionary events, for nearly a week.

As we reported on Friday, workers in state owned companies and in
others that have been privatised have been taking all sorts of direct
action (strikes, occupations, sit-ins, petitions) to demand their rights
and particularly to remove the most corrupt managers and those with
links to the Ben Ali Trabelsi clan.

As well as the examples we already reported (STAR insurance, National
Agricultural Bank, Tunisie Telecom, national tax office, etc), there
were also strike movements and occupations at the National Water Company
where workers occupied the company’s buildings demanding the removal of
managers and directors linked to old regime. In Béja, workers and
doctors at the local hospital demonstrated demanding the removal of RCD
symbols from the premises. Also in the Béja region there were reports of
peasants occupying land which they said had been confiscated from them
by Ben Ali’s nephew.

Air stewards of Tunisair marched to the central headquarters of the
company in the Charguia industrial area, demanding the removal of the
company’s CEOs but also the regularisation of their contracts. Civil
Aviation Office workers also demanded the removal of their director whom
they said had been involved in handing over public property and airport
concessions to Ben Ali’s relatives. In Monastir, airport workers have
announced the occupation of the installations today (Monday 24).
Political demands against corruption, for the removal of managers, etc,
have been become united with social demands, for better wages and
conditions, etc.

The movement is not only affecting traditional sectors of the working
class, but also “liberal” professionals, middle ranking layers, etc. In
Tunis, scientists and other personnel at the City of Sciences also
decided to occupy the installations until the director is removed.
Thousands of culture workers (artists, theatre workers, cinema
technicians, writers, etc) gathered on Saturday night outside the
National Theatre to demand the resignation of the government and pay
tribute to the martyrs of the revolution.

Meanwhile, in Siliana, where the revolutionary people have created
local and regional councils and decided to take power, a mass
demonstration on Saturday marched on the regional governor’s office. The
governor had to be whisked away under the protection of the Army and
the masses proceeded to occupy the governorate building. With their
actions they proved that their statements were serious and that they
meant business. Siliana is now under the control of the revolutionary
people. We recommend all our readers watch the video footage of this glorious episode of the Tunisian revolution.

“Liberation Caravan”

Soldier guarding the Prime Minister’s Office. Photo: Nasser Nori.After
a week of regional strikes and mass demonstrations against the
government, a growing feeling of anger and frustration was developing
among sections of the movement. They could feel that Gannouchi’s
government was stealing the revolution from the workers and youth and
that something was needed to put an end to it.

The initiative came from the revolutionary youth in Sidi Bouzid,
which quickly spread throughout the country. They have organised a
“Liberation Caravan” that has marched on the capital with the aim of
“overthrowing the government”. At first the march was supposed to walk
all the way to Tunis, but the youth got impatient and they decided to
drive, in order to get there faster. By Sunday afternoon, some 1000
youth from Sidi Bouzid, Regueb and other towns and cities from the
interior had arrived in the capital and camped in the yard outside the
Kasbah, the site of the Prime Minister’s office. “The Kasbah is the
Bastille of Tunis, and we will bring it down like the French
sans-culottes destroyed the Bastille in 1789,” said one of the
demonstrators. Another added: “We have overthrown Ben Ali, but we have
not yet overthrown his system.”

The sit-in was in clear violation of the curfew imposed by the
government, but there was not much the police or the army could do at
that point (see video).
There were reports of similar caravans coming from other towns and
cities in the country, but also of movements by the Army to stop them,
even leading to clashes. On Sunday evening, protestors from Borj Cedra
and Soliman, South of Tunis were blocked by the Army when they were on
their way to the capital, but it seems that after some wrangling they
were allowed through. On the same day, the army attempted to stop three
buses and a number of cars leaving the mining city of Gafsa for the
capital. After the youth threatened to go back to Gafsa and declare a
general strike, the army allowed them through. A similar situation
developed in Kasserine, when the army also blocked the caravan leaving
for the capital and even fired warning shots against the crowd. After
some struggle the youth fought their way through.

Early this morning (Monday 24), there were clashes between the police
and the protestors outside the Prime Minister’s building. The army and
the police had cordoned off the Kasbah. According to some reports, the
Army put itself between the protestors and the police and broke up the
skirmishes with warning shots in the air.

We can see in these skirmishes how the government is already testing
the ground, trying to reassert its authority and seeing how strong the
movement is and how much they can use the forces of repression against
it. So far, all the reports of   mostly minor   clashes between the Army
and the police and the revolutionary people have ended up with the
masses imposing their will.

It is crucial that the revolutionary committees, which have already
sprung up in the neighbourhoods, cities and regions, should establish
close links with the rank and file soldiers, encourage them to set up
their own committees for revolutionary vigilance. The same should be
done with police officers setting up trade unions.

This situation of dual power between the government and the streets
cannot last indefinitely. What is lacking is a clear leadership of the
movement. A nationwide general strike, the coordination of the
revolutionary committees and the formation of soldiers’ committees could
very rapidly lead to the overthrow of the government of Gannouchi and
its replacement by a genuine revolutionary government to convene a
constituent assembly. It is not ruled out that the UGTT, under enormous
pressure from below, might be forced to call such a general strike.

Mass demonstrations have taken place again today, Monday, in most cities. In Regueb and Sidi Bouzid it was a women’s march this time, while in the mining city of Gafsa, students and teachers marched together against the government. A massive demonstration took place in Kef as well.

But the question still remains: who is to replace the current
government? A national assembly of elected representatives from the
revolutionary committees and from the workplace and local unions could
elect a government trusted by the revolutionary people. Failing that
there are different options opening up.

There have already been intense rumours of a new government being set
up on the initiative of “trusted” political figures from the past who
might still command certain legitimacy and who are not directly tainted
by association with Ben Ali. There has been talk of a “Committee for the
Channelling of the Revolution” being set up by people from the
Bourguiba era, such as Ahmed Mestiri, Ahmed Bensalah and Mostafa El
Filali, who are already holding talks with “NGOs, civil society
organisations and the UGTT”.

A political analyst who defends the current government has “warned”
that the alternative to this is the Army stepping in: “With the
continuation of the people’s marches, organised by the left wing of the
UGTT, we will end up with an ‘18 Brumaire à la Tunisienne’ with calls
for the army to take power." This cannot be ruled out, and it is
probably one of the reasons why the Army high command has, so far, kept a
low profile and cultivated an image of itself as an institution that is
on the side of the people.

At the moment, however, the balance of forces is extremely favourable
to the revolution. Real power is in the hands of the masses on “the
streets”. The state has been enormously weakened, with the rank and file
soldiers and police sympathising for the mass movement. The government
pleads with the masses, begs the masses to allow it to govern. But the
movement marches on relentlessly. Everywhere, in the offices, the
factories, in the TV, radio and newspaper offices, the workers have
taken control.

In these conditions there is no force that could stop the Tunisian
workers and youth from taking power. It is there for the taking. What is
missing is a party of the working class that is prepared to lead all
the oppressed layers of society in completing the revolution. A general
strike of all workers with the taking over of all factories and offices,
a strike of the university and school students with the occupation of
all schools and universities, combined with an appeal to the rank and
file soldiers and police would sweep aside all the remnants of the old
Ben Ali regime.

Unless this is done, the Tunisian ruling elite will reorganise behind
other, less tainted, figures. They will even push to one side the
present farcical government if that is what it takes to appease the
masses. They will bring on board opposition figures, even people who
have been in exile, as long as these new politicians accept the
continued existence of capitalism in Tunisia. For as long as this
rotten, corrupt elite manage to hold on to the key economic levers in
the country, they will be able to play for time and prepare a comeback
in more favourable conditions in the future.

What is required is a clean break. Democracy yes, but with it must
come the expropriation of this elite. That is the only way of making
sure they never come back. What is lacking is a clear leadership which
would raise such a perspective and settle the matter decisively in
favour of the revolutionary masses, brushing to one side this government
and with it the remains of the old regime.

Jorge Martín