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We present to you the comments and reflections of people who are well acquainted with the situation in this country because they are directly involved and/or have a formal role in the relations between Nice and its region and Tunisia. The meeting is therefore scheduled for this Saturday at 2 PM at Place Garibaldi in Nice for a large republican gathering for Tunisia initiated by the “Collectif du jasmin Nice Côte d’Azur.”
Tunisia is a unique Arab-Muslim country, exemplary in three areas:
– Secularism in the public sphere
– Youth education
– Women’s equality
In 50 years, Tunisia, without any particular natural wealth unlike its neighbors, has managed to reach a level of development superior to that of some of the new member states of our European Union.
But can we continue to deprive a youth, predominantly composed of high school graduates and students, of the political expression rights known as public freedoms for long? This youth responded by taking to the streets of the main Tunisian cities. This youth, alone, toppled the existing regime, with their elders following suit.
We have suffered watching these young people fall to bullets, we have lived anxiously through the atrocities committed by these staunch phalangists whose sole purpose was chaos!!!
But we maintain hope for the future; the amnesty law for political prisoners, the right of return for exiles, and the legalization of their political parties as well as the anticipated holding of elections confirm that a democratic turning point is underway.
Let’s trust the Tunisian people, they have shown us a great example of maturity, they hold their destiny in their hands, they deserve our respect and admiration.
Jean-Pierre MANGIAPAN
President of the France-Tunisia Côte d’Azur Association
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LAUNCH OF THE “COLLECTIF DU JASMIN – COTE d’AZUR”
Keen to support the winds of democracy blowing through Tunisia, people from all origins and faiths in the Côte d’Azur region have come together in a collective to support the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia.
The collective does not want to miss this historical rendezvous and wishes to convey to the Tunisian people all its admiration for the courage shown in their march towards freedom and democracy. The collective calls on the Côte d’Azur residents who love Tunisia and those simply attached to freedom to join them in a spirit of shared fraternity.
Let us prepare to support the Tunisians, first morally and then through specific assistance actions based on the needs that arise.
Join us!
Nice Premium was also able to interview the spokesperson of the Collectif du Jasmin, Dr. Marouane Bouloudhnine, an orthopedic doctor at the Belvédère Clinic in Nice, who aspires to be secular and republican, open to all, whether Tunisian or not, who care to support the Tunisian people in this trial.
Historically speaking, the Tunisian community in Nice is about 40,000 people strong, being the largest foreign community in the city, with all social categories represented.
NP: Can you express your sentiment as a Franco-Tunisian?
MB: It is obviously a feeling of joy and pride. Tunisia is, and remains my country as well as France where I came for my studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Montpellier in 1982 and of which I am a citizen. It is the first time in the Arab world that a dictatorship has fallen by the will of the people. I am proud and moved, the Tunisian civil society and especially the youth have shown determination but also the ability to avoid excesses or know how to control them. The army also had a decisive role in declaring solidarity with the people and refusing to intervene alongside Ben-Ali’s militia.
NP: What are, in your opinion, the prospects for the future?
MB: Tunisia has obtained the most precious asset for a nation, its freedom. The escape of Ben-Ali and his clan recalls that of Louis XVI to Varennes. It is a symbol. Now we will need to build democracy and the institutions that come with it, such as political parties and parliamentary life, freedom of expression, and information.
All of this will not happen overnight nor without problems. I am a doctor and I know the subject: after the illness, a good recovery is needed. But Tunisia is a secular and cultured country and will surprise with its ability to react to new difficulties and may evolve towards the political living standards as we know them in the West.
NP: Is there a political and civil class ready to take over?
MB: I repeat, give us time to react, democracy is not a matter of a day, nor of a few people but of a people. There are politicians who will return to their homeland and who have legitimacy because they chose the path of exile and will have their say; others were part of the internal opposition, albeit clandestine, who will manifest. As in any democracy, there will be competition between political movements, programs, and people, then the people will choose.
NP: Will this “Jasmine Revolution” have a domino effect on other Arab countries?
MB: No one can say that because each people lives in a specific context. My feeling is that the Tunisian events will have the same effects as the fall of the Berlin Wall had on the countries of the communist bloc in Eastern Europe. My wish is, if it happens, that it could be done without excesses or deaths. Tunisia could then be the best example in this regard.
