Tunisian Election Season Kicks Off - Personal Integrity and Credibility of Candidates Likely More Important than Ideology

Tunis, summer 2011

The elections campaign is now in full flow on the internet, on Facebook, in the newspapers. Candidates are already on the road giving speeches and holding public meetings.

There are 105 parties registered and hundreds of independent lists, but I think personal trust, credibility and integrity will play more of a role in these elections than political ideology.

Everyone wants to see the people they are going to vote for. This is a small country and on a local level, people will be familiar with the people on the lists in their voting districts.

So far, most people have the same message – creating jobs, reforming the justice system and the police, boosting the economy in poor regions, fighting corruption and protecting the environment.

There are candidates who have already made all kinds of unrealistic promises, but people in Tunisia are not stupid. No-one believes that tomorrow everything will be solved. Even the few illiterate people here are street smart.

More than half the public are still undecided – they just don’t know who they will vote for and are waiting to see the campaign and find out more about the abilities of the various candidates. It is going to be less about parties and more about personalities.

I think it is wonderful, and the campaign season is going amazingly well. Wherever you go people are talking politics. Taxi drivers, students, activists, and business people – everybody is volunteering or discussing or involved in some kind of political activity.

All the big parties have Facebook pages and are tweeting like crazy, uploading photographs. I could spend the whole day following the various campaigns; I have to make an effort to limit myself to 45 minutes daily.

It’s incredible how mature people are and how fast they are learning what it will mean to run a country democratically and the importance that free discussion plays in that process.

It is good at this point to have so many parties. This amount of groups will more accurately reflect people’s views and will give a greater sense of legitimacy to the results. Those who are elected will at first be tasked with writing a new constitution, but will still function as a de facto parliament.

All the secular, moderate, post-revolutionary political parties are facing a particularly big challenge to convince the public to vote for something new. I have strong doubts that all the old parties will be able to solve Tunisia’s problems, and that includes the Muslim Brotherhood party, Ennahda.

Some are still living in the 1970s and 1980s, with many in the movement still privately dreaming of setting up an Islamic republic. There are some who talk in double-speak; they refer to personal freedom, and pledge that liberal democracy is untouchable, but in reality they do not believe in the separation of religion and state and their positions remain ambiguous. Ennadha even, here and there, have women connected to the party who are not veiled, but this doesn’t mean anything. It is cheap PR.

However, they currently seem the strongest party and will probably be part of any new government, so people will see for themselves what their true face is. And I hope Ennadha will be involved in the government. This will not only test their responsibility and ability but will be healthy for Tunisia`s young democracy. It won’t be good if only secular parties are represented, and won’t be democratic if such a popular party is not integrated in a legitimate government.

Then again, it is impossible to gauge their actual strength. There have been various opinion polls but none of them have been serious or meaningful.

There are fears that some elements of the former regime could create security problems here and there during the election season, but it won’t be possible for them to affect an unstoppable process. They can’t stop history. I am optimistic; I think turn-out will be extremely high. It won’t be easy, but in the end the people will win.

* Article first published with International War and peace Reporting, http://iwpr.net/report-news/tunisian-election-season-kicks

* More info about elections in Tunisia: http://www.atide.org/
* You are Tunisian and you are not sure who to vote for? Go to www.ikhtiartounes.org
* Watch 2 videos by Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD) to motivate women to vote on October 23 - an dnot let men steal their votes/voices:
_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lhwvhjwpJK4
_ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xfv6paL7Gvk


Fouad Hamdan, a former DPA correspondent in Cairo and the Gulf, set up Greenpeace Lebanon in 1994-1999. He was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in Beirut in 2008-10. Since January 2011 he has been working on democracy-building projects in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

The sound of Arab democracy in Tunisia

Download 6 songs for free from Tunisian women.
http://www.latunisievote.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=58&id=291&Itemid&lang=fr

Project by my friends from La Tunisie Vote 2011 and www.mict-international.org


Check also this wonderful music clip, ENTI ESSOUT ("You are the Voice"), to motivate Tunisians to vote for the Constitutional Assembly on October 23, 2011 (UNDP project):

www.ikhtiartounes.org guides Tunisians when choosing who to vote for

The Tunisian group Jeunes Démocrates Indépendants (JID) launched on 15 September 2011 www.ikhtiartounes.org. It informs users about the political parties that are closest to ones expectations and values, ahead of elections for the Constitutional Assembly scheduled on October 23. This historic event in the Arab region is a first step in establishing an open and democratic Tunisia.

“Ikhtiar” in Arabic means “choice”.

Tunis, 15 Sept 2011 - Launching the site

At the heart of the website is a questionnaire providing the positions of political parties on the main issues debated in Tunisia today – the nature of the future political system, human rights, institutional reforms, economic policies, transitional justice, environment, etc.

The questionnaire was formulated by JID members and a committee of Tunisian experts in law, economics, development, environment and communications. All are politically independent, not running for the Constitutional Assembly - and they are known for their integrity. The questionnaire was subjected to the strict principle of neutrality. The team limited itself to 30 theses that they considered to be most relevant.

Users comment in ikhtiartounes.org to the 30 theses with “Agree”, “Do not agree” or “No opinion”. At the end, the tool presents the political parties that are close to the a user’s opinions. ikhtiartounes.org is inspired by a similar tool introduced in German and European Union parliamentary elections, the Wahlomat and Vote Match.

Why ikhtiartounes.org?

After Tunisian dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled on 14 January 2011 more than one hundred political parties registered for the planned elections, in addition to hundreds of lists of independents. This is very good news and shows that many Tunisians want to play an active role in shaping their country`s future.

But choosing among 100 and more can be quite confusing. This may lead to some deciding not to vote. One can assume that hardly anyone will be able to read all the political programs of all parties. Adding to the confusion, only a handful of parties are known. This is where ikhtiartounes.org can help.

What is the impact of this project? More interest for political issues, more debates among people and inside parties, less voter abstention.

The questionnaire was sent to all Tunisian parties end of July 2011. We know that the It  provoked among many parties debates over issues they did not discuss before. Examples: Should private schools be banned? Should all privatized companies be re-nationalized? Should wealthy regions transfer funds to poorer ones?

In several cases, debates inside parties were heated, numerous party sources told us. Our project basically helped parties formulate positions on issues they sometimes just forgot. It also helped sharpen older positions. ikhtiartounes.org turned out to be party education at its best.

When the website went online on September 15, several parties contacted us the same day and asked in panic to change some of their positions. Thousands of people had started to make the political test and many were outraged about some positions of parties they wanted to vote for. One known progressive party had said in the questionnaire that it was against the separation of state and religion (they had a twisted intellectual rational that only few understood). Their power base freaked out. The party felt the heat, called us and asked to correct their position.

In another case, an Islamist party systematically contradicted itself in many points in iktiartounes.org. In the questionnaire it supported electing a president by the people, but in its official program it opposes this! In the questionnaire it supports “without reservations” international human rights conventions, than it opposes equal rights for women and men in matters of heritage. What is really shocking to the poor power base of this Islamist party is the fact that it clicked “do not agree” under the thesis “Wealthy regions in Tunisia should financially support poorer regions”.

Ikhtiartounes.org helps uncover contradictions and in some cases tears down masks. Tunisians voters are able to scan the level of credibility of all Tunisian parties – the ones they thought they would vote for and the ones they oppose.

Most team members of ikhtiartounes.org - Tunis, 15 Sept 2011 

I had the privilege to manage that project right from the beginning and coordinate all players. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the German international cooperation agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit" (GIZ) and the Berlin-based NGO Media in Cooperation and Transition (MICT) in Berlin. GIZ hired me for that mission which started in May and ends in October 2011.

SHUKRAN!
_ Thanks to the team of Jeunes Indépendants Démocrates (JID): Zied Boussen, Jihene Ben Yehia, Youssef Blaiech, Kerim Milli, Cherifa Ben Milad, Ines Abid, Hella Nouri, Myriam Ben Sliman, Skandar Labibdi and the dozens of others JID who are the heart of this project!
_ Thanks to the Tunisian experts who advised and helped: Awatef Mabrouk, Salsabil Klibi, Sana Ben Achour, Aya Khiari, Mounir Majdoub, Kouraich Jaouahdou, Faouzi Belhaj.
_ Thanks to the funder of this project, GIZ, and its team in Tunisia: Carolin Welzel, Marion Geiss, Kirsten Schuettler, Zina Abdellaoui, Astrid Spilker, Rainer Krischel and and and...
_ Thanks to Niccole Choueiry, Dirk Spilker and the team of MICT that made this possible.
_ Thanks to the “Centre Tunis pour les Libertés de la Presse” where we had our press conference today.
_ And, finally, thanks to all my new Tunisian friends who advised me and guided me through this amazing new experience – watching an Arab democracy developing live!

Fouad Hamdan, a former correspondent of the German news agency DPA in Cairo and the Gulf, was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in Beirut in 2008-2010. He set up Greenpeace in Lebanon from 1994-1999. Since January 2011 he has been carrying out democracy-building projects in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

Malgré de nombreux obstacles, la démocratie en Tunisie ne peut pas être arrêtée

Article in English HERE.

Où que vous soyez à Tunis aujourd'hui, vous entendez des débats houleux: qui gouvernera le pays après les élections libres pour l’Assemblée Constitutionnelle le 23 octobre 2011? Le parti islamiste Ennahda va t’il transformer la Tunisie en un état de style iranien? Pourquoi les partis laïques ne sont-ils pas si bien organisés? Pour qui voter parmi les 100 nouveaux partis? 

Détendez-vous dans un café dans l'ancienne Médina de Tunis, dans le quartier des classes moyennes de Nasr ou dans la banlieue chic de Marsa – presque tout le monde discute avec passion la situation actuelle et à quoi une future démocratie tunisienne devrait prendre forme. 

Cette explosion de nouvelles libertés, depuis que le président Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali a fuit vers l'Arabie Saoudite le 14 janvier 2011 après un soulèvement de trois semaines, est un acquis que personne ne pourra jamais enlever aux Tunisiens. S'il y a un consensus dans le pays d'aujourd'hui, c'est que la liberté d'expression, qui a été durement gagnée, est intouchable. 

"Comme elle es belle la Tunisie sans Ben Ali Baba et les 40 voleurs"

Tunis, eté 2011

Les sujets controversés sont nombreux: la nature du futur système (le pouvoir entre les mains du président ou du premier ministre?), la relation entre Etat et religion, les droits de la femme, la politique économique, la réforme du système judiciaire et des institutions sécuritaires, la corruption. 

Beaucoup ont cru le 14 janvier que désormais tout irait bien. Mais les Tunisiens ce sont vite rendu compte que le gouvernement du premier ministre Mohammed Ghannouchi, qui a succédé à Ben Ali, a voulu perpétuer le régime détesté. Il a été renversé après des vagues de protestations et remplacé le 27 février par Beji Caid El-Sebsi, un ancien ministre sous l’ancien Président Habib Bourguiba, autoritaire mais vénéré. Le gouvernement de transition de Mr El-Sebsi dirige maintenant le pays à travers des eaux troubles jusqu'aux élections prévues. 

En parallèle, le « Conseil Supérieur pour la Réalisation des Objectifs de la Révolution, de la Réforme Politique et de la Transition Démocratique », une sorte de commission de réforme politique présidée par le professeur de droit Yadh Ben Achour, a été mise en place. Le conseil supérieur comprend des juges, des membres de la société civile et les représentants des principaux partis qui ont survécu à des années d'oppression en Tunisie et en exil. Ce conseil a mis en place une commission électorale, dirigée par l’éminent  défenseur des droits de l’homme,  Kamel Jendoubi, qui va organiser et surveiller les élections prévues. 

En principe tout est sur la bonne voie en Tunisie. On peut décider d'être pessimiste et croire que l'islamisme est à la hausse, ce qui conduirait à une érosion des droits personnels et des droits de la femme. Oui, l'économie est en difficulté depuis décembre 2010; le taux de chômage des jeunes et la pauvreté dans les zones rurales sont une source d'instabilité. Un fait inquiétant est aussi que des membres du parti dissous de Ben Ali, le Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique (RCD), occupent des postes clés dans l'appareil sécuritaire et dans la justice.

Depuis la chute de Ben Ali, la Tunisie a été régulièrement secouée par des grèves et des manifestations, parfois violentes.  Les membres de la société civile voient les RCDistes derrière ces flambées de violence. Dans un incident en juin dernier, sept personnes ont été tuées dans la ville minière de Metlaoui, des magasins pillés et incendiés. Cela faisait suite à  des rumeurs que seulement certaines familles seraient offertes des emplois dans le complexe de phosphate de Gafsa qui se trouve à proximité. 

Au début d'août, des milliers ont protesté à Tunis et autres villes contre ce qu'ils considéraient comme l'échec du gouvernement de rompre avec l'héritage de Ben Ali. Les protestations ont été déclenchées par la libération de prison de l'ancien ministre de la Justice Bechir Tekkari et par les nouvelles que Saida Agrebi, une amie de Leila Trabelsi, l’épouse de Ben Ali, avait pu fuir à Paris.

El-Sebsi a vite réagit et promis que son gouvernement de transition prendrait une ligne plus dure sur les alliés du président déchu. Je doute qu’il puisse le faire car son cabinet n'a pas la légitimité d'introduire des réformes profondes. Condamner tous les hauts fonctionnaires et hommes d'affaires responsables des crimes du passé ne sera pas possible durant cette période de transition. Pour calmer les esprits, un tribunal de Tunis a condamné en juin Ben Ali à 35 ans de prison. L'ancien dictateur a été jugé par contumance, car l'Arabie Saoudite refuse de l'extrader. 

Text en Arabe: "Je suis Musulman, je suis Tunisien, je suis contre Ennahda"

Manifestation a Tunis, mai 2011

Pendant ce temps, la politique nébuleuse d’Ennahda provoque la méfiance des laïques, les manifestations régulières provoquent davantage un sentiment d'instabilité et les loyalistes de Ben Ali tentent régulièrement de perturber le processus démocratique. 

Je suis néanmoins optimisme, et je crois en la sagesse de la feuille de route que les Tunisiens ont développé pour bâtir un système démocratique. Le conseil supérieur et El-Sebsi sont largement acceptés, tandis que le généraux de l'armée, sans ambitions politiques, garantissent la sécurité et contrôlent d’une façon très subtile la police et les services de renseignement qui sont haies par la population. 

Ennahda, pour sa part, a récemment perdu les voix de beaucoup de femmes quand le parti a suggéré que la meilleure façon de résoudre le problème du chômage des jeunes serait de payer environ 200 euro par mois pour chaque femme qui quitte son emploi et reste à la maison. Ceci n'était pas seulement un désastre en relations publiques, mais aussi économiquement non viable. 

J’ai discuté avec beaucoup de Tunisiennes croyantes. La plupart ne savent pas encore pour qui voter le 23 octobre, mais elles sont claires pour qui elles ne donneraient pas leurs voix: Ennahda. La raison que j’ai entendue maintes fois: « Parce qu'ils ont un double langage et parce qu'ils sont contre les femmes ».

Il est clair que le chef d’Ennahda, Rachid Ghannouchi, va marginaliser le parti s'il ne devient pas un vrai démocrate. Il martèle souvent que son parti veut être moderne et démocratique comme le parti turque de Justice et Développement (AKP). En réalité, Ennahda manque une position cohérente sur la  Déclaration Universelle pour les Droits de l’Homme et sur la question de donner aux femmes tunisiennes des droits égaux dans la question de l’héritage. Ennahda signifie « éveil ». Le temps est venu d’être à la hauteur de ce nom. 

"Liberté" - Medina de Tunis, eté 2011

Les Tunisiens font aussi face a d'autres défis: les partis d'opposition et les membres de la société civile ont développé des compétences de survie en Tunisie et en exile dans l’ère oppressive de Ben Ali;  mais se battre pour des idées dans une société libre est un autre art. Ils sont en train d'apprendre durement comment formuler et communiquer des programmes politiques et des campagnes pour gagner des voix et des membres.

Depuis janvier, les Tunisiens développent à grande vitesse une culture démocratique qui leur permettra de faire face à quatre défis majeurs après les élections du 23 octobre: créer une coalition de plusieurs partis pour former le premier gouvernement tunisien véritablement légitime ; réformer la police et la justice; éliminer les déséquilibres économiques régionaux et créer des emplois pour les jeunes; lancer un processus de justice transitionnelle et entrainer en justice les hauts responsables de violations des droits de l`homme et combattre la corruption. En parallèle, l'assemblée élue formulera une nouvelle constitution. 

La révolution en Tunisie n'a pas pris fin lorsque Ben Ali a fuit, elle continue lentement depuis lors, et prendra un nouvel élan après la date historique du 23 octobre. Le peuple tunisien, qui abhorre la violence et l'extrémisme, restera vigilant contre une éventuelle contre-révolution. Je suis convaincu que les anciens cadres du RCD, les Baasistes idéologiques et les Salafistes fondamentalistes n'ont aucune chance politique. La Tunisie va se développer en une démocratie arabe exemplaire, malgré de nombreux obstacles. 

« Nous avons de nombreuses années difficiles à venir », déclare Sana Ben Achour, une activiste de grande renommée des droits de femmes. « Mais n’ayez aucun doute que la Tunisie va surmonter toutes les difficultés. Et si à un certain point les hommes n'ont pas le courage de combattre, eh bien les femmes tunisiennes continueront la lutte, car elles n'abandonneront jamais ». 

Je la crois. 

Fouad Hamdan, ancien correspondant de l’agence de presse allemande DPA au Caire et dans le Golfe, a établit Greenpeace Liban en 1994-1999. Il était le directeur exécutif du Fonds Arabe pour les Droits Humains en 2008-2010. Depuis janvier 2011 il mène des projets de démocratisation en Tunisie, Libye et Egypte.

Tunisian Progress to Democracy Unstoppable - Despite many obstacles, prospects for reforms still look good.

Article en Français ICI


Wherever you are in Tunis today you experience heated debates: who will rule the country after free elections for a constitutional assembly on October 23? Will the Islamic Ennahda party turn Tunisia into an Iranian-style state? Why the secular parties are not so well organised? Who to vote for among the 100 and more new parties?


Sit in a cafe in the old medina of Tunis, in the middle-class Nasr area or in the posh Marsa suburb - almost everyone is arguing passionately about the current situation and how a Tunisian democracy should look.


The explosion of newly-found freedoms since President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on January 14 , after a three-week uprising, is something no one can ever take away from Tunisians. If there is any consensus among the people today it is that the hard-won freedom of expression is untouchable.

"Tunis is so beautiful without Ben Ali Baba and the 40 thieves!"  Tunis, summer 2011

The country's hot topics are many: the nature of the future system - should power be in hands of the president or prime minister - the relationship between state and religion, women's rights, economic policies, reforming the judiciary and security apparatus and corruption. 

On January 14 many believed that from now on all would be just fine. But Tunisians quickly realised that the government of premier Mohammed Ghannouchi, who took over from Ben Ali, wanted to perpetuate the hated regime. He was toppled after waves of protests and replaced on February 27 by Beji Caid el-Sebsi, a former minister under the authoritarian but revered late president Habib Bourguiba. El-Sebsi's transitional government is currently navigating the country through troubled waters until the planned elections.

In parallel, a "Higher Commission for the Achievement of the Objectives of the Revolution and the Democratic Transition", a sort of political reform commission chaired by law professor Yadh Ben Achour, was set up. It includes judges, civil society members and representatives of the major parties that survived years of oppression both in Tunis and in exile. The high commission set up an electoral committee, headed by veteran human rights activist Kamel Jendoubi, which will organise and monitor the planned elections.

In principle all is on track in Tunisia. One may decide to be pessimistic and claim that Islamism is on the rise, leading to an erosion of personal rights and women's rights, that the economy has been in flux since December 2010 and that youth unemployment and poverty in rural areas are still a source of even more instability. A worrying fact is also that members of Ben Ali's dissolved party, the Constitutional Democratic rally, RCD, are clinging to key positions in the security apparatus and the judiciary.

Since Ben Ali's downfall, the country has been rocked by regular demonstrations. Members of civil society see former RCD members behind outbreaks of violence. In one incident, seven people were killed in June in the mining town of Metlaoui, with shops looted and set on fire after rumours circulated that only certain tribes would be offered jobs at the nearby Gafsa phosphate complex.

In early August, thousands protested in Tunis and provincial cities over what they saw as the government`s failure to break with the legacy of Ben Ali. The protests were sparked by the release of former justice minister Bechir Tekkari from prison and the news that Saida Agrebi, a friend of Ben Ali's wife Leila Trabelsi, had fled to Paris.

El-Sebsi promised that his transitional government would take a tougher line on allies of the ousted president. But it seems doubtful that he can do so as his cabinet does not have the legitimacy to introduce serious reforms. Holding all top officials and businessmen accountable for past crimes will not be possible during this transition period. To calm tempers, in June a Tunis court sentenced Ben Ali to 35 years in jail. The former dictator was tried in absentia because Saudi Arabia refuses to extradite him.

"I am a Moslem, I am Tunisian, I am against Ennahda. We do not accept a 

second RCD (party of toppled president Ben Alil)". Protest in Tunis, May 2011

Meanwhile, Ennahda's nebulous policies fuel mistrust, regular protests provoke further instability and Ben Ali loyalists regularly attempt to disrupt the democratic process. Optimism is nonetheless possible, and there is wisdom in the road map Tunisians have developed to move towards a truly open and democratic system. The higher commission and el-Sebsi are widely accepted, while army generals with no political ambitions are guaranteeing overall security and keeping a close eye on the hated police and intelligence apparatus.

In the meantime, Ennahda lost many women's votes when it recently suggested that the best way to solve the problem of youth unemployment would be to pay about 280 US dollars per month for every woman who left her job to stay at home. This was not only a public relations disaster but also economic nonsense.

Afterwards, many religious women, although undecided about whom they would vote for, were clear for whom they would not be voting. Ennahda, "because they have a double-language and because they are against women", I was told.

Ennahda leader Rachid Ghannouchi will marginalise the party if he does not truly democratise. He often says the party wants to be modern and democratic like Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, but a clear position is missing on universal human rights and on the issue of giving Tunisian women equal rights in heritage. Ennahda means "awakening". Time has come to live up to this name.

Tunisia is also facing other challenges: opposition parties and civil society groups developed survival skills when opposing Ben Ali`s regime at home and in exile, but fighting for ideas in a free society is another art. They are now learning the hard way how to develop political programs and advocacy campaigns and how to win votes and members.

Graffiti in the medina of Tunis, summer 2011

Tunisians are developing at high-speed a democratic culture that will enable them to face four major challenges after elections on October 23 - to create a coalition of several parties to form Tunisia`s first truly legitimate government, to reform the police and judiciary, tackle regional economic imbalances and create jobs for youth as well as starting a process of transitional justice and prosecuting top human rights abusers and corrupt individuals. In parallel, the elected assembly will formulate a new constitution.

The revolution in Tunisia did not end when Ben Ali fled; it has been continuing slowly since then and will take a boost after October 23. The Tunisian people, who abhor violence and extremism, have been and will remain vigilant against a possible counter-revolution. Former RCD cadres, ideological Baathists and fundamentalist Salafists have no chance to win massive fellowship.

I believe Tunisia will develop into an exemplary Arab democracy, despite a bumpy road ahead. "We have many tough years ahead," said Sana Ben Achour, a leading women rights activist. "But have no doubt that Tunisia will overcome all difficulties. And if at some point men do not have the courage to fight anymore Tunisian women will continue fighting because they never give up".

I believe her.

Fouad Hamdan, a former DPA correspondent in Cairo and the Gulf, was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in Beirut in 2008-2010. He set up Greenpeace in Lebanon from 1994-1999. Since January 2011 he has been carrying out democracy-building projects in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The article was also published in the IWPR site on the Arab Spring.

Women (+men) from the Arab region at the Venice Biennale 2011 – a view from a political angle

Venice Biennale, 3 June 2011 (my first Biennale) - I entered the dark space of the Saudi Arabian Pavilion and there it is - the “Black Arch” of Raja and Shadia Alem hits you at once. The sisters, who grew up in Mecca in the 1970s and now live in Paris, stun visitors with a huge mirror in the shape of Earth; the back of the mirror is off course black. In front of it is a carpet of more than 1,400 steel balls from which emerges a modern Ka’aba-like cube. 


I take a step back, take a deep breath, watch and hear... To the right of the installation a projection shows a church and Venetian images, and you hear prayers and voices in Italian. Back to near darkness which is followed by another projection of waves at the centre. Again near darkness, then a projection to the left in which you see a mosque and hear prayers and voices in Arabic. Wow!

“Black Arch”, by Raja and Shadia Alem, Saudi Arabia pavilion

Power women Raja and Shadia explain, “Black Arch is about two visions of the world and of two cities, Mecca and Venice, of two cultures that meet”. They tell me in an interview: “Our work is about East and West, man and woman. There are barriers. But we carry all cultures in us. This breaks barriers. Our work makes you feel that you are part of one universe.” So much black in your work, why? Raja answers: “I grew up aware of the physical presence of black all around, of the black silhouettes of Saudi women, the black cloth of the al-Ka’aba and the black stone”.

I ask them if they plan to exhibit their work in Saudi Arabia after the premiere in Venice. “Inshallah”, is the answer with a charming smile. I doubt this would be possible as long as the country is under control of the fundamentalist Wahabi brand of Islam. The Saudi religious police (real name: “The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices”) would not tolerate any projection of a church with the sound of Christian prayers. I also doubt they would appreciate the aesthetics of a modern Ka’aba.

Ironically, and this shows the political schizophrenia in Saudi Arabia, the exhibition was financed by four Saudi institutions and firms, among them: The almighty state-controlled oil firm Aramco and – now hold your breath again – the Ministry of Culture and Information. Meanwhile, Saudis will have to travel to Venice if they want to see and feel this amazing work of art.

I cannot but hope that one day Saudi Arabia will have on its soil a museum of modern art. A centre piece of its permanent exhibition should be the “Black Arch”. Saudis can be proud of it. By the anachronistic religious police would be a footnote of the very dark past.


In the nearby pavilion of the United Arab Emirates I am welcomed by a smiling Lateefa Ben Maktoum. Dressed and veiled in black she explains her photo exhibition. Two pictures strike me as sad and critical of the dramatic sociological changes that occurred in Dubai during the past decades. In one picture a faceless and veiled woman looks down against the background of Dubai’s tower buildings. All in a fake green. The other picture shows a picture of a veiled woman with a rather disturbing look in her face. She is standing on wetland facing the Gulf Sea, holding a suitcase and looking towards the horizon. She just wants to flee, as far away and as fast away as possible.

“The last Look”, by Lateefa Ben Maktoum, UAE pavilion

Left: Lateefa watching... (she allows photos only without her face)

“Reflecting”, by Lateefa Ben Maktoum, UAE pavilion

Left: Lateefa watching... (she allows photos only without her face)

It does feel quite lonely to live among towers of glass and steel in the middle of the desert. Does not fit. Will never fit. I would want to flee – into a surreal green world that exists only in fantasies or far away on a boat. But Lateefa strikes back: “I do not see the figures in my images as being lonely. I see them as being captured in a solitary moment of thought. They reflect on their surroundings and the changes that they witness happening around them.” She is a bit uncomfortable with my critical view; I accept her softer approach.

Noteworthy is that Lateefa contributed to the UAE’s art scene by founding Tashkeel, a public studio providing specialist facilities for artists and designers to work together. “An artist needs feedback to grow,” she argues. Check the website of the UAE pavilion and an interview with Lateefa.

In the same pavilion Reem al-Ghaith exhibits her installation about construction in Dubai. A bit chaotic, reflecting the wild construction boom leading the Dubai’s financial crisis in 2008. It is similar to the installation “What’s left of her Land” shown at the Sharjah Biennale in 2009. The official brochure says, “The history, traditions and changing landscape of Dubai and the UAE serve as continuous inspiration to her work... Her pieces ... serve as a form of documentary or visual archive for future generations to bear witness to the changes this country has undergone”.

Reem al-Ghaith, “What’s left of her Land”, UAE pavilion 

The third UAE artist is Abdullah al-Saadi, who observes and contemplates and picks on details. His work centers on “Naked Sweet Potatoes”, which is also the title of his art. Abdullah walked on foot across the desert of the UAE and Oman accompanied by a dog and a donkey. He documented his journey with water colours, a diary, photographs, short films and engravings of sweet potatoes on stones. The latter he describes as “studies of the male and female forms of sweet potatoes”.

Abdullah al-Saadi, “Naked Sweet Potatoes”, UAE pavilion 

Very creative and amusing observations, indeed. Abdullah is no fan of the UAE’s steel and glass towers. He lives in the mountainous region of Khorfakan on the Gulf of Oman. He just loves nature. And I love his work.

To the Iraqi pavilion where six very talented artists interpret the theme of water. Title: “Wounded Water”. And wounded is Iraq and its people, indeed. Remember the ecological disaster former dictator Saddam Hussein created in the southern marshlands by draining them. At the entrance of the pavilion, Walid Siti exhibits on the wall in red: A river-like wound goes from one end to the other in a bloodied landscape in Iraq. The interview he gave me about his art and Iraq is touching.

Walid Sati’s river in bloodied landscape in Iraq

Azad Nanakeli, another Iraqi Kurdish artist, shows a video with a man pouring water over his head. His opposite is himself being polluted by red and yellow toxins. 

Azad Nanakeli’s “destneuj (purification)", Iraqi pavilion

The Egyptian pavilion focuses on Ahmed Basiony, an artist and hero of the Egyptian revolution that toppled dictator Hosny Mubarak early 2011. Ahmed was among the first who marched in Cairo's Tahrir Square. He had his camera with him. The video exhibition shows simultaneously footage he took and news reports. This is a homage to Ahmed who was killed at the age of 33 by a sniper in Cairo on January 28, 2011. He unfortunately did not live to experience real freedom in Egypt. But he and all who gave their lives for Egypt will never be forgotten.

From the brochure about Ahmed Basiony, Egypt pavilion

“The Future of a Promise” is the Biennale’s largest pan-Arab exhibition of contemporary art. Arabs from many states exhibit about 25 works – installations, performances, photography, videos and sculpture art. My favorite is Ziad Abillama’s “Untitled (Arabes)”, a post with signs in all directions showing where Arabs may sail from? The Lebanese artists provokes in Italy where the government is claiming the country is being invaded by Arabs via the island of Lampedusa.

Ziad Abillama’s “Untitled (Arabes)”

Unfortunately I was not able to visit the Syrian pavilion in which Syrian and Italian artists exhibited under the motto "Evolution"- to identify contradiction between subjectivity (desires) and objectivity (daily life). Watch this video. Note that there is a controversy over the fact that most artists and all curators are non-Syrians.

Now don’t be shocked, but when I mean in the title of this blog “Arab region” I include Israel. Its pavilion is amazing – only works of Sigalit Landau on water and peace in a trouble region. My favorite is the “Salt Crystal Fishing Net”. She bought the net from Jaffa fishermen and dipped it  in Dead Sea water. The result is bundle of white mass with crystal reflection. She writes in her brochure, “These fishing nets catch magnificent crystals, beautiful but sterile. A fishing net evokes fertility and life, but there it is caked in deadly amount of salt”.

Sigalit Landau, “Salt Crystal Fishing Net”, Israeli pavilion

Another favorite is her video installation “Laces” in which a girl under a negotiating table binds negotiators together with the laces of their shoes. Sigalit Landau writes, “The negotiating table is not theater or fiction, but rather an engagement, a dream, a lament for the future. This future is the life of the child who appears on the laptop-computer screens”. The slogan of the Israeli Pavilion is “One man’s floor in another man’s feelings”.

Sigalit Landau, video installation “Laces”, Israeli pavilion

Lebanon and Bahrain cancelled last minute. A shame for the governments of these two countries. The Lebanese pavilion was to be titled "Lebanon As a State of Mind". Its curator, George Rabbah, told Art Info in an interview that the cancellation had nothing to do with the fact that Lebanon was without a functioning government for months till mid June 2011. He claims: "(The opposition came) from a lot of the actors of the Lebanese art scene. I found out at some point that the Lebanese scene is partly something that has to do with power positions. There are power centers that control access to funds, etc., and also access to patrons of art because they know them, in a way. I don't want to sound too paranoid, but I'm not the only one that's shocked".

In Bahrain authorities in 2011 have been trying to crush a pro-democracy movement - so no time to think about art. Reminder: In 2010, Bahrain won the Golden Lion for best national participation at that year's Architecture Biennale with a wonderful exhibition of original fishermen huts.

A few lines about the Venice Biennale which was launched in 1895: Since then countries offer their artists a showcase in pavilions funded by government institutions, firms and/or private donors. 89 national pavilions opened their doors in Venice in 2011, the highest number ever. Germany won in 2011 the Biennale’s highest honor, the Golden Lion for best national contribution. The work is by Christoph Schlingensief, the German artist who died in August 2010. His "Church of Fear" installation is a massive critique against society and the Church. 


It was my first Biennale, and it was fascinating because it saw how art is very political - and not only in the Arab region. Artists have been playing a crucial role in countries under dictatorships (softly destabilizing them), and they helped topple dictators (remember Ahmed Basiony). Arabs can be proud of most of the work exhibited in Venice in 2011, the year of Arab democracy on the rise. My dream is that one day Palestinians and Israelis exhibit together in Venice, and that Arab artists can exhibit anything they wish in every Arab state. No more fear, no censorship and no taboos.

NB: Impossible to write about art from the Arab region at the mother of Biennales without visiting the US and Iranian pavilions. 

I love the tank on its head in front of the US pavilion. On top a person regularly jogs on a functioning treadmill. When the person runs, the tank engine roars and the chains turn. Watch the video of a ridiculous and helpless monster. Typically big and ... American! John Lennon would have loved it!

Allora & Galzadilla, "Tank and Field", US pavilion

In the state-sponsored Iranian pavilion, a heartbreaking installation of Morteza Darehbaghi with pictures of human losses during the war Iran-Iraq 1980-1988.

.Morteza Darehbaghi, Iranian pavilion

Fouad Hamdan is an independent Arab pro-democracy activist who established and headed Greenpeace Lebanon in 1994-1999 and was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in Beirut in 2008-2010. Since January 2011 he is advising on a voluntary basis Arab NGOs and activists, and he is working as a consultant for Media in Cooperation and Transition and the Global Campaign for Climate Action. From May-September 2011 he is heading a pro-democracy project in Tunisia. He also trains Tunisian and Egyptian NGOs on developing communications strategies.

Tunisia in May 2011 - Revolution Reloaded?

Tunis, 7th May 2011 - I saw in the Tunisian capital how police attacked with teargas and batons protesters demanding the start of a new revolution "Asha3eb yurid thawra min jadid!" (The people want a new revolution). 

Bourguiba Avenue, 6 May 2011

Tension has been rising in Tunisia since a former minister warned of a possible coup by loyalists of the ousted regime of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali if Islamists from the Ennahda party win elections for a Constitutional Council scheduled on July 24.


Scenes of violence took place all over the country and in the city center in and around Habib Bourguiba Avenue where the infamous Interior Ministry is located. Tear gas was fired in all directions, policemen in uniforms or in civilian and hiding their faces behind masks attacked bystanders and journalists, took away their mobiles and cameras and smashed them. I saw one of them attacking a young girl, throwing her mobile phone on the asphalt and verbally abusing her.

No way I could use my camera or mobile as I was between police and not in mid of demonstration. I would have been attacked at once. Policemen in civilian were everywhere. A German journalist from NDR TV, two meters behind me, was taken away by a security guy and interrogated for a while before being allowed to walk away.


The policemen used brutal force against peaceful protesters because they were heading to the interior ministry from streets leading to Habib Bourguiba Avenue. This grey and ugly building from the 1970s is surrounded by barbed wire and protected by army troops. Imagine, the army protecting policemen from the people...


In the nearby Avenue de Paris, glass, waste and burned tires everywhere. Police vans race trough it, jump out, chase peaceful demonstrators to beat them up and curse. They leave the road quickly. I can see that all bystanders in the area just hate them. The policemen know it and feel unsafe. They just behave like an occupying force...

Avenue de Paris, 7 May 2011

   
Demonstrators I spoke to said they mistrust the transitional government and officials in the system. They say a "counter-revolution" is being carried out by the cronies of the former dictator. Ahmed Dermech, a young student, told me, "We will not give away our newly won freedom. We will go to the streets until our revolution is 100% won". More demos are planned tomorrow.



One funny interesting happened. I was speaking with a Tunisian TV team on Habib Bourguiba Avenue on May 7 when a high-ranking police officer approached us and said: "I like to apologize to the media for the attacks committed by policemen yesterday. Please understand that they are not used of being filmed. It was always forbidden to film them, and now they are afraid that their faces and names will be on Facebook. Please put on your jackets in big letters 'Press' and I assure you that nothing will happen to you."


The Tunisian journalists asked if would repeat it all in front of the camera, he said he was not allowed to do so. He was very credible, but it remains to be seen if a change of behavior will really take place.

Anyhow, one thing is crystal clear: Tunisians still have a long and arduous road until they set up a real democracy. 23 years of dictatorship cannot be undone in a blink. Changing the mentality of tens of thousands that profited directly from oppression and corruption will probably take a generation or two.


But I have no doubt that Tunisians will succeed. 63 parties have already been registered since the dictatorship collapsed last January 14; hundreds of NGOs and media outlets  have applied for a permit. In Tunis, I am breathing freedom despite all the trouble. This no one can take away from Tunisians anymore. Everyone I spoke to shouted it!

Bourguiba Avenue, ugly building on left is the interior ministry, 7 May 2011

                                   

Bourguiba Avenue, Africa hotel left. 7 May 2011

Meanwhile, I am blogging from the Carlton Hotel near the interior ministry. I cannot venture outside anymore because of the curfew from 9pm (Saturday 7 May) till 5am (Sunday 8 May). The only bar still open was in the nearby Africa Hotel. I enjoyed there the great local beer, Celtia, and walked trough ghost town Tunis till about 10pm when policemen shouted from far away. OK, OK, I walked in the hotel and started writing these lines and uploading the photos I took.


Background from Reuters: Former interior minister Farhat Rajhi said last Thursday that there could be a "coup" by loyalists of former dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali if Islamists from the Ennahda party won the July 24 elections.



Until August 2011 I will head in Tunis a team that will hold interviews and carry out research about each party fighting for seats for the Constitutional Council that is to be elected on July 24. Data about political positions on key issues will be on a website in French and Arabic to help Tunisians chose who to vote for. The project is carried out by the German NGO Media in Cooperation and Transition. It did something similar in Sudan in 2010.


Fouad Hamdan is an independent Arab pro-democracy activist who established and headed Greenpeace Lebanon in 1994-1999 and was the founding executive director of the Arab Human Rights Fund in 2008-2010. Since then he advising on a voluntary basis Arab NGOs and activists, and he is working as a consultant for  Media in Cooperation and Transition and the Global Campaign for Climate Action.