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Responses to Information Requests (RIR) respond to focused Requests for Information that are submitted to the Research Directorate in the course of the refugee protection determination process. The database contains a seven- year archive of English and French RIRs. Earlier RIRs may be found on the UNHCR's Refworld website. Please note that some RIRs have attachments which are not electronically accessible. To obtain a PDF copy of an RIR attachment, please email the Knowledge and Information Management Unit.
18 July 2012 TUN104156.FE
Tunisia: Treatment of members of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) since the fall of President Ben Ali; state protection provided Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa
1. Dissolution of the RCD
The Constitutional Democratic Rally (Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique, RCD) party was founded in 1988 by the former president of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (AFP 9 Mar. 2011; Le Figaro 21 Jan. 2011). According to sources, at the start of 2011, the RCD had between one and over two million members (Libération 21 Jan. 2011; Courrier international 1 Feb. 2011; AFP 9 March 2011) for about 10 million inhabitants (ibid.; Libération 21 Jan. 2011). On 9 March 2011, the Tunisian judicial authorities decided to dissolve the RCD (International Crisis Group 9 May 2012, 18; AFP 9 March 2011). The International Crisis Group added the following: [traduction] Adopted at the start of May 2011 by the Higher Authority for Realisation of the Objectives of the Revolution, Political Reform and Democratic Transition (Instance supérieur pour la réalisation des objectifs de la révolution, la réforme politique et la transition démocratique), Article 15 of the electoral legislation prohibits the following from running in the National Constituent Assembly elections: formers members of President Ben Ali’s governments (except those members who did not belong to the party in power), former members of the national and regional branches of the RCD, and national public figures who, in August 2009, called for the re- election of Ben Ali. The list of the ineligible individuals was to be made on a case-by-case basis (9 May 2012, 18). Similarly, according to the Interparliamentary Union (Union interparlementaire, UIP), [English version] “High-ranking RCD officials and persons who had signed petitions for Mr. Ben Ali’s presidential bid for 2014 were barred from running in the NCA elections” (23 Oct. 2011). Nevertheless, according to the La Tunisie vote Internet site, despite the dissolution of the RCD, its former members continue to be involved in politics, and some have adhered to new political parties (17 Oct. 2011). La Tunisie vote is a project that was launched in July 2011 and that is managed jointly by the German institute Media in Cooperation and Transition (MICT) and the Tunis Centre for Freedom of the Press (Centre de Tunis pour la liberté de la presse, La Tunisie vote 14 July 2011). In addition, the UIP stated that former members of the RCD who are still eligible have founded several political parties, including the Initiative Party (parti Initiative (Al-Moubedra [or Al-Moubadara]) and the Afek Tounes Party (23 Oct. 2011). The International Crisis Group states that in 2011 former ministers of the Ben Ali regime founded the Initiative Party and the Al- Watan Party (La Patrie) (9 May 2012, 18).
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2. Treatment of Former RCD Members
In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate on 17 July 2012, the vice-president of the Tunisian Collective in Canada (Collectif tunisien au Canada) provided the following information about the treatment of former RCD members. The Tunisian Collective in Canada defines itself on its Internet site as a not-for-profit and non-partisan organization, whose [translation] “objective is to help establish and safeguard the democracy and social justice that resulted from the revolution and the socio-economic development in Tunisia” (Collectif tunisien au Canada n.d.). The information that the vice-president of the Collective provided to the Research Directorate was collected by members of his organization and from the Tunisian Human Rights League (Ligue tunisienne des droits de l’homme), the Organization Against Torture in Tunisia (Organisation contre la torture en Tunisie), the Federation of Tunisians for a Two-Banks Citizenship (Fédération des tunisiens pour une citoyenneté des deux rives), the Association of Tunisians Based in France (association de Tunisiens basée en France) and from Tunisian citizens who experienced the revolution: [translation] According to some testimonies, in the two or three months after 14 January 2011, there were a few isolated acts of vandalism that targeted the property of certain active or corrupt regular members of the RCD.... It was localized in certain cities like Bizerte. Subsequently, calm returned when the Minister of the Interior resumed control. According to the information received, there have been no more accidents of this kind for at least nine months. … In general, the regular members of the RCD, who had only a membership card but who were not active, were not concerned, intimidated or threatened. They are still at their jobs and lead a normal life. Some have even joined new parties (in power or of the opposition). The regular RCD members who might have been subjected to prejudices, dismissals or discrimination are those: • who were active in the public or private administrations, in the town halls, the RCD structures, etc; • who obtained privileges (duties in the administration, scholarships for their children, cars, etc.) because of their affiliation and activities in the party; • who acted as informants to the police and the former regime; • who were involved in corruption, abuse of power, nepotism, etc. (17 July 2012). The vice-president of the Tunisian Collective in Canada added that the former RCD members were [traduction] not necessarily discriminated against but rather were subject to biases. The term “RCDist” was given to any person who was an RCD member and who cooperated with the former regime, drew personal benefits from membership in the party or closed their eyes to the mafia-like practices of the former regime. Some executives (DG, CEO, etc.) of some public administrations were ousted from their jobs by their employees during the first six months after January 14, probably because of their membership in the RCD but especially because of their involvement in corruption, nepotism and abuse of power. It all occurred without violence but outside of the judicial process, right after the fall of the former regime. This wave of [translation] “Out” (“Dégage”) stopped during the last nine months” (17 July 2012). The vice-president of the Collective stated the following about the protection provided to the former RCD members: [translation] There are no particular measures to our knowledge. However, all of the governments that came after 14 January 2011 (including the current government that was elected after 23 October 2011) always repeated that it is not a matter of a witch hunt with respect to the RCD members, but just a matter of trying the guilty through a transitional justice process (17 July 2012). Among the sources consulted, the Research Directorate did not find further information on the protection provided to the former RCD members. In addition, according to the International Crisis Group, there was no [translation] “process of total and violent purging,” but rather a “partial rehabilitation of the former system-proceedings, replacement of officials at various levels, dissolution of the RCS-which combined with a relative tolerance towards the leaders of the former party in power” (9 May 2012, 17). The International Crisis Group added that the [translation] “leaders of the former power benefit from a real freedom of organization. They were able to create new political
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structures...” (9 May 2012, 19). The NGOs [translation] “close to the former power” are still active and although they were “restructured,” they still have a legal framework (International Crisis Group 9 May 2012, 18-19). International Crisis Group states that, globally, [translation] “there is a general agreement to let these organizations exist, restructure and proceed to new conferences, and participate in associations” (9 May 2012, 18-19). However, International Crisis Group also stated that [translation] “some of the key players of the upheaval, in particular...the families of the wounded and of people killed during the revolution or shortly after, feel tricked and that the search for a peaceful democratic system is occurring at the expense of justice” (9 May 2012, 17). According to the International Crisis Group, the [translation] “anger” that stems from it “is sometimes expressed through demonstrations...that may sometimes degenerate, causing incidents of violence on each side” (9 May 2012, 20-21). In April 2011, sources stated that the former secretary general of the RCD, Mohamed Ghariani, was arrested (Agence de presse Xinhua 11 Apr. 2011; AFP 12 Apr. 2011). The Agence de presse Xinhua indicated that the former secretary general of the RCD was among about ten senior RCD officials targeted by a directive regarding [translation] “misappropriation and extortion of funds, embezzlement, plundering and abuse of power that harmed the administration” (11 Apr. 2011). In addition, the Agence Tunis Afrique presse (TAP) pointed out that several former members under the former regime, as well as the secretary general of the RCD had been charged in a matter concerning RCD financing (24 May 2012). This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France-Presse (AFP). 12 April 2011. “Arrestation du secrétaire général du parti de Ben Ali.”
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_____. N.d. “Launch: ‘La Tunisie vote’ Website.”
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of the following organizations were unsuccessful: Al Mustakbal, Centre des études méditérranéennes et internationales, Comité pour le respect des libertés et des droits de l’homme en Tunisie, Ligue tunisienne des droits de l’homme et Réseau euro-méditerranéen des droits de l’homme, Mouvement des patriotes démocrates, Ordre des avocats de Tunisie, Parti communiste des ouvriers de Tunisie, Parti démocrate progressiste. Internet sites, including: Afrol News; Amnesty International; British Broadcasting Corporation; Centre des études méditérranéennes et internationales; Comité international de la Croix-rouge; Congressional Research Service; European Forum; Factiva; Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’homme; France 2; Freedom House; Globalnet; Global Rights; GlobalSecurity.org; Institut des relations internationales et stratégiques; Inter Press Service; Jeune Afrique; Mediterranean Prospects; Le Monde diplomatique; Organisation internationale de la francophonie; Organisation de la presse africaine; Panapress; Radio-Canada; Radio France internationale; Le Temps; Tunisien.net; Union générale tunisienne du travail; United Nations – Integrated Regional Information Networks, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations News Centre; World Organization Against Torture.
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Date modified: 2016-01-05
http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=454249&pls=1 9/19/2016