The kind of oppression from the authoritarian regimes in the Arab countries are so many. And it was, for example, kind of– I can give some examples. Pressure on militants by intimidating them, by trying to isolate them from their societies, putting pressure on them to abandon the work on human rights. Also trying to limit our right to move within the countries and between the Arab countries. Sometimes it was very difficult to get visas, for example, to organize things in some Arab countries. All the surveillance by the security systems of our activities.
Intimidating the people to join the human rights movement. Sometimes they try to develop the idea and to make people feel that working for human rights is a kind of crime, it´s a kind of crime. And people were really afraid to work for human rights organization or to work for political issues. Another kind of pressure– putting pressure on for example, on our partners. Trying to isolate our organizations. Sometimes it was very difficult, for example, to organize things with the universities, with research centers. Another– also isolating us by, for example by not allowing us to use the media.
At certain times there was a kind of a black list of people, I think for four years or five years, not allowed, for example, to use the media and to be on the TV, for example, the national TV. Or for example, censorship. And sometimes it was about violence, it was about violence. That they used violence against human rights activists. When my father died, I remember my father died in 2005. And in the cemetery, the police, the political police, security police was at the cemetery. And they are surrounding the cemetery. And some people were not allowed to come to my family house.
It was a kind of in a village, it was a kind of village surrounded by police. And it was, for them, it was a kind of security. Many, many kinds of obstacles, of limitations to our work. And this gave us also the opportunity to be creative, because I think that one of the main– I think results of oppression is to make people creative. To make people try to explore all the ways to resist. And we did many I think we developed many tactics and we trained people on how, for example, how to use, for example parallel methods to communicate, for example.
I remember and when they decided to close all the Tunisian League for Human Rights offices, and I was secretary general of one of the offices of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, on a voluntary basis, of course. And the idea was to use email to train all the directors responsible for these offices to train them on how to use email to network and to communicate between themselves. And this was really very, very useful at the time. I remember it was in 1999 or something like that. At that time, using email was not something familiar for people. And this was a kind of resistance. And we succeeded to create a kind of communication– parallel communication to overcome this problem.
I remember, for example working on training people on how to monitor and to document human rights violations in a very hostile environment. How to use parallel networks. How to take information from people without putting them in a dangerous situation.
Abdel Basset Ben Hassen is a Tunisian freedom advocate who has dedicated much of his adult life to the promotion of human rights in the Arab world. His interest in the field was sparked during his university days while participating in student political movements that focused on promoting democracy and human rights.
After graduation, Ben Hassen joined the Arab Institute for Human Rights (AIHR) where he worked to train thousands of freedom activists across the region on developing strategies for promoting their causes. Later, he joined the Ford Foundation in Egypt and worked directly with farmers, fisherman, and laborers in depressed areas to encourage greater human rights discourse and educate the poor on their basic rights. These efforts proved challenging as authoritarian leaders in the Middle East and Africa posed numerous roadblocks to the work of civil society in promoting human rights and political initiatives. As a result, many were afraid to work for or cooperate with such organizations.
Today, Ben Hassen is the President of AIHR and serves as a prominent voice in the international community for promoting human rights in the Arab world. Ben Hassen is also the chair of the Tunisian National Committee for the Support to Refugees and served as a member of Tunisia’s High Committee for the Realization of the Objectives of the Revolution, Political Reform and Democratic Transition.
In addition to his advocacy work, Ben Hassen is a poet whose books have been translated into French, Italian, and German.
Tunisia is situated on the Mediterranean coastline. It has a population of fewer than 11 million people and is the smallest nation in North Africa in land area. In 2010 and 2011, it became the first of the Arab countries to revolt against decades of dictatorial rule, launching the Arab Spring and a wave of change across the region. Tunisia has a developing economy, focused largely on agriculture, tourism, and light industry.
Tunisia has been settled since ancient times. In the 10th century B.C., it was part of the Phoenician Empire. The city of Carthage, near the modern capital of Tunis, was established in the 9th century B.C. In 149 B.C., the Roman Empire conquered the Phoenicians. Islam was introduced to what is now Tunisia in the 7th century A.D., and the area formed part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. In 1881, Tunisia became a protectorate of France. A strong French cultural element continues to this day.
In 1956, Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia to independence from France. His political party, later known as the Constitutional Democratic Rally, went on to dominate Tunisian politics for more than 50 years. Bourguiba’s Tunisia was a largely secular state and was viewed as one of the most progressive in the Arab world on women’s issues. In 1987, Bourguiba was replaced in a “bloodless coup” by his prime minister, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Ben Ali continued many of Bourguiba’s policies, but ruled with an increasingly heavy hand. The Ben Ali regime was repressive and corrupt, with a dismal human rights record. The regime showed little tolerance for dissent, and lashed out at opposition voices in politics, civil society, and the media.
The Tunisian Revolution began in December 2010, when Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, set himself on fire in protest over harassment by a local official. Bouazizi’s act led to mass demonstrations across the country, protesting the lack of human rights, poor economic conditions, and corruption and nepotism in the Ben Ali regime. On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali stepped down and fled the country. On October 23, 2011, Tunisia held its first free elections, forming a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution and lead the country to general elections. The role of religion in society is among the most important issues facing the assembly and country.
Under the interim Constituent Assembly, Tunisia has experienced considerable political upheaval, but has begun to consolidate its democracy. There is a major fault line between Islamist and secular political forces. In 2013, several political assassinations resulted in widespread protests and demonstrators calling for the nation’s Islamist-led government to be removed. In January of 2014, after two years of debate, the Constituent Assembly ratified the nation’s new constitution. The constitution is considered progressive for the nation and has many human rights guarantees. With the ratification of the constitution, elections are scheduled for autumn 2014.
Freedom House’s 2013 Freedom in the World report categorized Tunisia as “partly free”. The nation received the following ratings on a scale with one being the most free and seven being the least: 3.5 as an overall freedom rating, a four in civil liberties and a three in political rights. Tunisia’s Internet and press were also categorized as “partly free” in subsequent Freedom House reports.
See all Tunisia videos