U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, on Tuesday joined the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) Executive Director Stephen McInerney to discuss U.S. policy towards Tunisia. Murphy’s remarks come on the heels of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s promise to hold votes on a new constitution and parliament next year.
On Tunisia’s importance to the United States as a fledgling democracy, Murphy said: “Tunisia was a bright spot coming out of the Arab Spring. It was a country that we pointed to as to what was possible in the Middle East, in North Africa. How even in a country with a history of despotism, democracy could work—and it didn’t [always] work well, but the people had a say in who led and the policies that they put forward.”, reads an issued statement.
Murphy continued: “Tunisia, of course, is an important counterterrorism partner. So Tunisia matters from a security perspective. But more broadly…we are in a global fight for the health and perseverance, preservation of democracy. So my belief is that our democracy here in the United States is under threat. And when democracy is under threat anywhere, it’s under threat everywhere. So I think we have an obligation as a fragile democracy ourselves to try to protect those that are under siege.”
On U.S. security assistance for Tunisia, Murphy said: “Quite simply, the United States cannot fund attacks on democracy. And given the fact that the military was used in Tunisia to disband the parliament, and there were scenes broadcast all over Tunisia and the world of military personnel surrounding the parliament keeping parliamentarians out, and that the military courts have been used to prosecute civilians inside Tunisia, it’s clear that for the time being the United States needs to reconsider its support for the Tunisian military, given the military’s participation in and complicity with this hopefully temporary suspension of democracy. So I support the decision made and advocated for the decision made by the Senate Appropriations Committee, upon which I sit, to withhold an earmark for now in this upcoming appropriations budget for Tunisian military support in the way that we have earmarked it in the past…. And if we were to reauthorize an earmark to Tunisian security [assistance], it would be a clear signal to President Saied that there’s no accountability from the United States when it comes to this temporary suspension of the people’s ability to participate in Tunisian democracy… I expect to be back in the business of advocating for earmarking in appropriations bills support for Tunisian security assistance, but not until we know that this roadmap is real,” Murphy continued.
On the shortcomings of President Saied’s roadmap to a constitutional referendum and the next steps for the United States: “[T]his roadmap is frustratingly incomplete, and far too long when it comes to the question of when democracy is restored. You’re talking about not having a new constitution until next summer, not having a parliament until a year from now. It certainly doesn’t seem that that length of time is necessary to make improvements. Also concerning that there hasn’t been any broad public consultation prior to the announcement of the roadmap. The roadmap envisions consultation, but there was no reason that you couldn’t use the second half of this year, after President Saied’s grabbed power to do that early consultation…. So let’s spend the next several months arguing for this roadmap to be expedited. Let’s hold the President accountable, and let’s make clear that there is a future of a strong U.S.-Tunisian partnership, but only if President Saied remains committed to making good on the promises that he made to people like me and Senator Ossoff, to the promises that he’s made to the Tunisian people.”
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