[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 31 (Monday, March 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               46TH ANNIVERSARY OF TUNISIA'S INDEPENDENCE

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the 
anniversary on March 20 of the independence of Tunisia, an Arab 
republic and friend of the United States for forty-six years. Americans 
of my generation recall the principles advanced by Tunisia's first 
leader, Habib Bourguiba, in setting the country on its historic course, 
liberty, modernity and religious tolerance. Today, under President Zine 
Abidine Ben Ali, the country continues its substantial progress toward 
establishing an export-oriented market economy, raising real per capita 
income, combating poverty, educating its girls and boys equally well, 
and improving the standard of living for all its citizens. As we 
applaud these achievements, we also wish the Tunisian people and their 
leaders perseverance and success in building a society of justice, 
civil rights, and pluralistic, participatory democracy.
  This body and the American people today can thank Tunisia for its 
steadfast support during its membership on the United Nations Security 
Council in 2001. In the weeks and months after September 11, the 
Security Council adopted several resolutions that embodied U.S. 
objectives for combating global terrorism and freeing Afghanistan from 
the yoke of a repressive regime that granted safe haven to al-Qaida. 
Tunisia, the sole Arab member state on the Council at that time, worked 
closely and constructively with the United States in that crucial 
diplomacy.
  So, on this, the 46th anniversary of Tunisia's independence, we 
recognize an international friend and express our commitment to 
continued cooperation and mutual progress over the years to come. We 
are fortunate to count Tunisia among our friends and partners in North 
Africa, the Middle East, and on the global stage.

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