[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 21, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2189-S2190]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 260--RECOGNIZING TUNISIA'S LEADERSHIP IN THE ARAB 
 SPRING AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR UPHOLDING ITS DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES 
                               AND NORMS

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Coons) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 260

       Whereas Tunisia gained its independence from France on 
     March 20, 1956, with Habib Bourguiba serving as Prime 
     Minister, before becoming Tunisia's first President in 1957;
       Whereas President Bourguiba led Tunisia through 
     independence and the ensuing 30 years, a period that included 
     vast social reforms and restrictions on civil society and 
     democratic participation;
       Whereas, in 1987, Prime Minister Zine El Abdine Ben Ali 
     deposed President Bourguiba and named himself President of 
     Tunisia, citing Bourguiba's incompetence and failing health 
     to justify his undemocratic actions;
       Whereas President Ben Ali was subsequently elected in 1989 
     and 1994 without genuine opposition, and was re-elected in 
     1999, 2004, and 2009 by implausibly high vote margins in 
     election processes that were widely deemed as neither free 
     nor fair;
       Whereas President Ben Ali's rule was marred by gross human 
     rights violations and a lack of democratic freedoms;
       Whereas, the 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights 
     Practices, released by the Department of State on February 
     25, 2004, stated, referring to Tunisia--
       (1) ``Elections are regularly characterized by notable 
     irregularities, including voter intimidation, and there is no 
     secret ballot.'';
       (2) ``Security forces physically abused, intimidated, and 
     harassed citizens who voiced public criticism of the 
     Government.'';
       (3) ``The Government continued to impose significant 
     restrictions on freedom of speech and the press.''; and
       (4) ``The Government remained intolerant of public 
     criticism and used physical abuse, criminal investigations, 
     the court system, arbitrary arrests, residential 
     restrictions, and travel controls (including denial of 
     passports) to discourage criticism by human rights and 
     opposition activists.'';
       Whereas, on December 17, 2010, 26-year-old fruit and 
     vegetable street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi lit himself on fire 
     in desperate protest in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, an act that was 
     largely seen as the beginning of the Arab Spring movement 
     that spread throughout the region;
       Whereas ensuing popular protests in Tunisia in response to 
     corruption, repression, and economic failure--
       (1) forced the resignation of President Ben Ali from the 
     office of president;
       (2) ended his 23-year rule; and
       (3) further inspired similar pent up democratic demands 
     throughout the Arab world;
       Whereas Tunisia emerged from the Arab Spring as one of the 
     most hopeful and promising reformed democracies in the 
     region, including with an interim government and a

[[Page S2190]]

     Constituent Assembly responsible for drafting a new 
     constitution and fostering political compromise for a future 
     democratic government;
       Whereas, in February 2011, Senator John McCain urged United 
     States support for Tunisia's democratic transition, noting 
     ``The revolution in Tunisia has been very successful and it 
     has become a model for the region.'';
       Whereas, in March 2011, United Nations Secretary General 
     Ban Ki-moon pledged full support for Tunisia's transition to 
     democracy, hailing the country's revolution as the spark that 
     lit ``the profound and dramatic changes'' sweeping the Arab 
     world;
       Whereas, on January 26, 2014, the Constituent Assembly of 
     Tunisia adopted a new constitution demonstrating consensus 
     for building a democracy founded on freedom and equality;
       Whereas the new constitution of Tunisia includes Articles 
     that--
       (1) give equal rights to men and women;
       (2) protection freedoms of assembly, peaceful 
     demonstration, expression, and publication; and
       (3) outline an electoral system and representation for the 
     Tunisian people with checks and balances;
       Whereas, in November 2014, Tunisia held its first genuinely 
     free and fair presidential election since its independence in 
     1956, with 27 candidates freely competing for the office of 
     president;
       Whereas longtime politician Beji Caid Essebsi won the 
     election in a runoff with 55 percent of the vote, becoming 
     Tunisia's first legitimately elected president since 
     independence;
       Whereas President Essebsi faced many difficult challenges, 
     including economic turmoil, terrorist attacks, and public 
     expectations for change;
       Whereas public disillusionment with the country's political 
     elites increased amid continued corruption and devastating 
     acts of terrorism that severely hurt the tourism industry and 
     larger economy;
       Whereas political outsider and constitutional law professor 
     Kais Saied won the presidential election held on October 13, 
     2019, and was sworn into office 10 days later in a peaceful 
     transfer of power;
       Whereas, by 2021, protests in response to worsening 
     economic conditions, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 
     pandemic, occurred across cities in Tunisia, to which the 
     police responded violently;
       Whereas, in July 2021, President Saied capitalized on 
     unrest to unilaterally seize power by--
       (1) dismissing Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi;
       (2) suspending Parliament for 30 days; and
       (3) assuming full executive authority without first 
     consulting the government;
       Whereas in late 2021, President Saied indefinitely 
     suspended Parliament and transferred all legislative powers 
     to himself;
       Whereas, in early 2022, President Saied continued to 
     undermine Tunisia's democratic institutions, including by 
     taking control of the Independent High Authority for 
     Elections and dissolving the High Judicial Council;
       Whereas, in July 2022, President Saied unilaterally put to 
     a referendum a new draft constitution, which--
       (1) consolidated power to the presidency;
       (2) limited parliamentary authority; and
       (3) diminished judicial independence;
       Whereas the new draft constitution was approved despite 
     remarkably low voter turnout and heavy domestic and 
     international criticism surrounding the lack of genuine 
     debate throughout the drafting process;
       Whereas, between 2021 to 2023, Tunisia experienced--
       (1) a dramatic drop in voter participation and public 
     confidence in the political process; and
       (2) an escalation in politically motivated arrests of 
     political opponents, judges, lawyers, journalists, and 
     business leaders; and
       Whereas President Saied's actions have dramatically 
     undermined and threatened Tunisia's nascent democratic 
     institutions: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes Tunisia as the symbolic birthplace of the 
     historic Arab Spring movement and the country's notable 
     democratic reforms that emerged during the Arab Spring 
     period;
       (2) commends the Tunisian people for their courage and 
     democratic achievements made in the immediate years following 
     the Arab Spring;
       (3) expresses deep concern for more recent reversals of 
     such democratic gains, including--
       (A) the erosion of judicial independence;
       (B) political repression and arrests; and
       (C) the undemocratic consolidation of power;
       (4) urges the Government of Tunisia--
       (A) to release all political prisoners; and
       (B) to respect the rights of the people to free exercise of 
     peaceful assembly, expression, and the press; and
       (5) calls on the Government of Tunisia to support a 
     transparent and open 2024 presidential election process.

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