Tunis: Tunisians are commemorating on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the 68th anniversary of independence. 68 years since they have succeeded in throwing off the colonial yoke, regaining full and complete sovereignty and becoming masters of their own destiny.
The date of March 20 is therefore an opportunity to remember with deep emotion the courage and bravery of the former activists who fought for decades to purge the country of an enemy who, unwittingly, had managed to seize control of the country and enslave its population by manu militari.
The French protectorate began in 1881 and lasted until 1956. For the record, this regime of trusteeship was the result of the Treaty of Bardo signed at the time between the French government and Mohamed Sadok, the last bey of the Husseinite dynasty in Tunisia. This ten-article treaty put an end to Tunisia’s independence.
Tunisia’s contemporary history will never forget the pioneering role played by Tunisia’s intellectual elite in the struggle against the French colonial
power, notably by rallying a unified and coherent public opinion in support of a national liberation project.
Indeed, it was a huge challenge to take up in a Tunisian society predominantly traditional, inert, passive and immersed in illiteracy and ignorance. A society where “tribalism” and “regionalism” were more than just a right.
And yet, it was this same weakened society that served as the cradle and breeding ground for a brave armed resistance that opposed head-on the hegemony of the colonial power, which showed little concern for the Tunisians’ legitimate demands for independence and emancipation.
//The aspiration to independence: a popular demand negotiated under fire//
All sections and factions of the Tunisian people indeed played a part in the battle to liberate the country, Professor of Contemporary and Modern Political History at the University of Manouba, Abdellatif Hannachi told TAP.
Without much risk of error, he said, intellectuals and political elite spearheaded the popular uprisings again
st the injustices and stratagems of the French colonists.
They used their words, their pens and other peaceful means to mobilise crowds, stir consciences and worry the colonial authorities.
Such mobilisation paved the way for the rise of “violent” armed resistance, the genesis of which was encouraged by an international context shaped by the creation of the UN, the San Francisco Conference of 1945 and the Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, all texts which established the right of peoples to liberation as a sacrosanct principle governing the international scene.
Although this idea was so dear to the minds of Tunisian intellectuals, the demand for independence was not, paradoxically, at the forefront of the priorities of trade union and political activism at the time.
The sole concern of the political and trade union leaders was to press the colonial administration to improve the country’s economic and social conditions.
It was not until 1946, more precisely the holding of the independence congress, that
the idea of demanding independence took shape and rose from the ashes to become a strategic and ideological choice and a demand that was eagerly sought by Tunisians.
This was when members of the former Free Destourian Party, the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Zeitounian movement and a host of judges decided to embrace the demand for independence, which henceforth became the focal point of the national movement’s aspirations and projections.
The colonial authorities’ intransigence and recourse to violent repression against the growing protest movement since 1952 were factors which dictated the need to organise armed resistance in order to force the French colonial authorities to respond to the Tunisians’ demands, Hachani pointed out.
Tunisia was a pioneer in adopting armed resistance as a means of combating foreign occupation,” he considered, adding that the domino effect helped trigger changes throughout the region.
This is how the armed resistance of January 1952 became a “role model” for many people
s in the region who still aspired to freedom and independence. For example, the Algerian revolution of 1954 and the Egyptian revolution of July 1952.
//Independence Day: History “revisited” by ideology//
Professor of history and political analyst Abdellatif Hannachi spoke about the “ideological” diversions taken by the debates launched in Tunisia after the 2011 revolution on the concept of independence.
He sharply criticised in this regard, the reckless “negationists” who hold to the idea that there is no longer any question of independence in Tunisia or of a protocol relating to it.
To dispel the intellectual imbroglio in which a fringe of the Tunisian elite has been struggling, Hannachi underlined the key role played by historians in the “academic and scientific unravelling” of this issue, which is often subject to excessive ideological manipulation.
The professor decried the relentless attempts by some to downplay this key event in Tunisia’s contemporary history, and even to erase it from the collecti
ve memory of Tunisians, pointing out that this trend is not new, but rather has continued unabated for several years.
He considered that it is necessary to go beyond the festive and commemorative dimension of independence, calling in this connection to make the most of this historic “moment” to draw up an “objective assessment” of the achievements since independence and to find out where we stand in relation to the demands defended by the national liberation movement.
With this in mind, he underlined that the debate on independence should not be reduced to the merely picturesque dimension of a flag flying here and there or a territorial border being drawn in dotted lines.
Rather, it should focus on other, far more crucial issues, such as the public development policies to be adopted and the socio-economic choices and orientations to be taken in order to encourage the creation of national wealth and guarantee the well-being of citizens.
Until the 1980s, he said, independent Tunisia had achieved a great dea
l in various fields and sectors.
Since then, however, these socio-economic gains have been steadily eroded, raising many questions about their relevance and future.
It is therefore crucial, Professor Hannachi considered, to seize the opportunity provided by the commemoration of independence to openly question the new prospects and directions for the country’s future.
It is also an ideal opportunity to decipher the gaps and shortcomings so as to build a better future for Tunisia based on national constants that guarantee the social well-being of all its citizens.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse