After the flight of former President Ben Ali, popular committees were formed for the purpose of property protection at a time of heightened insecurity. Every night, youth and old men carrying bludgeons would gather to protect their quarters from intruders in anticipation of any emergency.
After restoring security, these committees organized themselves in a legal association called the Revolution Protection Association RPA. Two years after the Tunisian revolution, RPA has become Ennahda’s security arm.
Foul play
After the flight of former President Ben Ali, popular committees were formed for the purpose of property protection at a time of heightened insecurity. Every night, youth and old men carrying bludgeons would gather to protect their quarters from intruders in anticipation of any emergency.
After restoring security, these committees organized themselves in a legal association called the Revolution Protection Association RPA. Two years after the Tunisian revolution, RPA has become Ennahda’s security arm.
Foul play
The murder of Lotfi Naguedh, Coordinator of Call for Tunisia Party in Tataouine Governorate (600 kilometers south of the capital), (after having been exposed to severe violence following a protest organized by the RPA branch demanding the purification of the administration from the former regime members), has intensified the attack of the opposition parties against RPA and the call for dissolving it.
At the time, Call for Tunisia Party, led by Beji Caid El Sebsi, the former prime minister, considered the murder as “the first political assassination” in post-revolutionary Tunisia, and it was committed by militias working for Ennahda under the cover of RPA. One of the party leaders even declared that they would participate in the elections only once RPA has been dissolved.
The most current assault for which RPA has been blamed is the attack on the UGTT headquarters in downtown Tunis during the ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the death of the unionist struggler Farhat Hached. Twenty people were injured during clashes between unionists and RPA members.
Subsequent to the violent actions, the Ministry of Interiors declared in a statement that “a group of unionists rallied on Tuesday in Muhammad Ali Square in normal circumstances, and also a group of citizens mostly belonging to RPA rallied, which resulted in tension that degenerated into scrimmages and violent actions where stones and sticks were used.”
Ennahda accuses UGTT (the largest unionist organization in Tunisia) of deviating from its unionist activity to represent a political opposition and seeking, by organizing protests and increasing social tension, to interrupt the government action in order to serve the political actors close to it, especially the left wing.
Ennahda always denies any relation to RPA and rejects dissolving it, while opposition parties say RPA is the Ennahda “arm” through which it intimidates its political opponents.
We protect the revolution
“It is untrue we are militias used by Ennahda to confine the activities of its political opponents,” says Muhammad Hedaya, the RPA Secretary-General, adding “this accusation or misunderstanding results from the fact that most of the RPA activists sympathize with Ennahda; however, we are completely independent of it.”
He stresses that RPA is subject to the Association Law and rejects violence.
Hedaya attributes the increased call for dissolving RPA to its firm cling to hastening the endorsement of the Political Isolation Law to prevent members of the dissolved Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) (the ruling party under Ben Ali) from restoring political activity. RPA considers Call for Tunisia Party as an RCD precursor.
“For Call for Tunisia, our existence is a threat. Since no patriotic Tunisian can call for dissolving the only association protecting the revolution, I think those calling for dissolving it certainly have a problem with the revolution, as it has destroyed their interests. What good could be expected from the Republican Party and Call for Tunisia if they come to power, while they are aiming at dissolving some CSOs even though they are not in power?” Hedaya asked.
According to its statute, RPA aims at “maintaining the goals and gains of the revolution, revealing the system of corruption, and preventing the coming back of the former regime figures.”
RPA was legally licensed by the government of Hamadi Jebali, the Ennahda Secretary-General in, June 2012, and has more than 20 regional and local branches all over Tunisia as well as its own executive office that regularly meets to make decisions and attitudes.
Revolutionary consciousness
Rashid Al-Ghannushi, Ennahda’s leader, refuses to dissolve RPA, considering it “the revolutionary consciousness” as it has an impartial attitude vis-à-vis all parties and denying their loyalty to Ennahda.
“RPA criticizes the government and Ennahda, especially when it finds out that the latter gives preference to self interests over the revolutionary’s,” justified Al Ghannushi adding “it is ruled by principles and values.”
In an interview with a private channel, Al-Ghannushi said it was the RPA members “who brought about and led the Tunisian revolution that overthrew Ben Ali on January 14, 2011” and that RPA “derives its legitimacy from its struggle” and “nobody has the right to terminate it.”
They demand my head
On its official website, RPA has demanded the head of Issam Chabbi, a leader of the oppositionist Republican Party. Chabbi however doesn’t take it personally and does not attribute his party’s call to dissolve RPA to this issue, but to the fact that it threatens the progress of democratic transition and terrifies citizens.
“The RPA branch in Sousse governorate has demanded my head, but I do not take it personally. We wish that the government, being the body responsible for insuring security and public and individual freedoms, dissolves RPA because it openly promotes violence and in fact practices it, causing victims to fall.”
Chabbi sees that RPA aims at replacing the state official apparatus and imposing its own logic by terrifying and assaulting citizens, which threatens the progress of democratic transition, and contradicts the Association Law, which makes it necessary to dissolve it.
“The country status-quo makes it necessary to call things by their names. That 99% of the RPA members are supporters of Ennahda clarifies why the Ennahda leaderships refuse to dissolve it. However, we still ask them to give precedence to the country interests over theirs,” Chabbi said.
Legal perspective
Shafik Sarsar, a constitutional law expert says “After the Constituent Assembly commenced action, the revolution protection committees turned into an association that, pursuant to the Association Law enjoys the rights of associations and has their duties, ahead of which comes rejecting violence. Any relevant violation leads to taking necessary actions for dissolution.”
“Dissolution has three actions,” explains Sarsar, “the violating association shall be notified about the need to abide by the governing law, the prime minister may suspend its activity and lastly legal proceedings are taken against the association to dissolve it.”
Pursuant to Chapter 4 of Decree No.88, dated 24 September, 2011 on Association Law, “Statutes, statements, programs or activities of associations may not involve any call to violence, hatred, intolerance or discrimination whether on religious, gender or regional bases.”
