Ali Ben Salem is in his eighties, but he still has a fresh mind and a youthful enthusiasm about spreading the universal principles of human rights in Tunisia. He is considered by Tunisians as a symbol of the struggle against the French occupation, and later, against the dictatorships of Habib Bourguiba and Ben Ali. Since the January 14, 2011 revolution, he has been struggling for freedom and human rights and many Tunisians describe him as the “Master of All Activists”.
Death sentences
Ali Ben Salem is in his eighties, but he still has a fresh mind and a youthful enthusiasm about spreading the universal principles of human rights in Tunisia. He is considered by Tunisians as a symbol of the struggle against the French occupation, and later, against the dictatorships of Habib Bourguiba and Ben Ali. Since the January 14, 2011 revolution, he has been struggling for freedom and human rights and many Tunisians describe him as the “Master of All Activists”.
Death sentences
“Uncle Ali”, as he is known in Bizerte, in northern Tunisia, was born on June 15, 1932 and experienced his first great loss during the French occupation. He was the third child in a modest and religious family. His father died in 1939, following an infection of the leg, caused by a ‘stray’ bullet from the French occupiers.
Ben Salem says his father was a simple citizen who had never been involved in anti-colonial demonstrations or rallies; nevertheless, Uncle Ali considers his father a “martyr”.
The first spark in Ben Salem’s activism occurred when he was a student, through his participation in a demonstration against the arrival of an Israeli ship at Bizerte Port, to transport Jews to occupied Palestine in 1947. In 1950, he was expelled from college because of his participation in marches against the French occupation.
Ben Salem carried out bombings against the interests of the French occupation in Bizerte, using homemade bombs with the help of Habib Hnini, who constructed such bombs through the modest resources he had at the time. Ben Salem would carry out the operations at French soldiers’ and police forces’ sites, but, he says, he never targeted civilians.
When he was discovered, he was sentenced to death and subsequently fled with another wanted compatriot, Mohammed Saleh Baratli. He ended up in Libya where he along with his colleagues received military training for a period of three years under the supervision of Ali Zliti.
In 1955, Ben Salem and his comrades entered Tunisia, and he later joined the armed resistance in the Tunisian mountains. Like activist Saleh Ben Youssef, who was then a refugee in Indonesia and considered the internal autonomy a step backward and was totally against it, Ben Salem was against the agreements on internal autonomy. Even though both activists had identical views, Ben Salem says he had never been one of Youssef’s followers, or what was termed as a ‘Youssefite’.
In 1956, full independence was achieved and Habib Bourguiba became the first president of the Republic of Tunisia. He tried to liquidate the Youssefites; many of them were murdered, imprisoned, or exiled, and he later assassinated Ben Youssef”. That campaign also targeted Ben Salem himself who was abducted, and many of his fellow activists were assassinated.
Dark years in prison
In 1962, Ben Salem along with a number of his comrades, including Zahr Shreiti and all the national resistance figures, took part in a failed coup attempt against Bourguiba’s regime.
Ben Salem tried to flee to Algeria, but failed, and on February 17, 1963, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and ended up in “Ghar El Melh” prison or what is known as “Zandala”, along with his other comrades, chained to the wall in handcuffs.
In “Unq al-Jamal” cell, one of his comrades named “Sahbi Farhat” died. Ben Salem was then transferred to “Burj Roumi” prison where he spent six years and eight months in pitch blackness at a depth of 100 feet, chained in fetters. After eight years in prison, says Ben Salem, “I received the first letter from my family and was so sad to learn about the death of my first wife Munjya whom I loved so much. I was locked up within four walls, able to do nothing,” he added.
After 11 years in prison, Ben Salem was released on June 1, 1973, and was subject to probation for 10 years. Despite his great suffering in prison, he still considers his former enemy, Habib Bourguiba, a great leader. “So far,” he says, “there has been no great and righteous leader like Bourguiba.”
Following his release, Ben Salem continued his struggle and human rights activities, where he was a co-founder of the Bizerte branch of the “Ligue tunisienne des droits de l’homme” or Tunisian League of Human Rights (LTDH) in 1981, and used his own house as its headquarters.
Assassination attempts
In 1987, Security Chief, Ben Ali, overthrew Bourguiba and proclaimed himself president of Tunisia. Ben Salem describes Ben Ali as “cruel and criminal”, and “a person who did not recognize human rights.”
Ben Ali imposed restrictions against LTDH and placed Ben Salem’s residence under strict police siege. “The police cordoned off my house and barred all my visitors, except my children,” he said. Yet Ben Salem continued his human rights activities through his defense of the Islamists during their persecution and oppression in the 1990s. He also defended the persecuted leftists.”I defended human rights, regardless of political affiliations,” he explained.
On April 26, 2000, Ben Salem faced an assassination attempt at the age of 77. He was kidnapped and severely beaten and later found unconscious in a forest. In 2005, he faced another assassination attempt when a car unsuccessfully tried to run him over in front of his house.
Despite the hardships Ben Salem experienced, including imprisonment, repression, and numerous attacks, he emerged more resolved to pursue his human rights efforts by participating in the creation of the Tunisian Anti-Torture Association, in cooperation with Radhia Nasraoui, wife of Workers’ Communist Party spokesman, Hamma Hammami.
The January 14, 2011 revolution toppled Dictator Ben Ali, but Ben Salem says: “I do not consider it a revolution; it is rather a popular uprising that contributed to Ben Ali’s departure. However, his followers and men still exist.” He insists on the need to “face the oppressors” and defend the oppressed because “the struggle is not over, and it changes according to the need of the new era.”
