Zied Lakhdar was appointed as Secretary General of the Unified Democratic Patriot Nationalist party (PPDU) to replace Chokri Belaid, whose assassination on February 6 triggered political shockwaves across Tunisia. Lakhdar stressed that his top priority is to identify Belaid’s killers and even take the case to the international stage.
A number of names emerged as successors to the PPDE leadership, including the martyr’s widow Basma al-Khalfawi?
Zied Lakhdar was appointed as Secretary General of the Unified Democratic Patriot Nationalist party (PPDU) to replace Chokri Belaid, whose assassination on February 6 triggered political shockwaves across Tunisia. Lakhdar stressed that his top priority is to identify Belaid’s killers and even take the case to the international stage.
A number of names emerged as successors to the PPDE leadership, including the martyr’s widow Basma al-Khalfawi?
Basma al-Khalfawi has declined candidacy for this political position and we respect her will. As for the deputy Secretary General, he was offered the position but chose to endorse my candidacy.
What is your vision for the coming phase for the PPDU and the Popular Front?
Our party is the founder of the Popular Front and it made strenuous efforts to materialize its political principles and plans, which enabled it, in record time, to become a key player in Tunisia’s political arena. We will continue with the same approach despite the murder of Belaid and we will work to expand the popular base of the Front in order to maximize its impact on the country’s political life.
Chokri Belaid was about to formulate a new intellectual and political foundation for that major leftist party before his assassination, what is the Central Committee’s decision in that concern?
The Central Committee approved to implement that initiative and open political and intellectual dialogues with the relevant parties. This issue will be handled with sincere intentions but without hastiness so that all favorable circumstances are met.
The Central Committee brought up the issue of Belaid’s assassination, will this issue remain local or will it be presented to the international court?
The case will be investigated by the Tunisian judicial authorities and we expressed concerns about the condition of the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Justice, as we believe that they will not be able to uncover the truth about the assassination of Belaid. This was evident during the press conference held by Interior Minister Ali Laarayedh during which time he only provided information posted on social networks in addition to a questionable reenactment of the crime scene, the purpose of which was to polish Laarayedh’s image after he was assigned to form a new government.
There is important information proving that the integrity and accuracy of the investigation have been breached. For example, the report on Fathi Damaq, who was investigated in relation to the assassination of comrade Belaid, was hastily concealed without linking him with the information mentioned in a video relevant to the case. It showed some people talking about assassinating Belaid in a manner that resembles what actually happened. The investigating judge also refused to hear Fathi Damaq’s testimony despite the frequent requests by his lawyer. The bottom line is that if the truth was not uncovered, the case will be presented to the international court.
As Secretary General, what is your attitude towards Laarayedh’s government and do you think that it is different from Jibali’s government or simply a replica?
Laarayedh’s government is a continuation of the failure of Jibali’s government as it will take unpopular and undemocratic decisions and will pursue the same anti-freedom policies. That is why we demanded, as a party, to bring that government down.
What is your attitude towards the revolution immunization bill?
This bill been customized to enable Ennahda to get rid of certain political opponents. We reject that law and believe that only the transitional judicial authority, yet to be established, is entitled to punish individuals for crimes committed against the country and the people.
What was the general atmosphere in the PPDU Central Committee meeting, given that the constituent assembly left four unoccupied seats in the political bureau and ten unoccupied seats in the Central Committee?
We seek to reflect true democracy in our party. There has been an atmosphere of in-depth political dialogue and constructive criticism concerning the performance of all party structures and viable proposals have been put forward to consolidate party unity and boost its organizational and political performance. As for the unoccupied seats, we agreed to postpone this issue pending the formation of a dialogue committee to invite the national democrats who are outside the party and then we can fill those seats according to the decisions of the constituent assembly.
