Yesterday’s enemies Manji Rahoui, National Consituent Assembly (NCA) member of the left Unified Democratic Nationals Party (UDNP) and Habib Louz, NCA member of the Islamic Ennahda Movement, which holds a majority in the Tunisian parliament, embraced. Known for their fierce disputes that entailed exchanging serious accusations throughout the constitution-drafting process, the show of camaraderie surprised many.
Yesterday’s enemies Manji Rahoui, National Consituent Assembly (NCA) member of the left Unified Democratic Nationals Party (UDNP) and Habib Louz, NCA member of the Islamic Ennahda Movement, which holds a majority in the Tunisian parliament, embraced. Known for their fierce disputes that entailed exchanging serious accusations throughout the constitution-drafting process, the show of camaraderie surprised many.
Although Louz reportedly said: “This constitution is a stillbirth” he celebrated its finalization and embraced Rahoui, who claimed he was threatened with assassination due to his inciting statements against Rahoui.
Amid the NCA members’ applause and cheers, the two warmly embraced despite their previous disagreements which reached a climax during the constitution-drafting period when Louz described Rahoui as the enemy of Islam and the latter accused the former of being the liars’ leader.
Enemies for life
Rahoui is affiliated to the far left UDNP which is the first party to challenge the Islamic rise in Tunisia and was previously involved in a fierce struggle against Islamist students during the Manuba events of 1982.
Louz is one of the founders of the Islamic Orientation Movement later known as Ennahda. He is classified as one of Ennahda’s strong-minded figures.
This historical conflict started at the Tunisian University between the two most fundamental wings at the time: the far left Al-Wated Party and the far right Islamic Orientation. There were battles in which chains and cold steel were used and their heroes included the current Minister of Health Abdullatif Makki and Rida Makki from Al-Wated Party.
“We have always thought that the Islamic current does not represent Tunisia’s future. Our relationship with it was based on contest and intellectual conflict. We have never allied with the Islamic Orientation due to intrinsic differences,” said Mohamed Jammour, the UDNP Deputy Secretary General and one of its founders.
After Rahoui and Louz were elected as members of the NCA, they both considered each other enemies, each believed to be imposing his own ideologies on the Constitution. Rahoui described Louz and Ennahda’s members as “ignorant people wanting to impose the Islamic law.”
Louz described Rahoui as a disbeliever and claimed that Rahoui’s party wanted to establish a civil state that does not recognize religion. However, the Constitution was endorsed after they both let go of their disputes.
Their embrace was met by the Tunisians with great optimism. Some politicians even described it as a national reconciliation despite the fact that when his colleague and Head of the UDNP Chokri Belaid was assassinated, Rahoui accused Ennahda of being involved in the crime.
It is worth mentioning that the battle between the two currents subsided during the 1990s when Ben Ali’s regime started arrest campaigns against the Islamists and the left. “Under Ben Ali, we did not legalize nor help suppress the Islamists. We demanded an amnesty and opposed the unacceptable treatment which included police raids, assaults and physical abuse,” said Jammour.
Despotism unified them in the 1990s, but they rebounded to conflict, which reached its zenith with Belaid’s assassination. Jammour stressed that the UDNP has not forgiven its martyrs’ blood and believes that Ennahda is morally and politically responsible for assassinating Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi.
However, many believe that January 26, 2014 was the beginning of a new historical era. All NCA members embraced, shook hands and congratulated each other after years of disputes, arguments and accusations. At the end of the day, the exceptional picture of Rahoui and Louz embracing each other prevailed.
Abdulhamid Jalasi, Head of Ennahda’s Shora Council, said Tunisians when in danger, forget about their differences to save their country.
