Secretary General of the Ennahda Movment Ali Laarayedh knows torture intimately. He was held in solitary confinement for 13 years in the beginning of the 1990s (during the Ben Ali era). He was tormented physically and psychologically—he was even threatened with injection of the AIDS virus.

But the 2011 revolution turned his life completely around and he went from rotting in a prison cell to becoming the Minister of Interior and then prime minister of the Troika government, which he left after being forced to resign in 2013.

Secretary General of the Ennahda Movment Ali Laarayedh knows torture intimately. He was held in solitary confinement for 13 years in the beginning of the 1990s (during the Ben Ali era). He was tormented physically and psychologically—he was even threatened with injection of the AIDS virus.

But the 2011 revolution turned his life completely around and he went from rotting in a prison cell to becoming the Minister of Interior and then prime minister of the Troika government, which he left after being forced to resign in 2013.

Some Tunisians believe Laarayedh’s leadership was stained with blood and political assassinations as his fiercest opponents— leftist leaders Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi—were assassinated within five months of each other.

Yet there are those who still believe that Laarayedh is a statesman who worked hard for the success of his homeland while there were those who were seeking to undermine his efforts and incite people against him.

In the following interview with Correspondents, the former prime minister speaks about succeeding Hamadi Jebali as a leader of the Ennahda Movement and the ongoing threat of terrorism in Tunisia.

After the recent massacre in Mount Chaambi, which led to the death of 15 members of the Tunisian army, how do respond to accusations made by security unions about the negligence and inaction of official security apparatuses and those who blame the Ennahda Movement and claim it is responsible for terrorism in Tunisia?

This is another terrorist crime and new martyrs have fallen in our war on terror.  It is an expensive war and it needs time.  I only hope and call on people to be steadfast and I call on the society to unite with the security apparatuses and its institutions in order to preserve national unity in these difficult phases. 

I call on people to show equanimity, fortitude and not to follow those who politically exploit these tragedies to attack our nation and our military and security institutions as well as other political parties trying to undermine public morale.  Such acts are considered crimes against the nation and they serve terrorism and terrorists. The law should take its course in these cases.

You took the post of Hamadi Jebali as prime minister and today you are also taking his post as a secretary general of the Ennahda Movement. Which is more stressful? Leading the state in a very critical period or leading a party seeking to return to power?

Each post has its own responsibilities regarding the size, pressure, challenges, and targets.  The post of prime minister is more difficult, especially when the priority requires diligent work to make the country succeed and for us to succeed when the priorities of others is to make you and the country fail by inciting people against you.

Today my priorities are the priorities of the Ennahda Movement and these are: contributing to the success of the democratic transition, spreading security, fighting terrorism, promoting development and reform, resisting corruption, establishing good governance and achieving transitional justice.

Do you see that you were the reason why the Ennahda Movement left the government?

We left the government in the framework of an agreement and a commitment with other parties to finalize the drafting of the Constitution, ratifying it, putting the country on the road to election by the creation of the High Independent Election Commission (HIEC), the setting of election dates before the end of 2014 and the creation of a neutral government to supervise the implementation of the remaining phases until elections. 

This is the framework, which the Ennahda Movement has been keen to observe and this is the noble goal that made me leave the prime minister post.

Does the post of the Ennahda Movement’s Secretary-General indicate that you are on the road leading to the Carthage Palace as the next president?

The post of Secretary-General means that I am in the first ranks of the Movement and I am supposed to ensure its development and progress in terms of its programmes, structures and stances, in order to serve the Tunisian national project as contained in its slogan: freedom, justice and development.

It is very important for me to continue to contribute to serving Tunisia regardless of my position.  Candidacy for any post is a collective decision taken by the Movement’s institutions and it is not among my priorities. 

 Regarding the forthcoming presidential elections, we are still discussing this issue with other parties, organizations and figures in order to reach agreements on the best candidates who we can collectively support if possible.

Ali Laarayedh is seen by the Movement‘s supporters as a strong and courageous statesman, while its opponents believe he is an unsuccessful politician who was on the verge of leading the country to a bloodbath, especially since you were accused of being lenient with terrorism!

I believe that when we get past this phase and when people get out of the current political and electoral polarization situation, history, with God’s help, will remember that the successive governments after the revolution, one of which I headed in a very chaotic area and phase, full of dangers and chaos, were able to Tlead the country towards democracy, security and to thwart the terrorism schemes to overthrow the state and democracy. 

History will remember that we in Tunisia have been the successful example of Arab revolutions and the locomotive that gave and will give hope to others for success.  I have protected Tunisia and the revolution from falling under the blows of terrorism, advocates of chaos, apostates of the revolution and against those who wanted to divert the revolution from its noble objectives.

Do you ever regret your decision not to arrest Abu Ayyad, head of the Ansar al-Sharia, which is categorized as a terrorist organization?

My decision was, and still is, to arrest Abu Ayyad and I did not take any other decision with regard to this person. 

Perhaps you are referring to the approval that I gave to security leaders not to storm the mosque on September 17, 2012 when they informed me that the operation might have led to a large number of victims. 

I accepted their request and gave them an order to chase the man and arrest him the moment he left the mosque.  Security units wanted to implement the order but they weren’t able to do so because of the intensive presence of worshipers on that day and the chaos that occurred in the mosque. Efforts to arrest Abu Ayyad continued and will continue until his arrest and bringing him to justice.

The initiative to nominate a consensus president was met with resistance from most of the political components, but the Ennahda Movement is still insisting on it.  Why? What about the Movement’s suggestion to nominate Kamal Morgan, former foreign minister during the era of President Ben Ali?

Until today, we have not suggested any name as a consensus presidential candidate.  All names are still in the race and we are still consulting with our partners on the initiative that we have launched.  We might start discussing the names during our future communications.

How do you rate the chances of Ennahda in the upcoming legislative elections?  What about your future alliances?

The Movement is currently preparing itself for the legislative elections and it is in the process of preparing its electoral lists and programmes, which it will announce to the people.  We are intending to enter the legislative elections under the Ennahda name.

There are many factors that can affect the behavior of voters and this is why it is still too early to predict the results of the elections.  

In general, we have a strong electoral base and we will have a bloc in the next parliament. Regarding the presidential elections, we have launched an initiative to consult with other parties on the possibility of forming a broad coalition or reaching consensus on the most appropriate person to pursue the goals of the revolution.  Consultations are still on-going.

How do you assess the performance of Mahdi Jumaa’s government?  Did the situation in the country improve with this government?

The conditions in the country got better when we all agreed upon a number of important decisions such as the drafting of the Constitution, the creation of HIEC, setting dates for the elections and the creation of a neutral government to lead the country during the remaining days of this phase. Issuance of the transitional justice law and the selection of the commission members to handle this file (also led to this improvement.)

The government of Mahdi Jumaa is trying to meet its obligations and state institutions (the presidency, the Constituent Assembly and the government) and several political parties and organizations are trying to fulfill their roles in order for the country to succeed in this sensitive and critical transitional phase, given the huge tasks, challenges and risks.  There are collective efforts and collective responsibilities.