In this exclusive interview, Hamma Hammami, leader of the leftist Popular Front and spokesman of the Worker’s Party explains why his party refuses to engage in dialogue with its key political rival, Ennahda. He severely criticizes the current coalition government because he claims it has not offered serious solutions to addressing the deteriorating breakdown in communication amidst the four-party government. He rejects Washington’s offer for Tunisia to be a partner outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and warned against schemes to divide Libya.

In this exclusive interview, Hamma Hammami, leader of the leftist Popular Front and spokesman of the Worker’s Party explains why his party refuses to engage in dialogue with its key political rival, Ennahda. He severely criticizes the current coalition government because he claims it has not offered serious solutions to addressing the deteriorating breakdown in communication amidst the four-party government. He rejects Washington’s offer for Tunisia to be a partner outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and warned against schemes to divide Libya.

Hamma Hammai, for some time now, Tunisia has been living under the impact of intense strikes and sit-ins which have cost the country heavy economic losses. How do you view these protest movements?

First of all, we must differentiate between an organized trade union movement, which is considered an indisputable constitutional right, and unorganized or random protests staged by employees and spontaneous popular protests, which do not fall under the banner of any trade union.

I respect organized trade union campaigning even if it is subject to criticism or complaints. True, there are excesses and a lack of discipline, which we believe are the duty of workers to avoid such chaotic situations so that their movements are not condemned.  All popular movements have strong justifications with a government that has so far failed to offer them anything.

What is the reason for the explosion of the current social situation and the rising pace of popular movements across the country?

The problem lies in the current coalition government, which has failed to provide concrete solutions to the people and has only reproduced the previous policy of failure.

We wonder how the government can continue to follow an economic and social system that has led to the outbreak of a popular uprising in the country despite its disadvantages.

We have previously warned of the outbreak of popular protests because of the deteriorating economic and social conditions for which no solutions were offered after the revolution. Nevertheless, we must not engage in confrontations against the masses since the solution lies in finding reasonable solutions to the problems of the marginalized groups.

I should also point out that there are parties that use the existing problems facing Tunisians in a way that does not serve Tunisia’s interests and leads to the destruction of national unity. This is the ultimate objective of political opportunism.

What is your assessment of the performance of the four parties participating in the current ruling coalition?

We believe that the ruling coalition is conducting a disorderly performance. In the four-partite coalition, you simultaneously find some groups that support the government’s decisions while others oppose them. This is due to forming the coalition government without having a common program.

The current coalition government was not built in accordance with a program that responds to the benefits of the revolution and the aspirations of Tunisians. It was rather based on distributing the spoils of power and seats of governance.

A few days back, the Administrative Court issued a first instance ruling in accordance with which the decree on confiscation of the property of Ben Ali and his family was abolished. Is the clock going back in time?

A popular uprising occurred in Tunisia in which people raised many demands including recovery of looted funds and property. This decision constitutes a threat to the revolutionary track since the administrative court, with due respect, has acted as though there was no revolution in the country. In other words, those who plundered the country’s wealth and tyrannized people are rights holders. I do not think that the national forces will remain idle regarding this decision.

Will we find Tunisian Left in power in the coming years like some Latin American or Mediterranean countries such as Greece?

Today we observe, at both international and regional levels, a trend which I would not describe as leftist. It is a popular, democratic, social and progressive trend in Greece and Spain and even recently in Turkey and Latin America. This tendency reflects the failure of traditional liberal bourgeois which takes into account only the interests of minorities. Indeed, the future is for the popular Democratic National Forces.

Does the Front rely on the municipal elections to jump on its political rival?

We will work to ensure our presence in the municipalities more than in the Parliament, considering that the direct popular base lies in the municipalities and local governments.

Is the Popular Front suffering from internal problems?

The Popular Front is being targeted and this is a continuing process given the fear of the Front’s program and the goals it presents in protecting the interests of minorities at home and abroad.

On the other hand, discussions within the Popular Front are considered a natural question and are always present. We do not view these discussions as problems. The Front comprises ten parties and there will certainly be different views and positions, but in the end our solutions are geared up to facing the posed challenges and problems.

Ennahda Movement’s leader Rached Ghannouchi tried to start a direct dialogue with you. Why do you refuse to have direct dialogue with Ennahda?

At present, we refuse to engage in direct dialogue with Ennahda since we hold it politically and morally responsible for the non-disclosure of the truth about the political assassinations that occurred during its former troika government.

What is the Popular Front’s position on the death sentences against Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt?

The Popular Front is against the death penalty in principle and it is particularly against it when these sentences are associated with political issues.

Although we believe that the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule was responsible for the ensuing popular uprising in Egypt, which toppled the Muslim Brotherhood’s government and allowed the army to come to power, we remain committed to our opposition of the death sentences.

We believe that the popular forces in Egypt must not be caught between the army and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tunisia is facing an increase of terrorism. Super powers like the United States expressed readiness to provide the country with logistic and military support. What is your position in this regard?

We believe that the genuine solution is in the hands of the Tunisian people and it cannot come from the United States or other nations, since the Tunisian people are facing terrorism and consequently, it is necessary to fight it through addressing real issues including the political, educational, economic and social reform. This is the effective way to confront terrorism.

Washington recently considered Tunisia to be a key ally outside NATO. How do you assess this unique form of partnership?

We are certainly against this partnership. Does Tunisia really need this capacity to fight terrorism? Besides, when has NATO played a positive role in any region of the world?

The late President Habib Bourguiba and the ousted president Ben Ali refused to accept it in the past despite all efforts and pressures. This means that foreign policy has suffered a significant disruption since the fall of Ben Ali’s regime. Neither the former troika government nor the present ruling coalition possess a clear diplomatic creed that takes into account the country’s regional and international interests.

Do you think that Washington giving a non-NATO ally status to Tunisia could affect Tunisia’s relations with the neighboring countries?

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Tunisian President in Washington provides that Tunisia and the United States will cooperate to maintain their countries’ security. But supposing, for example, that the United States decided that Libya posed a threat to US national security, what would Tunisia’s position be? Would Tunisia stand with the U.S. against Libya? Would Tunisia in such an eventuality allow US forces to use Tunisia as a passage to invade Libya?

For this reason, we believe that this MoU does not take into account Tunisia’s interests. Therefore, we do not want our country to be used as a temporary or permanent base for any foreign power. Tunisia must maintain its peaceful character and contribute to finding peaceful solutions to Libya’s crisis.

Do you expect a possible international military intervention in Libya in light of the escalating civil war in it?

The chaotic situation Libya is going through at present is a direct result of an earlier foreign intervention. Wherever foreign powers intervene, as happened in Afghanistan, Iraq or Somalia, the result will be chaos, destruction, instability and disintegration of the state. Therefore, we believe that Libya faces a serious threat of division and this threat can only be confronted through the unity of national forces in Libya to achieve a democratic and civil state.

The Tunisian parliament has recently convened to review the European policy towards the neighboring states. How do you view the relationship between Tunisia and the European Union?

The EU countries themselves are facing a crisis. They are looking for a solution to their crisis at the expense of other countries and people. We in the Popular Front will not wait for EU’s assistance in resolving the crisis in Tunisia. Our crisis can be resolved by reforming state institutions as well as changing the economic and social system. These requirements have not been fulfilled yet.

The European Union and the international financial institutions are not working for a genuine solution. They are rather working to keep the situation as is since it serves the interests of the EU and international financial institutions.