There are three or four Arab rulers who deserve to meet the same fate as Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. While all Arab countries are indeed undemocratic, I most definitely prefer some Arab regimes to the opposition in their countries, as the latter often combine political and religious extremism, and utter ignorance, and would take the country back to the dark ages, if they seize power. I waited several days after the ouster of the Tunisian president before I said anything, as I realized that the entire Arab and international press will comment on his fall, along with television stations and the electronic media. Indeed, and as expected, they all provided their commentaries, which included some to the effect of ‘today Tunisia, tomorrow this or that Arab country'; or that Arab leaders are trembling for fear that they may meet the same fate as Ben Ali, that they are anxious and cannot sleep at night (who entered their bedrooms?), or that they are breaking out with cold sweat. Headlines for the commentaries also included: Overthrow of Tunisian president jolts Arab region; In peril: the Arab status quo; Arab regimes braced for wave of uprising; People power topples Tunisian strongman after days of violence. What I read ranged from articles full of the hatred or complexes of their authors – mostly in the Western media -, to articles full of wishful thinking, or what their authors wish would transpire. Personally, I think that the writers behind all these articles will be disappointed, and I say this although I wish that many Arab regimes would collapse. However, I refuse to have my professionalism, or my quest for objectivity, to be a hostage of my personal wishes. I do not wish for any reader to support me, and do not wish to enter in an argument with any reader who disagrees with me either. Only time will tell who is right, and I shall return to this subject in one full year to resume the debate about the situation already in place, and how we want it to become instead. Today, I prefer to tell the readers what I know about President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The majority of those who wrote do not know him. I, on the other hand, interviewed him three times, twice during sessions with other guests, and conducted a lengthy interview with him in the early nineties. However, I found dealing with President Ben Ali to be difficult so I decided to keep away from him. I wrote about Tunisia only once after that, when the president postponed the Arab Summit. On March 30, 2004, I protested this in my column, and said that the decision is shameful and an insult to the people of Tunisia and the entire Arab nation. I had obtained the permission of His Highness Prince Khalid bin Sultan, the publisher, to stop sending Al-Hayat to Tunisia. This is because we were banned four or five days each week, although sending issues from the Frankfurt edition cost us one dollar each, with a return of ten cents in sales per issue. However, it was important for us to say that we distribute Al-Hayat in all Arab countries. Then one day, we published a story about President Ben Ali's brother, who was involved in a drug-related case in France. I was contacted by a Tunisian official, who said that they accept anything except affront to the President and his family. They thought that publishing the news was part of a campaign orchestrated by us against the regime, although I had not even read the small news story published on an inside page, and which was dispatched by Al-Hayat's bureau in Paris. Brother Abdul Wahab Abdullah was the Minister of Presidential Affairs at the time, and then the Foreign Minister of Tunisia. I knew him from his days as the Tunisian ambassador in London. He intervened in this affair, and we agreed that Al-Hayat be censored by the Presidency, instead of the Ministry of Information, and for me to conduct an interview with President Ben Ali to reaffirm the reconciliation. The interview covered many topics pertaining to the developments taking place back then; however, it is what has not been published from that interview that deserves returning to here. During the interview, and after a private conversation as we drank tea and walked on the terrace in the palace surrounded by pine trees and the coast, the President tried to persuade me to have the newspaper not publish any news on Islamist groups and their activities in any Arab country. In turn, I tried to persuade him that these groups are large and enjoy broad support, and thus cannot be ignored. However, he kept repeating an expression which seemed to have been his slogan, and which is “we should parch them where they rise” – in the sense that if we stopped talking about them then they will vanish. I tried my best to keep our meeting amicable to prevent Al-Hayat from being banned again. As I bade him farewell, I decided not to return to Tunisia, and indeed, I have not visited the country since. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali achieved many things in 23 years, most importantly in my opinion in education, and better rights for women. The per capita income in Tunisia is around three thousand dollars a year, the highest income in any non-oil producing Arab country, after Lebanon. Corruption, however, especially that involving members of the family of his wife Mrs. Leila Trabelsi, along with the global financial crisis, ruined everything for him. If there is any lesson to be learned by Arab rulers here it would be this. The absence of corruption in any country eliminates the primary argument against regimes. I also remind them of a Lebanese proverb that summarizes the story of Tunisia, which is, “Nothing can bring down thrones, except money and women”. [email protected]
