Yahoo – AFP,
Hazel Ward, 9 Oct 2015
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President
of the Tunisian Human Rights League, Abdessattar Ben Moussa, in Tunis
on
October 9, 2015 after he was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize with other
members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)
|
Oslo (AFP)
- Tunisian civil society groups won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for helping
rescue the only democracy that emerged from the Arab Spring, in a hugely
symbolic show of support for the country after a wave of jihadist attacks.
The award
won praise from around the globe, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon hailing the groups'
work as "an inspiration to the region and the world" while one winner
said it was a tribute to those who had died in the struggle to move from
dictatorship to democracy.
Announcing
the award in Oslo, Nobel committee chairwoman Kaci Kullman Five saluted the
quartet's "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic
democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011."
The quartet
had succeeded in establishing a "broad-based national dialogue" and
must be given much of the credit "for ensuring that the benefits of the
Jasmine Revolution have not been lost," she said.
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President
of the Tunisian employers union (UTICA), Wided Bouchamaoui, in her
office in
Tunis on October 9, 2015, after she was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize
with
other members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)
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"The
Norwegian Nobel Committee hopes that this year's prize will contribute towards
safeguarding democracy in Tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek
to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of
the world," the panel said.
The prize
was awarded nearly five years after a desperate Tunisian street vendor set
himself on fire, touching off a wave of unrest which left more than 300 people
dead and eventually toppled the dictatorial president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,
inspiring uprisings across the region.
Formed in
2013 when the process of democratisation was in danger of collapsing because of
widespread social unrest, the quartet established an alternative, peaceful
political process as Tunisia was on the brink of civil war, the committee said.
It is made
up of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the Tunisian Confederation of
Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League and
the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.
The honour
took observers by surprise as the Tunisians had not been mentioned in the weeks
of frenzied speculation in the runup to the announcement.
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Tunisian
General Labour Union secretary general, Houcine Abassi, speaks with
journalists
at his office in Tunis on October 9, 2015, after he was awarded the 2015
Nobel
Peace Prize with other members of Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet
(AFP
Photo/Fethi Belaid)
|
A
people's honour
The UN
chief said the award also belonged to the Tunisian people.
"This
recognition belongs to all those who gave birth to the Arab Spring and are
striving to safeguard the sacrifices of so many," he said.
"The
Arab Spring began with great hopes that were soon replaced with grave doubts.
Tunisia has managed to avoid the disappointment and dashed hopes that have
tragically emerged elsewhere."
The winners
themselves were quick to recall the cost in human life, with the country's
powerful labour union saying it was a "tribute to martyrs of a democratic
Tunisia".
"This
effort by our youth has allowed the country to turn the page on
dictatorship," said UGTT chief Houcine Abassi in words echoed by fellow
winner, the UTICA trade confederation.
"We
are here... to give hope to young people in Tunisia that if we believe in our
country, we can succeed," UTICA head Ouided Bouchamaoui said.
On the
streets of Tunis, people welcomed the Nobel as a boost for democracy.
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Tunisian
lawyer Fadhel Mahfoudh poses at the courthouse in the capital Tunis on
October
9, 2015, after he was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize with other
members of
Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (AFP Photo/Fethi Belaid)
|
"It's
an encouragement for the parties in opposition and those in power so they can
believe in democracy and not just grab power," Tunis resident Shukri ben
Nasif told AFP.
'A very
important example'
Since the
Tunisia uprising, the Arab world has been rocked by massive upheaval that has
toppled leaders in Egypt, Libya and Yemen and plunged Syria into a brutal civil
war.
Tunisia was
able to adopt a constitution in January 2014 and held its first democratic
elections at the end of last year.
But its
democracy remains fragile, with the country rocked by a series of high-profile
political killings and bloody recent attacks by Islamic State militants that
killed 22 people, mostly tourists, at a Tunis museum in March, and another 38
foreigners in a beach resort massacre in June.
In an
interview with AFP after the announcement, the Nobel committee chief said the
quartet's work proved that political compromise between secular and Islamist
groups could result in meaningful democracy.
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A photo
taken on March 29, 2015 shows Tunisians waving their national flag and
chanting
slogans during a march against extremism outside Tunis' Bardo Museum
(AFP
Photo/Fethi Belaid)
|
"It is
possible, it has been done and it can be done again if the people forming
different political movements -- either Islamists or secular -- want to
cooperate in the best interest of their people," Kullman Five said.
"This
has been a very, very important result that we think is an example."
As
Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi said his country had "no other
solution than dialogue, despite ideological disagreements", EU foreign
policy chief Federica Mogherini said the quartet's work had shown the region
"the way out" its crises -- through national unity and democracy.
France's
President Francois Hollande said it "rewards the success of the democratic
transition" and British Prime Minister David Cameron said Tunisia was a
"beacon of hope" for the region.
The prize
will be handed out at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10.
