Thursday, 16 May 2013
TUNIS (TAP) - Caretaker President Moncef Marzouki said "everyone must make necessary concessions" to achieve the common goals, namely protecting national unity, building a civil and democratic society rooted in Arab-Islamic values and giving a strong impetus to social, economic, scientific and cultural progress.
Tunisians have been calling insistently for "less political and social tension, swift end to transition and security," he said in his address, on Thursday at the opening session of the second round of the national dialogue initiated by the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT).
Tunisia is expecting from the national dialogue "not only compromises on the constitution and a timeline of elections but also a charter likely to allow all parties to carry out their activities safely and subsequently conduct their election campaign peacefully and without any intimidation," he added.
Marzouki also called on the civil society to contribute to "more ethical politics" through the establishment of an "observatory" to monitor the action of the ruling authority, parties and the press "before and after the election campaign."
"What Tunisians also expect from the national dialogue is that the transition period ends as soon as possible," the Caretaker President also said, calling on all parties toensure that "the end of the year would be the deadline for the organisation of presidential and legislative elections to be followed immediately (early 2014) by municipal elections," which are, according to him "as important as the first two elections."
Marzouki also said "all secondary problems should be left open to focus on the completion of the constitution before the end of next July and establish the independent elections authority."
National dialogue, added Marzouki, should also help guarantee security one of the most attributes of which is, according to him, to "close ranks in the face of the exacerbation of religious extremism which represents a threat to the stability and image of the country and even to its lifestyle and its moderate and tolerant Islam".
"We have to accept the other, whether modernist, Islamist or Salafist, by taking care no to demonise," he stressed, saying that "all Tunisians must have the same rights andobligations."
He said, in this regard, that he did not understand "the existence of any form of discrimination whatsoever against citizens on the sole ground of the way they practice their faith and dress."
Moncef Marzouki added: "I do neither understand nor accept that a girl wearing Niqab is prevented from passing university exams and the smooth running of exams hung up on a duality of obstinacy against another obstinacy, an intransigence against another and a fanaticism opposed to another fanaticism."
He also underlined that the State considers Salafism as "a social reality" that must be understood by the community which excludes only those who exclude themselves, appealing to "Salafist Sheikhs" in Tunisia so that they "explicitly condemn terrorism," "the use of violence during demonstrations" and any attempt to replace the securityservices to challenge the State.
He expressed, in this regard, the commitment of the State to "combat such abuses and face up firmly to the violent component of this movement by all available means, including military and police in the respect of law and the physical integrity and human rights."
According to him, many of the young people who have "joined terrorism" "have a history of delinquency, drug, unemployment and prison." Why have we been unable to givethese young people a chance to rediscover their dignity in democracy and human rights and an opportunity to assert themselves in a society open to all expectations?" hewondered.
Part of the audience walked out of the meeting during Marzouki's speech in protest against his remarks on the right of girls wearing Niqab to pass exams.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2013
