Draft:Ahmed Mestiri

Ahmed Mestiri
File:أحمد المستيري.jpg
Name	Ahmed Mestiri
Personal Details
Birth Place	Tunisia

Ahmed Mestiri, the "father of media or political pluralism" in Tunisia and the leader and founder of the Socialist Democrats movement, saw his death spark the reopening of files expected to be at the forefront of intellectual and political discourse since the fall of the Ben Ali regime in January 2011 and the eruption of the phenomenon known as the "Arab Spring" or the Islamic Awakening.

Mestiri's Role in Tunisian Political Thought and Practice

The historical role of Ahmed Mestiri and his comrades, namely the leaders of the Socialist Democrats movement over the past 50 years, resulted in the promotion of pluralistic thought and the transition of the country from a culture of single leadership and single-party rule to a culture of dialogue with others within the media, political parties, and multi-faceted organizations. Fifty years ago, he led prominent intellectuals and statesmen who, due to their differing positions on democracy, the path forward for the country, political life, and the media, had separated from the ruling party under President Habib Bourguiba. Media, cultural, and party pluralism was a reality during the stage of the struggle against colonialism, which manifested in August 1946 at the "Independence Conference" (Laylat al-Qadr Conference). In this context, there remains no disagreement on the point that the first nationalist governments, i.e., those that came to power immediately after Tunisia's independence, themselves became an obstacle to party and media pluralism. Furthermore, in order to more broadly counter all forms of pluralism, they ratified the regulations of the ruling party in Bizerte in 1964, stipulating that unions of workers, merchants, farmers, students, and women must join the ruling party, and that the leaders of these unions be appointed as members of the party's leadership council. Criticisms raised by certain political and party leaders, such as Ahmed Tlili, Secretary-General of the General Union of Tunisian Workers, or Minister Ahmed Mestiri and political leader Bahi Ladgham, led to their expulsion. Consequently, the leadership of Ahmed Mestiri and his friends between 1971 and 1974, representing a current that called for political and media pluralism within the ruling party and the country, resulted in their removal and expulsion from the scene. This was followed by a sham "popular referendum" in 1975 to appoint Habib Bourguiba as president "for life," after which the space for his opponents became severely restricted.

Founding of the Tunisian Social Democratic Party

The establishment of the Socialist Democrats movement created a space in which hundreds of Tunisian intellectuals and politicians, led by Ahmed Mestiri and his close associates, took action. Within this framework, they issued the petition of "One Hundred Intellectuals and Politicians from Various Currents" in 1977, published the first opposition newspaper (Al-Ra'y), and established the first independent human rights organization in the same year. Subsequently, in 1978, they openly founded the first opposition political party, naming it the "Socialist Democrats Movement." Although the founding of such a party constituted a shock to the national, regional, and international political and media spheres, the most significant achievement of Ahmed Mestiri and his liberal comrades was extricating the country from the stage of ruling party dominance and the imposition of government control over all media. This was achieved through the founding of the newspaper Al-Ra'y at the end of 1978, followed by the newspaper Al-Mustaqbal in both Arabic and French (L'Avenir), the newspaper Démocratie in French, and other newspapers affiliated with various personalities, parties, and political currents, including leftist and Islamist groups.

Influence of the Social Democratic Party on the Tunisian Intellectual Current

Country officials and liberal figures reacted positively to this issue at the end of the Hedi Nouira government in the late 1970s and subsequently during the Mohamed Mzali government (1980–1986). Simultaneously, under the leadership of Ahmed Mestiri and the Socialist Democrats, alongside writers, media professionals, liberal and leftist intellectuals, and independent Islamists, efforts were undertaken to implement media and political pluralism. Influential figures include: Hassib Ben Ammar, Mohamed Moada, Ismail Boulahya, Dali El Jazi, Khamis Chamari, Ahmed Ayadh El Ouderni, Hamouda Ben Salama, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Moncer Rouissi, Aboubaker Essghaier, Ahmed Kouraa, Hamida Neifer, Salaheddine Jourchi, Ahmed Najib Chebbi, Rachid Kechana, Maya Jribi, Mohamed Kerichen, Kamel Ben Younes, Hamadi Redissi, Bachir Said, Maya Jribi, Abdelrazzak Kilani, Abdelfattah Omar, Mohamed Charfi, Hashemi Troudi, Mohamed Galbi, Mounir Bajji, Mohamed Bennour, and Sami Akermi. The party's organs, through the establishment of the Socialist Democrats movement and its affiliated newspapers by Ahmed Mestiri and his comrades, expanded the margins of media freedoms and consolidated pluralism in other "independent" media outlets such as the newspapers Dar Al-Sabah, Dar Al-Anwar, and Al-Sha'ab. This led to the founding of opposition and independent newspapers and magazines in both Arabic and French, including Le Phare (The Lighthouse) and Al-Wahda, the organ of the Popular Unity Party, and Al-Tariq Al-Jadid, the organ of the Communists Party, as well as the magazine Islamic Thought for a Future 15*20 (the current of "Progressive Islamists" or "Islamist Leftists"), and Al-Mujtama, Al-Habib, and Al-Ma'rifa. The latter two magazines were close to the leaders of the "Al-Ittijah Al-Islami" movement during the period preceding the 1981 trials.

Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Literature

The literature of Ahmed Mestiri and his associates, namely the founders of the Socialist Democrats movement along with prominent writers and politicians, demonstrates that this "political-media-cultural school" constituted a unique addition to Tunisia and brought about the most significant political transformation in the nation's history over the past fifty years. The supporters of Ahmed Mestiri and the pioneers of the "Progressive Democratic" current are divided into two periods: the Bourguiba and Ben Ali eras, followed by the post-2011 Revolution period. Nevertheless, a set of fixed principles and shared references united them, explaining their profound impact on the political discourse of power during the final decade of Bourguiba's rule (1977–1987) and the early years of Ben Ali's regime (1988–1989). Furthermore, this same literary and intellectual tradition influenced various personalities and parties emerging from within Ahmed Mestiri's party, the Democratic Social Movement (Et-Tajdid), led by Mustapha Ben Jaafar, Abdellatif Abid, Khalil Zaouia, Mohamed Benour, and their colleagues; as well as the new approach of the Democrats' Movement under the leadership of Mohamed Moada (1990–1995) and subsequently Ismail Boulahya (1995–2010); alongside other movements led by "dissidents" such as Tayeb Mahfoudh and Ahmed Khasrouni. The strength of the social democrats' literature and the strategic options advocated by leader Ahmed Mestiri lay in their success in reforming the intellectual and political discourse and the struggle strategies of most leftist, Marxist, nationalist, and Islamist political factions that had previously championed "revolutionary" slogans and sought regime overthrow. Mestiri and his associates employed concepts of socialism and democracy aligned with moderate global leftist discourse and the "Social Democratic" movement influential in Germany, France, Europe, and within "International Socialism." At the same time, they regarded themselves as the continuation of the modern nation-state and its achievements, advocating reforms in domestic and foreign policies "away from violence, separatist logic, and confrontation." Ahmed Mestiri emphasized that Tunisia and Arab countries needed to simultaneously expand their partnerships with Europe, Islamic countries, and neighboring African nations such as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Nigeria, which had made progress in economic, political, and cultural spheres. Initially, the discourse of Mestiri and his companions, along with the literature published in the newspapers Al-Ra'y, Al-Mustaqbal, and La Voix du Tunisien, faced severe opposition. They were accused of attempting to whitewash the existing system and save it from collapse. Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the emergence of a "Muslim revolutionary current" that supported leftist movements in Tunisia, coupled with the rise of "Democratic Nationalists," "Tunisian Workers," "Chamaa" (Flame), and like-minded groups within universities and trade unions, criticisms against Mestiri and his associates intensified. When Mohamed Mzali assumed the premiership (1980–1986) and adopted a path of intellectual and political pluralism and democratic openness, known as the "Policy of Openness"—a strategy similarly pursued by Anwar Sadat's regime in Egypt after Gamal Abdel Nasser's death in 1970—the number of critics targeting Mestiri and his movement increased further. Despite conflicts and struggles occurring within most Arab leftist and Islamist movements, Ahmed Mestiri's approach ultimately prevailed. Moreover, leaders of ideological parties, including the Islamic Tendency Movement led by Rached Ghannouchi and Abdelfattah Mourou, the Ba'ath Movement, and the Communist Workers' Party, eventually adopted this same approach. The acceptance of Ahmed Mestiri's approach by democratic and socialist leaders across various parties continued throughout the Ben Ali era and after the 2011 Revolution, until the number of legal parties exceeded 200.

Decline of the Mestiri Movement

It is evident that Mestiri and the Movement of Socialist Democrats, from the late Bourguiba era and the early Ben Ali period, and subsequently after the 2011 Revolution, fell victim to a "dual discourse" and became the subject of bidding wars among multiple factions:

Tunisian and international democratic and progressive political forces that sought to position Ahmed Mestiri as "Bourguiba's successor" in 1987, and later as "Ben Ali's successor" following the fraudulent April 1989 elections.

However, this "status" prompted several coalitions of Mestiri's opponents, rivals, and enemies from both the ruling elites and opposition circles to unite against him on multiple occasions with considerable force. Following the 1989 elections, through intensive media campaigns and unethical verbal and physical violence directed personally against him, they succeeded in pressuring him into a "complete" withdrawal from the political arena.

Political and party leaders from various ideological schools attempted, during both the Bourguiba and Ben Ali eras, by launching malicious campaigns against the Movement of Socialist Democrats and its leaders, to simultaneously assume the role of a moderate alternative to the ruling party and its leadership, as well as to Ahmed Mestiri's party.

Over the past three decades, and particularly after the 2011 Revolution, Ahmed Mestiri and his project were encircled by some of his former associates who "changed their colors," resigning from their positions to join other parties or the government, eventually attaining ministerial posts.

Thus, once again, it became clear that Tunisian elites play pioneering roles in the Arab sphere, but very quickly, due to their engagement in marginal conflicts, they remove themselves from power, failing to reap the fruits of their struggles, while "others" capitalize on their efforts.