Tunisia will never forget India’s support in 1950s: Nejmeddine Lakhal

New Delhi: India’s emphasis on robust links with the Islamic world can’t have a more vociferous supporter, the North African nation of Tunisia, the original home of the “Arab Spring” that shook the middle-east less than a decade ago.

Tunisian ambassador Nejmeddine Lakhal told this newspaper that his country “can never forget the strong and ardent support that India extended in the mid-1950s to our national movement of liberation from French occupation”

In the past decade, Tunisia has been the only Arab nation where the upsurge for democracy proved hugely successful, dislodging its then dictator president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 who had ruled the “Maghreb” nation with an iron hand for more than two decades.

It’s no coincidence therefore that Tunisians are excited over the second free and transparent elections being held on Sunday in their country. One of them being no less than Tunisia’s energetic ambassador himself. “There are 26 candidates vying for the post of president. Our country is a vibrant and robust democracy that has proved to be more resilient than some expected” Mr Lakhal pointed out.

It’s often asked how the Arab Spring succeeded spectacularly as the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia while it wreaked havoc in Syria, Libya, and even Egypt.

But as the Tunisian ambassador says, “There is no secret to Tunisia’s peaceful transition success. Inclusive dialogue, consensus, and the strong commitment and determination of the Tunisian people to build a better future were the magic formula. It was absolutely clear from the beginning that the political elite, secular and Islamist, were deeply committed to meet the aspirations of the Tunisian people through the establishment of solid democratic institutions. And as the great Mahatma Gandhi said once: ‘The future depends on what you do today’.”

Ambassador Lakhal added that the upsurge for democracy in Tunisia in 2011 was the will of the Tunisian people and brought democratic freedoms such as a free press.

Pointing out that the term “Arab Spring” was coined by the West, the Tunisian envoy said, “We never intended to export it to other nations, we have no lessons to give.”

Tunisia is also one of the countries with which India struck a strong relationship way back in the 1950s during the Nehruvian era. “We cannot forget the strong and ardent support that India extended in the mid-1950s to our national movement of liberation from French occupation. Tunisia will always remember with deep gratitude the precious backing that India gave in our hour of need,” Mr. Lakhal said.

The Tunisian ambassador added that his country was looking forward to a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the region. “I’m very confident the visit will happen in Mr. Modi’s current second tenure as Prime Minister,” he signed off.