Brussels, 10/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Catherine Ashton will travel to Tunis next Monday before visiting Cairo. This information has already been publicised (it was published in our newsletter yesterday) but the question of the appropriacy of such a visit is now being questioned. This is because a foreign affairs ministry in Tunis barely exists at the moment. The minister has been prevented from taking up his post by diplomats who are outraged by the ideas he expressed in Brussels and Tunis. They would also like an end to the practice of parallel diplomacy and an end to senior posts being occupied by personnel loyal to the former president. Sources also indicate that in Cairo, there have been indications that the visit is seen as not coming at the right moment. On Wednesday, the Egyptian minister for foreign affairs, Ahmed Abul Gheit, repeated that he “would prefer not to have any foreign visitors in February” because of a full agenda. Ashton's visit to Tunisia and Egypt will take place “too late or too early”, according to one Arab diplomat based in Brussels. It will be too late to express a European political position that he is likely to have an influence on the ongoing process, such as the position put forward by the US. It is too early for organising active solidarity, when the situation is constantly evolving in Cairo. It is said that Ashton intends to go to Tahrir Square, which is still not stable.
In a weekly publication, the EU ambassador to Tunisia, Adrianus Koetsenruijter, said that an aid package is ready and that “in many domains our cooperation is a going concern and I underline the example of education, justice, employment and the economy. It is obvious that we will be doing much more with our Tunisian partners, with greater financial resources. We will be responding to immediate needs by supporting the three independent commissions set up by the government and later, by helping organise the elections. We also want to mobilise the European NGOs, together with their Tunisian counterparts, to help poorer regions”. The ambassador added: “We will be adapting our cooperation programme to new needs expressed by the country. We were able to follow the events at the beginning of January with a lot of emotion, as well as the suffering endured by the people who demonstrated for freedom and dignity on 14 January. In the evening, the European Union made a declaration congratulating the Tunisian people, which had succeeded in achieving radical change and introducing freedom. I can affirm that during the whole of this period, the EU demonstrated its solidarity with the Tunisian people.” The democratic opposition has praised the support, which has sometimes been discreet, in favour of civil society, particularly the “LTDH” (The Tunisian League for Human Rights). The ambassador suggests “using the co-operation instruments more but which were not previously used to the full. We can significantly increase our technical and financial support, in the short term too. For the medium term, given the damages suffered by the Tunisian economy, we can also imagine greater aid, which is also justified”. This approach was confirmed by Mingarelli, the director-general for the European External Action Service. He asserted that the EU was fully prepared to help Tunisia, following the events of 14 January, and it intends to assist civil society and create jobs for young people.
On a more personal note, the ambassador explains that what he had experienced “was not easy… especially when there were exchanges of fire between the militia and the army… We were scared but this was the price to pay for Tunisia to get back on track and ensure a future that promotes respect and dignity for all Tunisians. I feel both joy and pride… I remain convinced that in 10 years' time Tunisia will be a prosperous country and its people will be able to give an example to others”. (F.B./transl.fl)