Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0374/03740.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 35KB | 547 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03740}
$Pretitle{289}
$Title{Tunisia
Chapter 5A.   National Security}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Frederick Ehrenreich}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{tunisian
government
security
political
tunisia
opposition
bourguiba
tunisians
domestic
psd}
$Date{1986}
$Log{Monolithic ribat*0374001.scf
Figure 12.*0374002.scf
}
Country:     Tunisia
Book:        Tunisia, A Country Study
Author:      Frederick Ehrenreich
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1986

Chapter 5A.   National Security

[See Monolithic ribat: Monolithic ribat (fort) at Monastir"]

     Although it had long been regarded as the most peaceful and stable of the
Maghribi countries, Tunisia faced a series of challenges in 1985 that could
conceivably threaten the viability and effectiveness of the political system
built up by President Habib Bourguiba. At the same time that the national
leadership was encountering increased international tension, it was facing a
growing challenge from organized domestic opponents. Its ability to contend
with these problems was complicated by political uncertainty brought on by the
advancing age and questionable health of Bourguiba, who had dominated the
national leadership for three decades.

     Domestic security was threatened by causes deeper than the problems of
presidential succession. Widespread riots that grew out of the general strike
in January 1978 gave observers their first indication that the national
consensus behind the leadership and policies of Bourguiba and Destourian
Socialist Party was not as strong as it had once been. Estrangement between
the government and the labor movement and the growth of Islamist opposition
continued in the 1980s and concerned government officials. To a degree, the
emergence of a strong, political opposition reflected the relative openness
of Tunisian society. It also indicated the existence of widespread
dissatisfaction with the ruling Destourian Socialist Party, the pace of
economic growth and development, high unemployment, official corruption, and
the apparent rejection of Islamic values by some of the top national leaders.
The fact that limited government reforms had not sufficiently ameliorated the
causes of dissent was emphasized in January 1984 by rioting throughout the
country that was triggered by an increase in the price of bread and other
staples.

     The republic's domestic difficulties have been compounded by problems
with neighboring states. Tunisia is flanked by Algeria and Libya, two much
larger and militarily stronger states whose militancy on Third World and
Pan-Arab issues contrasted with Bourguiba's more pro-Western attitudes. During
the early 1980s relations with Algeria began to improve, and a treaty of
friendship and concord made the countries virtual allies. At the same time,
however, Libya has repeatedly posed a potential threat to the Bourguiba'
government. By periodically threatening Tunisia with greater military strength
and by instigating at least one armed rebellion in Tunisia, Libyan leader
Colonel Muammar al Qadhaafi has proved himself a dangerous neighbor. Tunisian
vulnerabilities were also demonstrated by the October 1985 air raid by
Israeli warplanes on the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization
near Tunis.

     Lacking any hope of absolute defense and preferring to invest in domestic
programs, the Tunisian government had long been content to maintain a military
establishment of modest size and limited combat effectiveness compared with
those of its neighbors. By the 1980s, however, even Tunisia's relatively small
armed forces become extremely costly. In 1985 the defense force consisted of a
predominant army of 30,000 officers and men, a small navy of 2,600, and an air
force and 2,500; collectively these forces were designated the Tunisian
National Army. The military and a largely paramilitary police system were key
elements in a defense strategy that called on the security forces to provide
credible deterrence against external aggressive threats and, failing that, to
deal effectively with minor incursions until assistance arrived from friendly
states.

International Security Concerns

     Since the nation's formal independence from France in 1956, the Tunisian
government has generally attempted to concentrate its efforts and resources
on domestic development while maintaining harmonious relations with its
neighbors and other powers. Despite these efforts, Tunisia's location between
Algeria and Libya-two states long characterized by their oil wealth and
revolutionary ethos-its identity as an Arab and Islamic state, and the
generally pro-Western, modernist tendencies of Bourguiba's leadership have
prevented the country from avoiding regional disputes.

     In the first years after independence the Bourguiba government was
concerned with clashes and threats from France and Egypt (then known as the
United Arab Republic). France, occupied with the revolution in Algeria, had
kept a large number of troops on Tunisian soil after 1956. Intent on limiting
Tunisia's role as a sanctuary for Algerian revolutionaries or as a conduit for
material assistance, the French on several occasions used force against
Tunisians who were giving support to the Algerians. The most notable example
was the French bombing in 1958 of the Tunisian border village of Sakiet Sidi
Youssef. Later, Tunisian attempts to end the French military presence by
mobilizing civilian demonstrators and irregular militias resulted in some
1,000 Tunisian deaths in the so-called Battle of Bizerte in 1961 (see
Relations with France, ch. 1).

     The Egyptian government, then led by radical Pan-Arabist president Gamal
Abdul Nasser, presented even more of a threat to the Bourguiba government
during this period than did the French. Although the French experienced major
differences with Bourguiba over the war in Algeria, the presence of French
troops and the disposition of French-owned assets in Tunisia, these issues
were eventually resolved without a serious breach. The Egyptians, by contrast,
were known to be active supporters of the domestic opposition linked to
Bourguiba's Neo-Destour Party rival, Salah Ben Youssef. In October 1958
Tunisia broke diplomatic relations with Cairo over its alleged involvement in
a "Youssefist" attempt to assassinate Bourguiba. Relations with Cairo remained
strained for years because of Egypt's continued support for Youssefists and
because of Nasser's criticisms of Tunisia's unwillingness to subscribe to the
Egyptian leader's brand of Pan-Arabism.

     After its independence from France in 1962, Algeria soon moved to the
forefront of Tunisian external security concerns. Under the leadership of its
first president, Ahmed Ben Bella, Algeria took an active role in supporting
"progressive" and "revolutionary" forces in Africa and the Middle East,
including Tunisian opponents of Bourguiba. In January 1963 the Tunisian
government recalled its ambassador to Algiers because of alleged Algerian
involvement in an aborted coup attempt the previous month involving
Youssefists and army officers. The Tunisian government was not known to have
supported any actions against the Algerian government, but Algerian dissidents
found assistance and sanctuary in Tunisia.

     Relations between Algeria and Tunisia improved somewhat after Ben Bella
was replaced by Houari Boumediene, but sharp political disagreements over
Tunisia's generally pro-Western ties and its moderation on the Arab-Israeli
problem remained a source of tension. From the perspective of the Tunisian
government, the significance of the dissension was magnified by Algeria's
overwhelming military strength (see fig. 12). In 1980 the Algerian government
was briefly suspected of seeking to foment a rebellion inside Tunisia when it
became known that a group of Libyan-backed insurgents who attacked the
Tunisian town of Gafsa had entered the country from Algeria. Subsequently,
low-ranking Algerian officials were implicated in the operation, but Chadli
Bend