Tunisia reconciliation law will overcome opposition

Subject

Reconciliation law prospects

Significance

Tunisia's parliament is expected to debate a controversial reconciliation law proposed by President Beji Caid Essebsi, which grants amnesty for financial crimes committed during the rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011). The law aims to recover an estimated 3.5 billion dollars from thousands of former public officials and businessmen acquired through embezzlement, unfair loans and tax evasion. The legislation contradicts and undermines a 2013 transitional justice law intended to uncover past abuses and promote a transitional justice process.

Impacts

• Whitewashing past financial abuses will deepen a sense among many Tunisians that the old regime remains firmly in control.
• Without addressing authoritarian economic structures and passing economic reforms, Tunisia's economic potential will remain limited.
• Tensions within the Islamist movement Ennahda will intensify, furthering a push for separating the political party from the movement.