The former US ambassador to Tunisia, Gordon Gray, called on the administration of President Joe Biden to help Tunisia return to the faltering democratic path due to the exceptional measures taken by Tunisian President Kais Saied, which allowed the accumulation of powers in his hand.

In an article published by the American newspaper, The Hill, Gray said that the approach that the United States should follow towards Tunisia in response to the gathering of powers in the hands of President Saeed must be governed by two principles, the first of which is the Biden administration’s reluctance to cut aid to Tunisia, as the The volume of aid that the US administration has devoted to Tunisia this year does not exceed $197.1 million, an amount that does not meet its very large needs, so it is unlikely that freezing or cutting this aid will change Saeed's accounts.

And that aid is designed to meet the needs of the Tunisian people by focusing on security, good governance, and economic growth, so cutting it back neither serves the Tunisian people nor advances American interests.

The second principle that should guide the US administration's handling of Said's exceptional measures that harmed the country's democratic path is that its policy regarding Tunisia be based on the paramount importance of the rule of law.


Conditions

In this regard, the American diplomat believes that the United States should use its influence in international financial institutions - especially the International Monetary Fund, which is considering granting Tunisia a loan to get it out of its financial crisis - to include this principle in any future multilateral aid program.

He also believes that the United States and other defenders of democracy in Tunisia should stipulate, before providing any assistance to the Tunisian authorities, that there be a clear and accelerated timetable for returning to the constitutional system, and that they make clear that any major aid programs will be conditioned on the presentation of an economic reform plan that has the clear support of Parliament and the powers concerned, such as the Tunisian Workers Union.

Gray urged his country to take specific steps to encourage a return to the rule of law and address Tunisia's economic problems.

In this regard, he proposed a number of measures, including continuing to denounce Said's unconstitutional measures, and discouraging other world leaders to express their support for Said's violation of the Tunisian constitution, in addition to financing and implementing programs designed to expand commercial lending to Tunisian SMEs.

We are like North Korea

Speaking about the enormity of the stumbling in the democratic path under the rule of Qais Said, Gray said that a Tunisian friend told him - as a joke coupled with grandfather - that the rule in Tunisia under Saeed's devotion of all powers in his hand is now similar to the system of governance in North Korea, Its leader, "Kim Jong Un is the only other person in the world who controls all three branches of government."

Gray concluded by emphasizing that defending democracy in Tunisia falls within the framework of the United States' commitments. President Joe Biden said during the Democracy Summit that "we must defend justice and the rule of law," citing the late Congressman John Lewis' saying, "Democracy is not a state, but She did."

The former US ambassador to Tunisia concluded his article that the United States should act to defend the rule of law in Tunisia, because that is the least that the Tunisian people deserve.