Members of Tunisian special forces stand guard outside Tunis-Carthage International airport on March 21, 2015 in Tunis, as security measures have been reinforced following the attack on Tunisia's National Bardo Museum. The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack that killed at least 21 people.AFP / Getty Images
Wafa Ben Hassine is a Tunisian writer, human rights advocate, and law student.
Every time I hear something about national security efforts in Tunisia, I am immediately reminded of how anti-terrorism legislation was used by the country's former dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to suppress our civil liberties. Today, Tunisian officials must avoid sliding into similar narratives and instead use the opportunity to solidify their country's democratic gains and address the root causes of radicalization amongst its youth.
In the time of dictatorship, "combatting terrorism" acted as a catchall provision: when all other charges fail, when all other policy justifications are moot, the anti-terror rhetoric always served to pacify international critics and domestic players. In Tunisia, these laws were the very foundation of dictatorship. Web sites were censored. Books were banned. People were followed. Religious practices were outlawed, and the faithful were turned away from mosques -- all in the name of national security.
The attack on Tunis' Bardo Museum is the worst of its kind since the 2002 bombing of a synagogue that killed 21 and wounded 30. Besides the human toll, the attack was also symbolic. The Bardo Museum houses some of the world's most valuable antiquities and is an emblem of Tunisia's multi-faceted identity and rich history. Wednesday's attack took place at the cusp of the summer tourism season, a sector whose recovery will be essential to restoring economic stability to Tunisia in the wake of the country's 2011 democratic revolution. Tunisians were just starting to get used to the semblance of stability. It will not be easy to overcome the repercussions.
Yet instead of offering condolences to families of victims and allaying the shock and fear felt by Tunisians, the country's government has made nothing but a mockery out of the incident. The day after the attacks, the Ministry of Interior contended that the gunmen involved had no links to any known terrorist organizations. Just a few hours later, the self-proclaimed Islamic State claimed responsibility. Unsurprisingly, officials have already announced sweeping security measures, such as the deployment of military units to most major cities. In a candid statement, President Beji Caid Essebsi announced that Tunisia has to "wipe these terrorists off the map." What this could involve remains to be seen, but the government's response so far has been rash and largely superficial. What happened in Bardo serves as the perfect excuse to curtail civil liberties. Most concerning is the government's resort to using the same mechanisms employed by the former regime, setting a disconcerting tone of sliding back into dictatorship.
The Tunisian government - the first democratically elected non-transitional government in the country's history - can use this opportunity to address the root causes of radicalization amongst its disenfranchised youth. Ansar al-Sharia, the largest radical Islamist group in the country, is largely dependent on grassroots mobilization in neighborhoods where unemployment and poverty levels are high.
To secure a country is to invest in its future. Tunisia can serve as a model not only for democracy in the region, but for fighting militant activity on a most fundamental level. Ramping up security and military operations will only serve as a temporary fix for much deeper issues of underdevelopment and economic underperformance. Investing and reforming the education sector is a good place to start. The Bardo tragedy can also act as a catalyst for the government to be more transparent about its security lapses.
Security should never be assured at the expense of democracy and free speech. For Tunisians, free speech is as sacred as religion itself, and is a value that was fought for over the better part of four decades. The only thing that can undermine the country's path to democracy is the lack of political will to address what really matters.