The Norwegian
Nobel Committee cited the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet "for its
decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy" in the
North African country following its 2011 revolution.
"It
established an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when
the country was on the brink of civil war," the committee said in its
citation.
The prize is a huge
victory for small Tunisia, whose young and still shaky democracy
suffered two extremist attacks this year that killed 60 people and
devastated the tourism industry.
Tunisian
protesters sparked uprisings across the Arab world in 2011 that
overthrew dictators and upset the status quo. But it is the only country
in the region to painstakingly build a democracy, involving a range of
political and social forces in dialogue to create a constitution,
legislature and democratic institutions.
"More than anything, the
prize is intended as an encouragement to the Tunisian people, who
despite major challenges have laid the groundwork for a national
fraternity which the committee hopes will serve as an example to be
followed by other countries," Nobel Peace Prize Committee Chairwoman
Kaci Kullmann Five said.The National Dialogue Quartet is made up of four key organizations in Tunisian civil society: the Tunisian General Labour Union; the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts; the Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.
Kullmann Five said the prize was for the quartet as a whole, not the four individual organizations.
The
Nobel committee said the quartet played a key role as a mediator and
force for democracy, paving the way for a peaceful dialogue among
citizens, political parties and authorities across political and
religious divides, countering the spread of violence.
It was
formed after the July 2013 assassination of left-wing politician
Mohammed Brahmi plunged the country into crisis with opposition parties
boycotting the parliament. A national dialogue led by the quartet
succeeded in negotiating a transition from the elected Islamist-led
government to an interim government of technocrats tasked with
organizing new elections for a permanent government.The dialogue nearly broke down several times but ultimately succeeded and has been held up as a stark contrast to the coup in Egypt that removed the elected Islamist government there during the summer of 2013.
Nobel officials said they didn't manage to speak to any representatives of the quartet before the announcement.
Houcine Abassi, the leader of the Tunisian General Labour Union, said he was "overwhelmed" as he found out about the award from an Associated Press reporter.
"It's a prize that crowns more than two years of efforts deployed by the quartet when the country was in danger on all fronts," he said.
Abassi said he hopes the award will help "unite Tunisians to face the challenges presenting themselves now — first and foremost, the danger of terrorism."
Wided Bouchamaoui, head of the trade group in the quartet, said Tunisia's experience could be "exportable" to other countries.
She said told France's i-Tele television the prize "is for all the Tunisian people."
Tunisian broadcast media interrupted coverage to excitedly announce the prize, and social media exploded with celebratory commentary.
The
decision came as a surprise to many, with speculation having focused on
Europe's migrant crisis or the Iran-U.S. nuclear deal in July.
"It
is a very good prize that tries to get into the heart of the conflict
in the Muslim world," said Oeyvind Stenersen, a Nobel historian. "But it
was a bit bewildering. It was very unexpected."French President Francois Hollande said he was "happy for all the Tunisians" and added the prize marks the success of the former French colony's transition to democracy.
"That is an encouragement to support Tunisia even more through all the hard times it faces, as we've seen with terrorist acts in the last weeks and months," Hollande told reporters in Paris.
The prize comes the day after unidentified assailants shot repeatedly at a lawmaker and prominent sports magnate in Sousse, underscoring a sense of uncertainty in the Tunisian city, which depends heavily on tourism.
While Tunisia has been much less violent than neighboring Libya or Syria, its transition to democracy has been marred by occasional violence, notably from Islamic extremists.
An attack in June on a beach resort in Sousse left 38 dead, mostly British tourists. Another in March killed 22 people, again mostly tourists, at the country's leading museum, the Bardo in Tunis.
The uprising in Tunisia, provoked by high unemployment, corruption, dashed expectations and decades of repression by brutal security services, was set off on Dec. 17, 2010, when an itinerant fruit vendor set himself on fire in a remote southern city after he was manhandled by police.
The revolution electrified
the Arab world, and in rapid succession pro-democracy demonstrations
broke out across the region, ultimately bringing down the rulers of
Egypt and Libya and plunging Syria into civil war.
The Nobel committee noted that in many of those countries the pro-democracy struggle has come to a standstill.
"But
Tunisia has proven that it is possible, if you put aside your own first
interests and think of the interests of the people and the nation,"
Kullman Five told the AP. "We hope we will contribute to safeguarding
democracy in Tunisia and those who seek to promote peace in the Middle
East and North Africa."
The
award capped a week of Nobel Prize announcements, with the winners of
the medicine, physics, chemistry and literature awards presented earlier
in Stockholm.
The economics award — not an original Nobel Prize but created in 1968 — will be announced on Monday.
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