No, we are not asking for interference. No, we are not advocating collective sanctions against the Tunisian people. No, we are not asking for foreign tutelage. What we are demanding is far more fundamental: an end to support, direct or indirect, for the system of repression that is crushing all dissenting voices in Tunisia today. Those who claim to defend human rights in Europe must stop funding their denial elsewhere. And that those responsible for violations be named, targeted and punished - not in the name of revenge, but in the name of the law.
The media and political attacks aimed at the signatories of the letter addressed to Ms Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, have attempted to transform a responsible initiative into an act of treason. It's a dishonest inversion, well known to authoritarian regimes: denouncing as a "call to foreigners" any ethical challenge addressed to complicit powers. But it's time for a firm reminder: what we're questioning isn't Tunisia - it's the ransacking of it. What we want is not to punish - but to protect.
The letter targets neither the Tunisian people nor the State as an institution. It does not propose cutting off humanitarian aid or freezing economic or social cooperation programs. It calls, within a strictly legal framework, for the application of targeted measures against individuals - politicians, judges, senior civil servants, members of the security services - identified as perpetrators or accomplices of abuses. Such measures already exist in European law. What we are doing is reminding the European Union of its own commitments: Article 2 of the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement clearly stipulates that respect for human rights is an essential pillar of this agreement.
Far from taking a neo-colonial stance, this approach is based on a rigorous reading of international and European law. It is addressed not only to institutions, but also to European civil society, parliamentarians, the media and citizens: to all those who refuse to allow public funds to be used to finance repression. It distinguishes those who support democracy from those who remain silent or make pacts with dictatorship. It rejects impunity, no matter how powerful the organizer.
Some, to disqualify our approach, point to the support or complicit silence of the European Union in the face of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. And they are right to denounce the hypocrisy, double standards and cowardice of the Western powers. Yes, the European Union disgraces itself by arming Israel, covering up its crimes, trampling international law in the name of strategic interests. But does this mean that we should no longer demand that this same Union at least respect its own commitments, where it continues to present itself as a partner in human rights? Just because it betrays the Palestinians, we should not allow it to silently support other repressive regimes. Just because the EU's policies are cynical doesn't mean we shouldn't oppose them with our own texts, our own rules, our own treaties. Denouncing the EU in Gaza and forcing it to be consistent in Tunisia is not a contradiction: it's the same battle for the law, without hierarchy, without borders.
As for those who cry "treason", "resorting to foreigners", "national shame" - let them talk to the families of political prisoners, the harassed lawyers, the dismissed judges, the tortured migrants. Let them tell them that sovereignty is paid for by the denial of dignity. Because that's the real reversal: sovereignty is not the right to oppress - it's the duty to protect.
The debate is distorted to divert attention from the substance: an increasingly authoritarian state apparatus, which criminalizes opposition, instrumentalizes justice, militarizes institutions, and organizes silence through fear. The smear campaign launched against those who defend the law has but one aim: to intimidate, silence and fragment. But we refuse to give in. We are not in a defensive position. We are in a position of legitimacy.
We know: some of the criticism also comes from sincere friends, who fear increased polarization or dread painful historical precedents. To these voices, we say: we hear you. But in the current context, silence is compromise. We don't want to speak for oppressed Tunisians: we speak with them, for them, because we are them. Our only agenda is dignity, justice and freedom. Not tomorrow. Now.
This battle is not against Tunisia. It is for Tunisia. For a Tunisia that recaptures the breath of revolution, free speech, an independent press, fair justice. For a Tunisia where criticism is not treason, where opposition is not crime, where sovereignty is not a pretext for gagging.
We are ready to debate, to dialogue, to build with all those who reject dictatorship. But we will not compromise on the essentials: rights are not a luxury. Dignity is not an option. Silence is not a strategy.
The letter to Mrs Kallas is not a point of arrival. It is a starting point. For a more lucid, more coherent, more demanding international solidarity. For a community of struggle without hierarchies or borders. So that words still have meaning - and that those who pay for them with their freedom are not alone.
