Ennahda, between political survival and repression in Tunisia

Tunis, Apr 17 (EFE) - After decades of clandestinity, repression, and exile, the Islamist party Ennahda believed that the 2011 revolution would allow it to lead a new ruling class, alien to the demonizing policy of the previous regimes and in favor of transitional justice, but for a year its main leaders have been in prison and its headquarters closed: a "déjà vu" for the party.

CAMERA: NATALIA ROMÁN MORTE

SOUNDBITES OF AJMI LOURIMI, VICE-PRESIDENT OF ENNAHDA (IN ARABIC).

Translations:

1.- "There is no turning back, we will not go back underground, we will not work underground. We refuse to go back to a security state or human rights but we are a national political party. We defend our right to exist legally. We are going to try, no, we are going to impose it on those who want to return us to the past or who want to bury us again".

2. "There is a kind of siege against the party and the activity of the party but Ennahda still exists and its institutions exist by themselves. They are legitimate institutions. We work in abnormal conditions but we assume our responsibilities".

3. "Of course, some people accuse Ennahda of being responsible for the hole in the ozone layer and global warming, they can accuse it of everything. All this is far from the truth, even the human mind cannot accept it. They are parties that justify their failures by blaming others or they are parties that have ideology problems, but this is an old problem. They cannot rival Ennahda at the ballot box or in elections."