A sudden, simultaneous war by several parties that differ in name but agree in financing and identity, against the Tunisian Ennahda movement and its leader, Rached Ghannouchi. The movement says that the United Arab Emirates stands behind its support, at a time when presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Tunisia last October 2019. For years, the UAE has been making intense efforts to direct the internal and foreign policies of some countries, including Tunisia, with the aim of building a “new regional order” consistent with its perceptions, and to achieve this it launches attacks aimed at preventing the strengthening of democracy, It spread chaos in many countries.
Several fronts
Given the recent regional activities of the UAE, it can easily be said that its policies are causing chaos and instability in the region. The UAE, which is the most important partner of the military coalition in Yemen, provides support to the separatist forces in southern Yemen, as well as financial and diplomatic support for the Assad dictatorship in Syria, and contributes to the dismantling of the unity of this country. In other countries, such as Somalia, the UAE provides material support to terrorist organizations and works to create an unsafe environment to gain influence in the region. Abu Dhabi and its Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed, also support “dirty projects” aimed at selling Palestine to Israel, at the hands of the architect of these projects, Mohammed Dahlan.
A new Middle East
Emirati projects in the region can be summarized as “an effort to build a new regional order.” The UAE is establishing remarkable cooperation with the Russians in Libya, by financing mercenaries affiliated with the “Wagner” company in the Arab country, to support the coup general, Khalifa Haftar, against the legitimate, internationally recognized government. By cooperating with the Assad regime in Syria, Abu Dhabi is quietly trying to balance its relations with the United States and China, at the economic, cultural, and diplomatic levels. The UAE has a very limited military capacity. It needs regional allies to build this hoped-for regional system, but at the same time it finds itself defeated in every round by Turkey, the important regional power in the region. This is why Abu Dhabi seeks to make active efforts in areas witnessing Turkish activity. Abu Dhabi’s activities in Libya and related crises can be read in this way. Abu Dhabi also focuses on targeting actors that do not want to be part of its projects in Yemen, Libya, and others, or even actors that are working to develop neutral policies and close relations with Ankara, as is the case in the Emirati attacks, which target actors in Morocco and Tunisia.
Targeting Islamists
One of the essential elements for the UAE in establishing its “new regional order” is to destroy any Islamic movement that may pose a threat to the security of its regime, and this policy is implemented within the country, at the level of the Gulf states, the countries of the Middle East, and the international level. At a time when all reformists, especially critical journalists, are being beaten with an iron fist, the ban imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt since 2017 is being implemented at the level of the Gulf region. Also at the regional level, the UAE is waging a war on regional countries, such as Turkey, where it claims the existence of an alliance between Ankara and the Muslim Brotherhood, and Abu Dhabi views a figure like the US President, Donald Trump, as an opportunity that must be seized on a global scale. It exercises pressure activities, with the help of Washington, and at the same time continues to strengthen its cooperation with major powers, such as China and Russia.
North Africa…the new destination
Despite the repercussions of the “Coronavirus” pandemic (Covid-19) on the Emirati economy, Abu Dhabi continues its activities outside its borders. Perhaps the best example of these policies is its activities in North African countries. The Emirates is working to make the Moroccan government appear to have failed in confronting “Corona” why? And it is working in the same way to target Tunisia, through targeted campaigns on social media. Al-Arabiya channel, which operates with Saudi funding and is based in the UAE, claimed that Rashid Ghannouchi, Speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, head of the Ennahda (Islamic) movement, who returned from exile in 2011 with the “Jasmine Revolution,” was able to possess financial wealth through illegal means. Al-Ghad TV, which is based in Egypt and is an extension of the Emirati-Saudi axis, is working extensively to promote this issue, and the channel, which was founded by Dahlan with Emirati funding, is trying to create a perception that the Tunisian people do not trust their government or the ongoing investigations in this regard.
An ancient history of hostility
Abu Dhabi supported the anti-Ennahda protests in 2013. It also supported the Nidaa Tounes (liberal) party against Ennahda in the 2014 presidential elections, and worked to win over the (late) Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi, to break the Ennahda-Nidaa Tounes alliance, which emerged after the 2014 elections. Likewise, Abu Dhabi financed the anti-government protests in 2018, to create a crisis. Artificially, by taking a decision that is inconsistent with diplomatic norms, by preventing Tunisian women from entering the Emirates. Abu Dhabi also worked to direct Tunisian internal policies, with the support of ministers such as Lotfi Brahim and Nabil Karoui, leader of the “Qalb Tounes” party, but all its steps failed.
Removal of Ghannouchi
Through the fabricated crisis against Ghannouchi, the electronic fly groups, affiliated with the Emirati-Saudi axis, called on the Tunisian parliament to withdraw confidence from the coalition government in which the Ennahdha movement participates. Through media outlets affiliated with this axis, such as Al-Arabiya and Sky News, Tunisian figures affiliated with the axis directed harsh criticism at Ghannouchi, considering that the Tunisian protests, beginning in December 2010, were not a revolution. After that, Emirati activity moved from Tunisia to interference in Libyan internal affairs.
Reasons for targeting
It can be said that there are two main reasons for placing Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria on the UAE’s list of targets. The first is that these actors do not serve the regional system that needs to be established under the leadership of the UAE. Or in other words, these countries were not included within the status quo axis, led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, because these countries pursued relatively independent policies. Therefore, the main concern of the UAE remains to turn Tunisia and other actors, such as Morocco and Algeria, into pawns in the new regional order, which Abu Dhabi is trying to establish, which leads us to the second reason, which is the presence of minority or majority Islamic movements in these North African countries (Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria), where Abu Dhabi worked to target countries that do not fall under its “hegemony” and tolerate Islamic movements.
Annoying neutrality
The process of targeting Tunisia cannot be separated from the balances in Libya, as the UAE is working to direct Tunisian policy to strike Islamic or democratic movements, play an active role in the civil war in Libya, and limit Turkey’s activity in the region. The fact that Libya remained neutral despite all the political temptations of the UAE during the crisis was, in fact, a source of discomfort for Abu Dhabi, and although the legitimate government in Libya confirms its support for both Algeria and Tunisia, the latter refused to allow Turkish military support for the legitimate government of Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli to pass through its territory. Therefore, we can say that the Tunisian government works according to its national interests, and does not adhere to a specific party, whether Turkish or Emirati. However, the UAE does not like Tunisia’s neutrality, so it works to target this country, but in a way that is largely linked to changes in the balance in the eastern Mediterranean region. Here it must be noted that the agreements signed by Turkey and the Libyan government, recognized by the international community, as well as the Turkish support provided to the Libyan government, enabled the Sarraj government to change the balances on the ground and put an end to the attacks of the coup general Haftar against the forces of the legitimate government.
Involving Tunisia in Libya
By strengthening Haftar’s power and inserting Tunisia into the Libyan equation, the UAE is trying to cover up this loss, which is why it is working to use humanitarian aid as a weapon, just as it is doing in the Syrian arena. But what Abu Dhabi wants from Tunisia, which is geographically close to Haftar, who was defeated on the ground, is to play a military and political role in Libya, as the UAE seeks to provide more support to Haftar in eastern Libya, and to assign responsibility for supporting Haftar in the west to Tunisia. As a result, we can say that Abu Dhabi is making frantic efforts to direct Tunisian domestic and foreign policy to build the regional order it envisions, in which Islamist movements are eliminated, the country’s domestic and foreign policy is directed with economic tools, and the activity of some active countries in the region, such as Türkiye, is limited.
