Tunis, February 28, 2013 -Less than a month after the killing of a leading opposition figure sparked a major political crisis, Tunisian debaters will be asked to vote on whether their country is becoming dangerously unstable.
The discussions, part of the second season of the New Arab Debates (NAD), will be recorded at the Tunis Grand Hotel in Menzah next week and will discuss the motion: “This House believes Tunisia is heading out of control”.
Former BBC journalist Tim Sebastian, who founded the NAD in 2011, said he is pleased the programme is returning to Tunisia, ending a 10-month self-imposed suspension, after police took away the names of guests attending the last debate in Tunis.
“We’ve now received assurances from the Ministry of the Interior that they were not responsible for any interference and that we are welcome to conduct our programmes freely, as we have done since October 2011”.
Sebastian is moderating the English debate on Monday, March 4 at 7pm. A day later, renowned Egyptian TV presenter will moderate the Arabic version with different speakers and audience.
Sebastian hopes the debates will show how fragile – or resilient – the Tunisian revolution has become.
“Given the recent upsurge in violence and the political turmoil, it’s vital that the rest of the world gets a chance to listen to what Tunisians themselves are saying about the situation. To what extent have the politicians been able to reassure the public that the revolution is on track? How real are the fears that the country is heading out of control? We hope our speakers – and audiences – will provide some of the answers,” he said.
Both moderators will question two panelists — one supporting the motion and the other against it – and invite the audience of university students and political activists to quiz the speakers before deciding the issue by electronic vote.
In Sebastian’s session, MP Noomane Fehri from the Al-Joumhouri Party will argue for the motion against parliamentarian Amel Azzouz, member of the Islamic party Ennahda, which holds the largest number of seats in the Constituent Assembly.
In Sherbiny’s session, Al-Joumhouri Party member Amel Belkhiria will speak for the motion against Sahbi Atig, president of Ennahda’s bloc in the National Constituent Assembly.
The New Arab Debates are a high profile platform to promote free speech and democratic accountability after the popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
Both debates will be transmitted for the second consecutive year on Deutsche Welle TV in Arabic and English along with its global network of partner channels.