President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali made an address, during a ceremony held on Saturday on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the Change. Here follows the full text of the speech:
“In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Fellow citizens,
With great pride and enormous joy, our people celebrates today the 22nd anniversary of the Change of November 7, 1987; twenty-two years of hard work and continuous development and construction, offering Tunisian women and men, from all social categories and all regions, the attributes of safety, serenity and decent living, and opening up for them wide prospects for ambition and optimism about the future.
This has been achieved through a balanced political, economic and social progress, with interconnected contents and clear objectives, based on dialogue, participation and consensus.
Today, we are pursuing this process with our people, driven by our commitment to the historic mission we have assumed for their sake, while being proud of their renewed confidence in our policies and choices, and their adherence to our programmes and orientations.
I take this opportunity to extend my thanks and consideration to all the citizens who supported my candidacy, voted for me and responded positively to my Electoral Programme. My thanks are also due to our prestigious party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally, and to all the national opposition parties, organisations and associations.
I am indeed satisfied with, and proud of, the success of the presidential and legislative elections at all stages and at all levels.
These elections were, in fact, held within a context of order, discipline, clarity, transparency and respect for the law, and they were followed by Tunisian and foreign observers.
Through these elections, the Tunisian people have, once again, shown their awareness of their rights and duties, their political and civilisational maturity, and particularly their worthiness of an advanced democratic and pluralist life.
I take this special national occasion to offer my warm congratulations to the members of the Chamber of Deputies who won the confidence of citizens in their respective electoral districts. I will be pleased to visit them soon at the Parliament’s premises to take the constitutional oath before them and before the members of the Chamber of Advisers.
I also wish to congratulate, in this special national ceremony, all those who will be honoured, in a moment, with the November 7th Medal, commending their valuable efforts to anchor and consolidate the foundations of our civilisational project. I also pay tribute to all our national competences and creative people for the generous services they provide to their country.
I wish to extend my congratulations to Pr. Bellachhab Chahbani who has been awarded the “November 7th Prize for Creativity” for this year, commending his efforts to invent a water conservation machine and urging him and all Tunisian researchers to show more excellence and distinction.
We are invariably committed to our pledge for Tunisia, and are keen on defending it and enhancing its prestige, out of faithfulness to the memory of its martyrs and to the different generations of its militants. We are indeed devoted to serving its interests and making new strides toward achieving further glory and prosperity for its people.
Today, our determination to further enrich the process of democracy and pluralism, and to expand the scope of progress and well-being in our country, is as firm and strong as never before. We will forge ahead with this action, drawing support from the confidence of our citizens, adhering to our Programme for the coming five-year term and relying on the intelligence of our sons and daughters and on the capacities and competences in our society, to meet the challenges and win the stakes of the current stage.
May God grant us success!”
