[1][2] As the head of the Tunisian Journalists Union (SNJT-French: Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens) and human rights activist Lutfi Hajji writes, the coalition “expressed the long- cherished hope of the political and civil forces in the country that by rallying around basic claims, a balance could be reached between the ruling party, which had dominated all aspects of political life for half a century, and the opposition forces which remained disparate and hindered by their internal and external disputes.”[3] The Coalition arose out of a protest, organised by opposition and human rights groups, against the hosting of the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society by Tunisia, in November 2005.
The sit-in involved a 52-day protest at the headquarters of the Tunisian Order of Lawyers in Tunis and a 32-day hunger strike by the following eight national personalities representing various political parties and civil organisations: Abderraouf Ayadi, Ahmed Najib Chebbi, Samir Dilou, Hamma Hammami, Mohamed Nouri, Ayachi Hammami, Mokhtar Yahyaoui and Lutfi Hajji.
[4] The strike began on 18 October 2005, one month before the World Summit on the Information Society, in order to draw attention to the violations of basic freedoms in Tunisia.
[1] The Coalition produced joint position papers on fundamental issues such as consensus on democracy, civil liberties, gender equality, freedom of belief and conscience and the relationship between religion and state.
[6] The Coalition also laid the foundation for future common ground between Tunisia’s main political opposition forces, which served as a basis for cooperation after the Revolution.