Manifesto of the Patriotic and Democratic Labour Party

To Tunisian People

Today, in his struggle for freedom, justice, progress and equality, a group of militants announces the birth of the Patriotic and Democratic Labor Party.

In consideration of the whole working class, the party chose May 1^st to proclaim its foundation. On this international work celebration day, our party salutes the working class and hereby expresses its aspiration to defend workers interests and to assist them in their revendications.

The party acts for:

1/ a mode of political conduct that gives consideration to the high level of maturity and progress reached by the Tunisian people and to all sacrifices made by this people for democracy, freedom and dignity. The party acts for a mode of political conduct that is based on the right to citizenship and on the principle of popular sovereignty, which allow to choose people representatives in a free and direct way through transparent elections. This requires a democratic regime being instituted in order to administer public affairs, to instaure pacific political power alternance and to guarantee equality between all men and women. Such regime is based on laws that apply to all, that prevent any deviation of the popular will, that guarantee administration neutrality and independence of justice, that preserve country finances and public goods and that prevent any form of corruption.

On its way to the institution of a democratic regime in Tunisia, the Labor Party demands:

- the institution of a mode of political conduct based on the right of free expression of collective and individual freedoms

- the recognition of the right of association for political groups and associations

- the end of all actions that hinder press freedom

- a global amnisty for all victims of political trials in the last fifty years

- rehabilitation and compensations for all victims of unjust juridical decisions

- the end of all actions that hinder activities of political parties, associations, militants and rights defenders

- the right of circulation for all citizens inside and ouside national borders

2/ The Party defends strategical interests of workers and people. It now acts for their right to get the shares they deserve by their participation to wealth creation, under the form of salary increase, working conditions improvement, protection of purchasing power, end of prices raise, guaranty of social prestations in health, housing, transport and leisure, guaranty of employment and struggle against unemployment and layoffs.

3/ The Party supports national investments in industry, agriculture and other economic sectors; it claims its opposition to the handover of national resources to foreign countries and defends national production against speculators.

4/ The Party militates in favour of the creation of development projects based on economic studies in deprived regions to fufil citizens essential needs and favorize employment, preserving environment and natural resources.

5/ The party acts for a reinforcement of the democratic aspect of education. It acts for the gratuitousness of education in all public schools and universities; it acts for an educational

system which develops knowledge and creativity, and which is based on rationalism, enlightened thinking and critical thinking. The Party acts for an education which enhances patriotism and open-mindedness and rejects fanatism and deculturation. It acts for an education which places arabic on the foreground, giving it the status of national language, and developing it through a mode of teaching that is open to other languages and civilizations. The Party acts for an education based on a system of values which include the right to dignity, justice, freedom and equality, rejecting any form of submission, exclusion and discrimination. It acts for an education which favours creative thinking, source of a patriotic, progressist and humanity-devoted culture.

6/ The Party pays special attention to the youth and to women condition, defends total equality of both sexes, acts for the respect of freedom of thought, acts for the total separation of religion and State and refuses any instrumentalization of religion in the political arena.

Realizing such an important project requires the participation of all of our people’s living forces. To do so and found a progressist, patriotic and democratic pole, we are opened to all political forces and to all national personalities. Emancipation and democracy are crucial questions that now deserve a historical and indispensable answer. The world being now ruled by large international coalitions we must find our way to unity, to the arabic Maghreb unity, to the total arabic unity, as answers to popular aspirations expressed in a democratic way.

In this period of capitalist globalization, of zionist arrogance, of dictature and obscurantism, we join by our action the movement of liberation and resistance against the imperialist domination. We claim our support to the resistance against the zionist occupation in Palestine and in all arabic occupied territories, our refusal of the normalization, our opposition to the american imperialist occupation in Irak.

The Party’s action is an integral part of the internationalist struggle lead by progressist humanity against liberal, uncontrolled and dictorial globalization and its associated aggressive militarism. The Party is a part of the the international front of progressist and democratic forces, which is based on workers, on oppressed people and nations who struggle against imperialism and all reactionaries who practice exploitation, pillage and propagate acts of aggressions and wars using racial, religious, and civilisational arguments, which result in hate, injustice and tragedies.

We are now in a decisive period of our history. It has become imperative to achieve all revendications of justice, democracy and development defended for years by the patriotic forces of our country. It is imperative not to abandon these revendications to foreign forces who use suspect sloggans such as the Large Middle East project or other similar plans, looking forward to imposing imperialist domination on these areas with the help of their servants.

We commit to act with all progressist forces for the achievement of these tasks, in total independance, serving the interests of our people and country.

Will leads to hope, and our will comes from people. Our immortal poet Aboulkacem Chebbi wrote:

When people wants life

Destiny will accept it

Tunis, May 1^st, 2005

Patriotic and Democratic Labour Party

The President of the Constitutive Commitee

Abderrazak Hammami