By Dr SMM Nainar/Doha
Burned out cars littering the streets following clashes between protesters and police in Kef, northern Tunisia |
The authors Nicolas Beau and Catherine Graciet have produced a well-researched work containing facts and figures. A court in Paris refused to admit an injunction petition filed by Leila Trabelsi to prevent the book from circulation.
Born in 1957 to humble parents – father a vendor of fresh fruits and vegetables; and mother a housewife - she was the fifth among the 11 children in the family. After working as a hairdresser and having a short-lived first marriage, Trabelsi married Ben Ali in 1992, five years after the bloodless palace coup in which he replaced ageing independence hero Habib Bourguiba as president.
The marriage — which was also Ben Ali’s second — catapulted the once modest Trabelsi clan to national prominence.
Her oldest brother, Belhassen, known as the clan chieftain, acquired the national Tunisian Airlines, changing its name to Carthage Airlines.
Her nephew, Emad Trabelsi, was reputed to be the spoiled brat of the family and the former first lady’s favourite, according to the book. Known as a playboy, he enjoyed a jet-set lifestyle, complete with a garage full of sports cars and yachts.
Leila, the book claims, made her husband into signing all the unilateral decisions she took on appointments and dismissals of senior government officials. She made these decisions with the help of Mohamed Shukri who is believed to be the mastermind of all the political conspiracies to ensure that the Trabelsi family remained entrenched in power. His farm house in Mernaq on the outskirts of the capital was the venue for the meetings on such vital issues.
Leila’s younger brother Murad (36) was accused of being involved in drug trafficking with his nephew Sufyan Trabelsi in 1998. They were arrested and let off by the police while all the other accomplices were detained.
Among the most glaring instances of misappropriation mentioned in the book is the de-listing of an important landmark deemed as a heritage site in the Mersi Sanobar district for more than 50 years and selling it to Murad for a "negligible” price. This deal enabled him to make millions of dollars within a short span of time by re-selling the land to the public on exorbitant rates.
The book narrates many cases like these.
In conclusion, if one were to ask how does the saying "behind every man there is a woman” apply in the case of Leila Trabelsi, the answer will be: yes of course, but for not making the man a noble person of integrity in the highest seat of power in his country. On the contrary she was behind him to ruin him and send him to the dustbin of history.
(Based on an article by Ahmad Saeed Sulaiman, Arrayah daily, Doha, February 1, and other sources)