“The awarding of this prestigious prize to the Tunisia National Dialogue Quartet bears a meaningful recognition … of the Quartet’s national road map that helped finish the writing of the new Constitution and organize transparent presidential and parliamentary elections,” the envoy said.
He added that all Tunisian citizens managed “to set aside differences, give way to dialogue and refrain from violence at the decisive moment when protests across the country threatened to plunge the country into chaos.”
The Islamist party and its allies, who won the elections in 2013, tried to impose limits on religious freedom, free speech and the right of the people to peacefully assemble. In response, the parliamentary opposition took to the streets, leading to clashes and violence.
The Tunisia National Dialogue Quartet, consisting of the Tunisian General Labor, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers, worked out a plan of action, or roadmap, that called for the resignation of the entire cabinet, and asked for all political groups to sit at the negotiating table to find a solution to the political crisis by peacefully transiting to democracy.
