Ghannouchi has no ties with the Brotherhood

Riad al-Shuaibi, a senior official from Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party denied the involvement of party leader, Rachid Ghannouchi, in a secret Muslim Brotherhood International Organisation meeting. He said that the Islamists in Tunisia are not related to the secret organisation and the party denied reports that Ghannouchi was elected as head of the political bureau of the organisation. In an interview with Arab Today, he stated: “We are a Tunisian national party and have no relations with an international party beyond the accepted norms of diplomacy. Ennahda denies any links to the Muslim Brotherhood International Organisation.” Shuaibi also explained that Gannouchi’s visit to Turkey was at the invitation of civil society organisations and did not have anything to do with the International Organisation.    Shuaibi affirmed that the situation in Egypt would not be repeated and confirmed Ennahda's opposition to any kind of military intervention, adding that the party did not fear the path of democratic transition. He classified the recent developments in Egypt as the “destruction of democracy,” saying that the ousting of a legitimate ruler was doomed to fail. He pointed out that what happened in Egypt was part of their internal affairs, despite the opposition of the Ennahda to the military intervention. He stated: “We respect the sovereignty of states and don’t interfere in their internal affairs. The problems in Egypt cannot be solved unless it is the Egyptians themselves who are solving them.” When asked if Ennahda members were worried about being imprisoned again Shuaibi replied: “Tunisia has closed the chapter on tyranny and fear for the experience of true democracy.” On the other hand, he disregarded the calls of the opposition party to dissolve the Constituent Assembly, emphasising that attempts to disrupt the path of democratic transition would not succeed in Tunisia.