Moorish Connection...Tunisia

Carthage (near the site of modern Tunis) one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities of the ancient world might have had commercial links with Arabs of that time – the Carthagian traders exchanging the products of Egypt, the orient and Greece for the raw materials from the west.

But the Ceylon moors of Sri Lanka can claim, proudly, to have played a small but not insignificant part in the independence struggle of modern Tunisia.

The Neo-Destour Party, a spin off from the destour party of the early 1930s was led by a young lawyer and Journalist Habib Bourguibah who had completed his studies in Paris, as Secretary General.

These “Young Turks” led a revolutionary movement but had to suffer brutal repression at the hands of the French colonialists, Habib Bourguiba along with other leaders, had to face exile imprisonment and even the possibility of summary execution.

In 1944 Habib Bourguiba fled Tunisia in disguise in a smuggler’s boat and landed on a deserted outback in Libiya. Still disguised the Neo-Destour Party leader trekked by foot on camel to Egypt, entrusting the party to the new Secretary – General, Haji Salah ben Youssef.

For the next five years Bourguiba toured the Arab countries, the Far East and America mobilising public opinion for Tunisia’s cause – in its fight for independence from French colonial rule.

When Habib Bourguiba arrived in Sri Lanka in 1951 he was president of Neo Destour Party. He was accompanied by Mr.Taieb Slim. In the few hours they spent in Colombo off their ship they called at the “Ceylon Observer” office at Lake House, Colombo and were interviewed and photographed for the news paper. Press publicity in this country helped to popularise the Tunisian independence movement.

In 1950 the French government belatedly held out the prospect of eventual internal autonomy and started negotiations, these dragged on till they were abruptly ended by Paris in the middle of December 1951 and vigorous suppression of the nationalist movement was resumed. In January 1952 Bourguiba and other Neo-Destour leaders were arrested and interred.

The Tunisian struggle intensified and despite stern, repressive measures, there was mass agitation, accompanied by terrorism. Armed bands appeared in the mountains.

The Tunisian leaders sought the help of the All Ceylon Moors’ Association (which represented the Ceylon moors in Sri Lanka) once again.

For in 1954 the prime minister of India, Burma, Pakistan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka were meeting in Colombo- the Asian Prime ministers’ Conference.

The Prim minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru was in this select company of PMs, and as the protagonist of independence of emergent nations from colonial rule, was found to be the ideal spokesman for Tunisia’s struggle to throw off the French yoke.

Bourguiba could not come to Sri Lanka. He was in French prison and was reported to be recovering from Hernia. Taieb Slim and Haji Salha Ben Youssef were sent here to make representations to the Asian Prime Ministers’ Conference.

The Asian Prime Ministers espoused the cause of Tunisia in the United Nations.

The deadlock ended in July 1954 when France finally recognised the right of Tunisia to complete autonomy. More hesitancy and delayed action but soon, though reluctantly the nationalist leaders were released and conventions were actually signed on June 3, 1955.

On March 20, 1956 France recognised the independence of Tunisia which was admitted to the United Nations on Nowember 12, 1956. On July 25, 1957, Tunisia was proclaimed a sovereign republic with Habib Bourguiba as it’s first President. He is still president of that courageous country.

Even many years afterwards Habib Bourguiba did not forget the Ceylon Moors of Sri Lanka. He sent this special message to them;

“To Ceylon, so distant and yet so close, I am happy to address a message of my cordial friendship. While this sentiment of friendship embraces all the inhabitants of this hospitable island, where inn days of adversity I experienced a generous and comforting feeling of fraternal solidarity, it is natural that I should spare a special thought for the moslems of this island.

“Are they not for the greater part the descendants of those Moorish navigators and merchants, who were driven by adventure in the most noble and exalted sense of the word to the most distant shores of the ‘seas of shadows’?

“Those moors, as you know, are the ancestors of the North Africans.

“Thus, in addition to the common faith, which sprang up in these two widely separated parts of the world, there are ties of blood. And to crown all this, similar destinies have caused us to experience the same trials of domination and the same joy of regained liberty.”