Russ Feingold: “Today Tunisia celebrates its 40th anniversary of independence from French colonialism. I want to join in congratulating…”

“Today Tunisia celebrates its 40th anniversary of independence from French colonialism. I want to join in congratulating Tunisia on its social and economic accomplishments of the last 40 years, and to thank the Tunisians for their historic friendship with America. Two years ago I visited Tunisia with Senator Simon and Senator Reid. Initially, our visit was planned to meet with President Ben Ali, who at that time was President of the Organization of African Unity. However, we quickly learned that Tunisia itself is a story of many other achievements as well. As a small, secular Muslim country, nestled between two major, unstable powers, Libya and Algeria, Tunisia is playing an important and positive role in international politics. Because of its geography, it is a member of both the Middle East and Africa, and I am impressed how it has taken an active position in both regions. In 1982, after Yasir Arafat was driven from Beirut, Tunisia opened its doors and hosted the Palestinian Liberation Organization for 14 years. I believe that Tunisia's secular and developed society had a moderating influence on Arafat, which was a critical factor in launching the Middle East peace process. Likewise, it is no surprise to me that Tunisia was the first Arab country to host a U.N. multilateral meeting in connection with the Middle East peace process, or that it will be among the first Arab countries to establish formal diplomatic relations with Israel next month.”