The 18 October Coalition for Rights and Freedoms in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, ( French: ''Collectif du 18 Octobre'') was formed when a number of political parties, NGOs and human rights activists advocating various political ideologies, among them

Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...

secularists Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

and

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, came together to campaign against the dictatorship, political misconduct and human rights violations of Tunisian president '' Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s'' regime in pre-revolutionary Tunisia. As the head of the Tunisian Journalists Union (SNJT- French
Syndicat National des Journalistes Tunisiens
and human rights activist Lutfi Hajji writes, the coalition “expressed the long- cherished hope of the political and civil forces in the country that by rallying around basic claims, a balance could be reached between the ruling party, which had dominated all aspects of political life for half a century, and the opposition forces which remained disparate and hindered by their internal and external disputes.” The Coalition arose out of a protest, organised by opposition and human rights groups, against the hosting of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society by Tunisia, in November 2005. The sit-in involved a 52-day protest at the headquarters of the Tunisian Order of Lawyers in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

and a 32-day hunger strike by the following eight national personalities representing various political parties and civil organisations: Abderraouf Ayadi,

Ahmed Najib Chebbi Ahmed Najib Chebbi ( ar, أحمد نجيب الشابي, french: Ahmed Néjib Chebbi) or simply Najib Chebbi (born 30 July 1944) is a Tunisian attorney and politician. Chebbi is a prominent figure of the Tunisian opposition movement; in 1983, he ...

, Samir Dilou, Hamma Hammami, Mohamed Nouri, Ayachi Hammami,

Mokhtar Yahyaoui Mokhtar Yahyaoui ( ar, مختار اليحياوي) was a human rights activist and a Tunisian judge. He was opposed to the system of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Yahyaoui was born on June 1, 1952 in the village of Ksar Hadada ...

and Lutfi Hajji. The strike began on 18 October 2005, one month before the World Summit on the Information Society, in order to draw attention to the violations of basic freedoms in Tunisia. The demands were: * Freedom of association for all * Freedom of information and expression * Release of political prisoners A forum was formed in which the opposition groups elaborated a shared vision for a democratic Tunisia. The Coalition produced joint position papers on fundamental issues such as consensus on democracy, civil liberties, gender equality, freedom of belief and conscience and the relationship between religion and state. The Coalition also laid the foundation for future common ground between Tunisia’s main political opposition forces, which served as a basis for cooperation after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

*http://snjt.org/ Defunct organisations based in Tunisia Defunct political party alliances in Africa Democracy movements Political opposition organizations Political party alliances in Tunisia