The German government has congratulated the Tunisian "National Dialogue Quartet", which has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is "an excellent decision of the Nobel Committee," said federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert in Berlin.
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"The German government extends its warmest congratulations to the members of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet," announced government spokesperson Steffen Seibert at the government press conference shortly after the announcement was made in Oslo.
Tunisia’s National Dialogue Quartet consists of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT, Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA, Union Tunisienne de l'Industrie, du Commerce et de l'Artisanat), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH, La Ligue Tunisienne pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme), and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers (Ordre National des Avocats de Tunisie). It "represents the collaboration of civil society, in order to strengthen democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights," said the government spokesperson. The Prize is
"the well earned reward for work to promote democracy, for keeping faith with the idea that a people who have shaken off a dictatorship deserve something better than a new dictatorship".
In this way the members of the Dialogue Quartet, who collaborated on the drafting of an exemplary constitution as part of a lengthy process, gave their people hope. "And they gave the world hope – the hope that democracy and the rule of law are possible, even under the difficult conditions that prevail in this region," said Steffen Seibert.
Government spokesperson Steffen Seibert warned, however, that Tunisia is a country in which terrorists repeatedly attempt "to derail the country on its way to democracy and the rule of law, because this does not correspond to their interests". He recalled the terrorist attacks in Tunis and Sousse a few months ago. The Nobel laureates stand as an example of the "new Tunisia". "The new Tunisia knows that Germany stands by it, both to build democracy and to defend it from its enemies," said the spokesperson unequivocally.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured the four member organisations of the Quartet for their "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011," as Chairperson Kaci Kullmann Five said. The Quartet "established an alternative peaceful political process" when the country stood on the brink of civil war.
Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also welcomed the decision of the Nobel Committee. "Without the concerted, committed and courageous efforts that Tunisia’s organised civil society made for democracy and fundamental rights, looking beyond any other social and political differences, there would have been no chance of transformation and change in Tunisia," he said during a visit to Madrid.
It is thanks to the Dialogue Quartet that developments in Tunisia went so well in spite of all the difficulties and challenges that had to be faced, he said. "This will encourage civil society everywhere, but especially in the Arab world, to be active and involved." The dedicated work of the Dialogue Quartet generates hope and confidence that peaceful change is possible.
Germany actively supported the work of the Dialogue Quartet from its beginnings. Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met representatives of the Quartet on a visit to Tunisia in April 2014.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in Oslo every year since 1901 on 10 December, the day Alfred Nobel died. Like the other prizes it is worth eight million Swedish kronor (equivalent to 850,000 euro).