ISIS returnees to Tunisia may face assimilation or exclusion

The political scene of Tunisian has seen a state of confusion over the issue of the returning of Tunisian fighters from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS or Daesh). This  floundering state has been deepened after Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said many of the militants want to return home, and “any Tunisian should not be banned from returning home.”

Tunisia is the Arab country that has the highest ratio of foreign fighters among ISIS ranks in war-stricken countries of Syria, Iraq, and Libya; It has been estimated that the number of ISIS foreign fighters from Maghreb countries reached 7,370 militants (6,000 Tunisians, 1,200 Moroccans, and 170 Algerians), according to a report released by Soufan Group in December 2015.

Due to the huge number of Tunisian militants, the returning of those fighters to their home has posed a threat against the state, raising the questions on the state’s ability of assimilating them into the Tunisian society or exclusion from it. Other questions were brought up on the repercussions of the returning on Tunisia’s stability and security, which are are seen by the West as a good example of  post-Arab Spring successful democratic transition.

Prolonged  Controversy

Consequently, a state of division between supporters and opponents has been created regarding the returning of the fighters.

Pro-return group includes Islamists such as members of Ennahda movement, the political arm of Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in Tunisia. This camp saw the assimilation of the returnees into the society is a human right, calling for applying the Article 25 of the Tunisian Constitution, which stipulates that “no citizen shall be deprived of their nationality, exiled, extradited or prevented from returning to their country.”  Head of Ennahda movement Rachid al-Ghannouchi has announced that the movement supports the return of the Jihadist fighters.

The second camp of the anti-return of the Jihadist fighters consists of the liberal and leftist currents and trade unions such as the National Federation of Tunisian Security Forces' Syndicates (UNSFST). They warned of turning Tunisia into “Another Somalia” if the fighters returned home. They also called for revoking their Tunisian nationality, saying that assimilating the militant will root and disseminate terrorism as those fighters were trained on how to use all advanced weapons and to shed blood.  

The second camp also believe that the returning of the militants will form an army of domestic sleeping agents, accusing some political parties (an indication to the Islamist parties) of  “whitewashing” the militants to allow their return regardless their threats.

Those secularists and leftists argue that the notion of the return contradicts the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which stipulates, as per the Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, that all countries should prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts, criminalize the “funds by their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds should be used, or in the knowledge that they are to be used, in order to carry out terrorist acts.”

In accordance with the resolution and the Tunisian constitution, terrorists who fight in other countries shall not be allowed to return to Tunisia without being held accountable.

The controversy escalated after center-leftist and liberal President Essebsi said the threat of the militants has become something from the past and “any Tunisian should not be banned from returning home.” However, he retracted his saying when he gave a speech to the public in 2016, saying that the Tunisians, who are returning from fighting areas will be held accountable in accordance with the Law. “They (militants) will not be welcomed by flowers,” Essebsi said.

Why is the returning of militant fighters vital  issue for Tunisia?

Tunisian authorities have adopted new legal measures to allow to Jihadist militants to return home as they record the highest number of the fighters among Arab militants in ISIS; It has been allocated an amount money in the state’s 2018 budget for carrying out the measures, according to the National Commission on Counter-Terrorism, which is tasked to legally frame anti-terrorism strategies. However, the pro-assimilation strategies will not be applied for the fighters who were proved guilty of killing, slaughtering or committing criminal acts, even after serving their times.

Moreover, Tunisia is the largest Arab country exports female fighters to ISIS; a total of 300 Tunisian women have joined ISIS- affiliate in Libya, said the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in a report titled “The others: Foreign Fighters in Libya” and published on January 12, 2018.

It has been estimated that Tunisian female fighters represent 10 percent of the women of ISIS. Recruitment of women is a key factor in the group’s strategy; it exploits the social and emotional bonds between women and their children to raise another generation of militants full of extremist ideologies.

The standard of human rights is another factor that Tunisia has to put into consideration when it deals with those returnees; Its international human rights partners have called on the authorities to adopt a cultural and social approach in accordance with the Tunisian Constitution to solve the problem of returning terrorists, not only via a security approach.

At the same level, the issue of the returning of the Tunisian fighters could have international repercussions on the northern Maghreb countries. Thus, the international efforts towards it should be strengthened to root out terrorism. Cooperation of exchanging the security and intelligence information is a must.

In short, the controversy of the returning of the militant will continue for a long time. Similarly, European countries still have a longstanding controversy over the returning of their nationals who joined ISIS; they have different opinions on the mechanisms of dealing with militants, whether to take a primitive actions or allow them to indulge into the society under certain conditions.