EDITOR’S NOTE: We remain at the disposal of fellow journalists to explain our approach and its limitations. However, the editorial staff of Barr al Aman Research Media specifies that it does not accuse any moral or physical person. This article gives the floor to the main person quoted. It is  based solely on public data. We call on colleagues not to headline their articles “Barr al Aman accuses” but rather, “traceback”. The editors call on the Middle East Eye media to respond to the elements we present here.

Where did “the document” come from?

This document was placed on the drive in “reading” mode and displayed to anyone with the link. The name of the file is “article_80.pdf”. The owner of the drive account is Mr. Mahmoud Bondok [1], a journalist of Middle East Eye. After downloading the document and analyzing the metadata, we see that this document was written in Word and that the author is Beta methods B(m). It is important to mention here that our article that follows assumes that the metadata of the document has not been modified.

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This company presents itself as follows: “Beta methods B(m). Beta methods is a Financial engineering and consulting firm, which was founded by experienced and internationally trained professionals.”[2]

Where is this company located?

The address of creation is in Borj Baccouche, Ariana as it can be seen on the extract of the “Registre de commerce” that we downloaded from the Registre national des entreprises (RNE).

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However, on google research, it is this address in “Lac 1” that we found: office D 3 2, Dar Maghrebia – Les Berges du Lac – 1053 – Tunis

Who is the representative of this company?

After identifying the company’s page on facebook[3], we were able to find its domain name. This domain is registered to Walid Balti[4]. A name that we also found in the RNE identity sheet available above.

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We are not saying that this person wrote the letter and this is not an accusation against the legal person he represents or his physical person. However, we say that the PDF document posted by Middle East Eye was exported from a Microsoft word program whose author is “Beta methods (m)”.

What is Walid Balti’s background?

A priori, there is no profile of Walid Balti on facebook (with his real name, Editor’s note). However, on linkedin, we find him with a profile picture that reminds us of the press conference room of the Kasbah, the seat of the Tunisian government.

Going back in his professional career, we notice that Walid Balti was an adviser to the Minister of Sports:

“Adviser of Minister of Youth and Sports

Ministry of youth and sports of Tunisia

Dates Employed Mar 2012 – Mar 2014

Employment Duration 2 yrs 1 mo”

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It was therefore under the government of the troika that he was appointed[5] and precisely by Tarak Dhiab. He was dismissed from the board of the public company Promosport on May 13, 2015 by order of the Minister of Sports Maher Ben Dhia.

Balti, the “spokesman” of a sports betting company

We find little about Walid Balti on facebook, except for this video interview on Cap FM[6]. He is there as a representative of the sports betting website www.bountou1x2.com. In the legal notice of this company, we find Beta Methods as one of the “two firms specialized in accounting, auditing, consulting and financial engineering. ” [7].

Although no mention is made of the role of spokesperson, there is an additional link between “bountou1x2” and “Beta Methods”. Indeed, the address of the “commercial department” of “bountou1x2” is office 2, 3rd floor block D dar Maghrebia – Les Berges du Lac – 1053 – Tunis, which is the headquarters of Beta Methods.

On the other hand, Walid Balti’s media outings are relatively rare. One of the most remarkable is undoubtedly this publication in 2018, which resembles a right of reply, published on the site of mtunisia[8] (previously Al Mutawassit, reputedly a conservative channel and close to the Ennahda party). He defended the activity of the company bountou1x2, as a promoter of sports and sports clubs, contrary to the statements of the CEO of the company Promosport where he sat a few years earlier.

Walid Balti, the activist for transparency and against corruption

What caught our attention in this open letter addressed to the CEO of the public company Promosport in 2018, is that Mr. Balti presents himself with his quality of former member of the board of directors of the company but also as a former adviser to the Minister of Sports. However, the speech he holds corresponds much more to his role as spokesman for Bountou1x2.

Although legally, there is no opposition to an individual working in the environment or sector of activity in which he or she was an advisor to the state, the risk of “revolving doors” is quite tangible. Indeed, by advising and amending legislation between 2012 and 2014 as an advisor to the Minister, Mr. Balti was in a privileged position a few years later as a consultant in the same field.

Mr. Balti’s response, reached by Barr al Aman Research Media:

We called the landline number of the company Beta Methods, Mr. Balti identified himself as the manager of the company, he said:

“I have no idea why my company’s name was mentioned in the metadata of this document. I have no relationship with Mr. Bondok. I thank you for warning us, especially since these are very serious matters. The fact that I was an advisor to the Ministry of Sports has nothing to do with it. I will ask our IT people to check, it could be any other company with the same name.”

What we don’t know until publication:

We found no public affiliation of Mr. Balti with any particular political party. He stated that he ‘has no connection with any particular party’.

Some publications about Mr. Balti have come from media outlets not known for their probity, such as Etthawra news, which accuses Mr. Balti of falsifying documents in connection with the president of the Tunis Tennis Club and his former superior Tarak Dhiab. 9

Our article does not incriminate Mr. Balti, nor the company Beta Methods. It questions them. Indeed, Mr. Balti is not alone in this enterprise. We have managed to identify two employees of Beta Methods. First, Mrs. Salhi[10] or Mr. Abdeladhim[11].

A Beta Systemes, behind Beta Methods

Our research through the employees allowed us to identify the latter (Mr. Abdelhadhim) as a “relay” person between Mr. Balti’s first company and the second, whose name resembles the first and which is domiciled at the same address: “Beta-systemes”[12][13] which has a dozen employees/collaborators, some of whom are foreigners.

The latter has several points in common with the former beyond the address. Bountou1x2 is a common customer. One of the employees works for both companies according to his linkedin profile. Another common point is the radio Cap FM which is a client of the second company but which invited the founder of the first to speak. Another element is that the employee who works for the “two betas” also worked for Cap FM and published articles as a journalist under that name[14]. However, the company that we found under this name in the RNE does not a priori correspond to the same company.

When questioned, Mr. Balti indicated that it was a company “domiciled” at this address.

The trade register of the Beta Systemes company that we found

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Références:

[1] Original link to the drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o3e9B-0QeHxduPJvIG-cwOZYr5MALZ1u/ Click on the three dots at the top right of the screen to display the menu and then click on “Details” to see the owner.

[2] https://tn.linkedin.com/company/betamethods

[3] https://www.facebook.com/pg/Beta.methods/

[4] https://who.is/whois/beta-methods.com

[5] الجمهورية التونسية  —  قرار وزير الشباب والرياضة  رقــم 611  لسنة  2012  —   بتاريخ 12 / 6 / 2012

[6] https://www.facebook.com/CapFm.PageOfficielle/videos/1615192038561739

[7] https://www.bountou1x2.com/mentions-legales?system_code=CASUAL-B&language=fr&token=

[8] https://mtunisiatv.com/2018/02/28/%D8%B9%D8%B6%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%82-%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B1-%D9%85/

[9] http://athawra-news-tunisie.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-post_30.html

[10] https://www.linkedin.com/in/amna-salhi-7886ba180/

[11] https://www.linkedin.com/in/elyes-abdeladhim-838033200/

[12] https://www.beta-systemes.com/

[13] https://tn.linkedin.com/company/beta-systems?trk=public_profile_experience-item_result-card_subtitle-click

[14] https://www.cap-fm.tn/ar/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B1/

• The people of Tunisia invented new ways of a revolution in total respect of the legitimacy of laws and constitution and not against it.
• It is an unprecedented cultural revolution, it is not books of leaflets, it is the explosion of an awareness, that took shape after a long silence. It is the realization of the people that he can reorient his destiny.
• Tunisia transitioned from a Law-based-State to a Law-based Society. And Tunisian people genuinely embodied this spirit.
• It is a historical moment, and a revolution which will shake pr-set political conceptions.
• We thank all Tunisians that contributed their efforts to the campaign. 
• Our administration needs to be independent and impartial, and needs to respect  differences. 
• We will fight the threat of terrorism and a bullet from a terrorist will trigger bursts of bullets from our side. 
• Fighting poverty is a must and responsibility on our shoulders. 
• There is no way for unlawful, informal work.
• No one can steal the freedom that people reclaimed with blood. Not under any banner or circumstance. And those who are nostalgic for a old era are running after a mirage, against the history’s trajectory.
• No way for a setback in women’s rights. We need to expand them, especially social & economic rights, as the dignity of the people is in the dignity of women.
• We need to fulfill the hopes of the people for “Jobs, Freedom, and Dignity”
• The people are in need for a new trust relationship between rulers and citizens. 
• Those who gave their blood to liberate the country are ready to contribute their work and money to push it forward. And contribute to reduce and limit its debt. 

• He thank persons in the Tunisian diaspora abroad who said they were ready to donate one day of work to alleviate Tunisian public debt.
• We stand for just causes, and Palestine in the first place. It is not a position against Jews, we protected them and are ready to do it again, but it’s a position against racism and colonization. Our position is not negotiable under any deal.
• We carry the same commitment for our international obligations, but the cooperation between Peoples is the most important.
• We are looking to build a new history in which Humanism is the core value.
• Coming challenges and responsibilities are big. But the will of the people will help new rulers leave a better country for future generations. 
• The president is the symbol of unity and national independence. And no one is better than anyone, only in the love of the country. He shall rise beyond all conflicts. He invites everyone to rally together around national unity, for the benefit of Tunisia.

Find below the video of the full speech.

Beyond stigmatisation and glorification,  M. Saied is unintentionally among the candidates which carry a discourse that only presents and perceives politic through the lens of law, while excluding other social, ethnographic, political aspects. So what political vision is supported by this discourse?

Kais Saied and the relationship to law

On the academic level, Kais Saied is a graduate with a Diploma of Advanced Studies  in international law. He is a lecturer in Tunis and Sousse law faculties. All of his life revolves around law. Married to the President of the civic chamber of the tribunal of first instance, all of his family is socialised to the language of law, which is echoed in his discourse. This strong relationship with constitutional law is the extension of his long academic trajectory. 

Kais Saied was the general secretary of the Tunisian Association of constitutional law from 1990 to 1995. He later became the head of the public law studies department at the Sousse University between 1994 and 1999, period during which Abdelkarim Zbidi was the university’s president. He also worked as a constitutional law expert, for instance with the general secretariat of the Arab League in 1989 and 1990, and later with the Arab Institute for Human Rights from 1993 until 1995. The candidate was called by the media in his quality of legal expert to give an informed insight at various key moments of the political transition. We also recall that he refused to be member of an expert commission to review the new constitution in 2013 in order “not to legitimate the political choices that were already taken”

A democratic alternative? 

Since the first years after the uprising, Kai Saied considered that the élection of a Constituent Assembly emerged from a center-oriented conception of power. Convinced of the need for a reinforced decentralisation, Saied promotes the “inversion of the hourglass of political power”. This means opting for a bottom-up electoral process.

Starting by the election of local councils, which will give birth to regional councils. The regional directors of the central administrations would attend to the meetings of these regional councils. The process will yield regional development plans which respond to the local aspirations.

In this political and administrative reorganization lies a tool inspired by the principles of direct democracy: the revocability of elected officials. These measure constitute the differentiation of the candidate with regards to his competitors. How to put in practice these ideas at a time where the political system is already in place? The candidate suggests organizing a referendum to amend the constitution.  

A conservative candidate 

However, some positions of M. Saied spark controversy over their conservative character. Three main positions are under light: First, his refusal of the “public expression” of homosexuality, ignited by “foreign actors” according to him.

M. Saied is also in favor of maintaining the death penalty, although the sacredness of the right to life is highlighted in the constitution, and despite all the arguments advanced for its abolition. 

The third controversial position is the refusal of equality between men and women in inheritance. Based on a culturalist and sovereigntist argumentation, Kais Saied rejects any debate about the issue, which was notably mentioned in the report of the Commission for Individual Freedoms and Equality mostly known under the name of “Colibe”.

These 3 key points are what make his retired academic clear positioning on the “socio-cultural question. In the eyes of a part of civil society, working on the protection and consolidation of civil and democratic achievements, these positions are not welcomed. 

“Can we sell more olive oil in Europe? Can we mention that it is a product coming from Tunisia? Would it be possible to postpone the next negotiation meeting? What guarantees do we have that our business owners and investors will be allowed on the European territory?” 

These few questions may seem simplistic, and obviously caricatural… but they eventually sum up, in a nutshell, the Tunisian negotiators discourse. 

Swapping dates, oranges and olive oil for Euros, but what is the counterpart? Where will the thousand tons of wheat consumed by Tunisian households in the form of subsidized baguettes and flour come from? What should the agricultural sector serve for? feed the local population or increase the foreign currency reserves? Should the right to healthcare take precedence over the intellectual property rights and the profits they generate for pharmaceutical companies?
These fundamental questions do not seem to be part of the Tunisian negotiators’ preoccupations. Is this an exaggerated statement? Perhaps. 

At the risk of recalling the obvious, the European Union is Tunisia’s first trade partner. But the EU is by no means a charity organization. It is an economic and political entity, one of the most powerful in the world, which position is being threatened by the USA and China. 

It is both predictable and legitimate that the EU defends its economic interests and its sphere of political influence in the region. And it should be the same for Tunisia. Interests of these actors can converge… but they can diverge as well.

It is not a question of discussing the modalities and extent of deeper free trade with the EU, but of assessing the balance of power and the impact of each article, each paragraph of this agreement on the lives of citizens, but also of the Tunisian State. As Ignacio Garcio Bercero, chief negotiator of the EU, states, Tunisia represents only 0.5% of the European market, while the European market represents more than 70% of Tunisian exports.

Why taking as much interest in Tunisia, then? Why didn’t the negotiation take place at a the Maghreb scale in order to reduce the lack of proportion between the negotiating parties? Indeed, Tunisia is in a relationship of economic and political dependence on the EU. Would Tunisia be able to re-balance or even… better negotiate its dependence? 

The EU and Tunisia are bound by an association agreement since 1995. What conclusion can we draw from it? The evaluation on Tunisia’s part is dragging. The terms of reference used to choose a consulting cabinet were published in January 2017. Selected at the end of 2018, it is barely starting its work just as this article is being written. Our requests to access information about the final interim reports remain unanswered. 

In this series of article about DCFTA, we will first address the ongoing negotiations, happening in the dark. They are the fruit of an investigation led by Fadil Aliriza after a conference by the Tunisian Forum on Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) held in October 2018.

Thereafter, we will concentrate on the topics of food security and sovereignty. The third article will focus on the fragile balance between the right to life and health and the right to intellectual property, a balance which might be challenged by the DCFTA. 

Our demands since October 2018 to meet the Tunisian chief negotiator, Hichem Ben Ahmed, currently Minister of Transport remained fruitless. His European counterpart, Ignacio Garcio Bercero, chose to answer our questions by email. 

Finally, the critical perspective is raised to us by Maha Ben Gadha, head of the economic programs at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation – North Africa. Beyond these articles, our media, Barr al Aman, will produce meetings and Facebook lives to assess these embryonic public policies.  

Let us imagine a private, parallel and transnational justice to defend the interests of investors considered “not enough protected” by Tunisian laws. Let us imagine medicines whose production and marketing were prohibited because of extensions in protection periods, additional to those originally planned by the patent. 

Let us imagine calibrated, certified, imported and European-norm-compliant potatoes in our supermarkets. Let us imagine an adaptation of our job market to European expectations…

The Deep Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) proposed to Tunisia by the EU certainly has an advantage: it questions us about who we are, and what we want to be.

Translated by An Hoang-Xuan