Having initiated the Arab Spring, the people of Tunisia must now be freed from their illegal external debt and be allowed to complete their country's democratic transition.

A government's debt can be successfully challenged based on four (4) principles:

a- The loans were unacceptable. These include odious loans, or loans contracted by despotic regimes against the best interests of their people.

b- The terms and/or conditions of the loans were unacceptable. These include loans with usurious interest rates.

c- The loans were inappropriate. These include loans granted for the purchase of weapons by a regime known to be oppressive.

d- The terms and/or conditions of the loans were inappropriate. These include loans issued by lenders who failed to follow due diligence procedures.  

As it is evident that part of Tunisia's debt falls into each if these four (4) categories, the current situation is further exacerbated by the facts that Tunisia:

a- Disbursed $22B over the 23-year regime of former dictator Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, of which $11.7B were for interest payments alone.

b- Still owes $20.1B to international creditors.

c- Is reimbursing $160 for every $100 borrowed by a dictator.

d- Is budgeted to borrow, in 2012, $2.8B from international lenders and, at the same time, is scheduled to make a $2.7B payment on the debt.  

I, therefore, enthusiastically support the campaign to:

a- Engage both government agencies and civil society entities in implementing meaningful and collaborative solutions to managing Tunisia's external debt.

b- Draft into the new Tunisian Constitution legislations that prevent future acquisitions of illegitimate debts.