Tunusian opposition leader hails Turkey's democracy as a model

The Tunisian people consider the Turkish experience in democracy a model example for Tunisia's post-revolutionary period, according to key Tunisian opposition leader Rashid Al-Ghannushi. Al-Ghannushi, the head of Tunisia's strongest opposition movement Ennahda, previously banned for two decades, told reporters on Monday that Justice and Development Party (AK Party) rule in Turkey has made for a period of reconciliation between Islam and democracy. "This is what we see as the model for ourselves," he said. He added that both his party and the AK Party are conservative democratic parties and that the Turkish experience and Tunisia's share a great deal. "We are very well aware of Turkey's democracy experience, and we want to benefit from it," Al-Ghannushi said. Stable, with a vibrant economy and ruled by a conservative and pragmatic government led by the most popular figure across the Arab world, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has often been cited as a model Muslim democracy and a linchpin of Western influence in the region. Al-Ghannushi also praised Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who visited Tunisia on Monday as the rotating chairman of the Council of Europe, and said Turkey is holding consultations with everyone in the country and that Turkey always stresses the will of the Tunisian people. "This is significant," the opposition leader said.