OPINION

A good lesson from Tunisia

News, Editorial, Published on 12/10/2015

» In recent years, the Nobel Peace Prize committee has been criticised for handing out the world’s most respected honour as if it were a political bauble. Last week, it made no such mistake. The four-part Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet is more than just a deserving Peace Prize award recipient. The men and women - and the union they formed - is a democratic ideal. It can even serve as a model in many places. Thailand could try to replicate it, but it would take enormous effort to succeed. The Arab Spring began in Tunisia in 2010 when a street vendor set himself on fire in a political protest. By 2011, revolution was not just underway, but already beginning to wane and to fail. Other countries followed.