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 The quartet of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the
Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA),
the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH), and the Tunisian Order of
Lawyers was formed in the summer of 2013.
It helped support the democratization process when it was in danger
of collapsing, the Norwegian Nobel committee said in its citation.
"This is a great joy and pride for Tunisia, but also a hope for the
Arab World," UGTT chief Hussein Abassi told Reuters.
"It's a message that dialogue can lead us on the right path. This
prize is a message for our region to put down arms and sit and talk
at the negotiation table."
With a new constitution, free elections and a compromise politics
between Islamist and secular leaders, Tunisia has been held up as a
model of how to make the transition to a democracy from
dictatorship.
"This a brilliant example, I think Tunisia is one of the Arab
countries that has done best since the so-called Arab Spring and the
upheavals in that part of the world," said Ahmad Fawzi, chief U.N.
spokesman in Geneva.
The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 8 million Swedish crowns ($972,000),
will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the quartet for providing an
alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country
was on the brink of civil war.
"More than anything, the prize is intended as an encouragement to
the Tunisian people, who despite major challenges have laid the
groundwork for a national fraternity which the Committee hopes will
serve as an example to be followed by other countries," it said.
Committee head Kaci Kullman Five told Reuters: "I think it's timely
to put the limelight on the positive results that have been obtained
in Tunisia to try to safeguard them, to try to inspire the Tunisian
people to build further on this basis."
CRISIS AVERTED
After an uprising that led to the ousting of autocrat Zine
El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and inspired the "Arab Spring" protests,
Tunisia now has a new constitution, free elections and a coalition
government with secular and Islamist parties.
In 2013, Tunisia appeared to be sliding into a political crisis that
would end its transition, with secular opponents demanding that an
Islamist-led government step down.
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Angered by the assassinations of two of its leaders and emboldened
by Egypt's army-backed ousting of an Islamist president, Tunisia's
opposition held protests against the ruling Islamist Ennahda party.
The government had agreed it would step down but wanted more
guarantees of a fair handover.
The UGTT with other civil society partners negotiated between the
two sides, helping form a caretaker government to hold power until
new elections were held.
The crisis ended, and last year Tunisia held successful legislative
and presidential elections to complete its transition.
Problems remain, however. In March, Islamist gunmen killed 21
tourists in an attack at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, and 38
foreigners were killed in an assault on a Sousse beach hotel in
June.
More than 3,000 Tunisians have also left to fight for Islamist
militant groups in Syria, Iraq and neighboring Libya. Some of those
jihadists have threatened to return home and carry out attacks on
Tunisian soil.
The Nobel Committee's choice came as a surprise. The quartet had not
been mentioned in any of the speculation in the run-up to the
announcement, which instead focused on Pope Francis, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and anti-nuclear weapon campaigners.
"This is extraordinary, incredible, unexpected... It brings support
from the world to Tunisia for its democratic process," LTDH member
Chocri Dhouibi told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
(Additional reporting by Patrick Markey in Tunis and Stine Jacobsen,
Terje Solsvik and Alister Doyle in Oslo; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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