Wikileaks: The underside of Arafat’s Widow’s Expulsion from Tunisia

New American diplomatic cables, posted by the website Wikileaks, were taken up and translated by the Spanish daily El Pais. They shed new light on the matter of Arafat’s widow, who was suddenly deprived of her Tunisian nationality on August 2nd, 2007.
Supported by Ben Ali’s family after her husband’s death in November 2004, Suha Arafat was granted Tunisian citizenship on September 18th, 2006 by a decree signed by the president Ben Ali.
 She was enjoying a privileged status in Tunisia. She launches into business with Leila Ben Ali, in a major project involving a private school, the “International School of Carthage”. She established several companies in Dubai and invested, also in mobile telephony.
 But suddenly the tide turned against her during the summer of 2007. On August 2nd, 2007, a presidential decree deprived Suha Arafet as well as her daughter of the Tunisian nationality. She thus lost her privileged status and she was chased away from Tunisia, leaving behind some 2.5 million Euros invested in the project of the “International School of Carthage”.
 According to the same cable (REF: A. IIR 6 897 0136 07 (NOTALS) B. 06 TUNIS 2570) in a conference call that took place in mid-October between Mrs. Arafat and Mr Godec, the American Ambassador in Tunisia, Suha Arafat attributed her expulsion to the personal animosity of the First Lady Leila Ben Ali, following a dispute over the forced closure of Bouabdelli’s School, which is a serious competitor for the new “International School of Carthage”, a joint venture between the two first ladies.
The Ambassador recognizes that it is difficult to know every facet of this case.
Nevertheless, the corruption stories surrounding the International School of Carthage give credibility to this version. Meanwhile, Mrs. Arafat did not hesitate to share with the Ambassador a scathing critique of the president Ben Ali and his Wife.