Editing Tunisia (section)

=== Struggle for independence (1943–1956) ===

After the liberation of Tunisia from the Germans, the French regained control over the government and made participation in a nationalist party illegal once more.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Rivlin |first=Benjamin |date=1952 |title=The Tunisian Nationalist Movement: Four Decades of Evolution |journal=Middle East Journal |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=167–193 |jstor=4322381 |issn=0026-3141}}</ref> [[Moncef Bey]], who was popular amongst Tunisians, was deposed by the French.<ref name=":02" /> The French claimed that his removal was due to him being sympathetic to the Axis countries during German occupation, but the real reason is up for debate.<ref name=":02" />

In 1945 after escaping French surveillance, Tunisian nationalist [[Habib Bourguiba]] arrived in [[Cairo]].<ref name=":02" /> While there, he was able to make contact with the [[Arab League]].<ref name=":02" /> Later in 1946, after traveling to other Middle Eastern countries, he made his way to the United States to speak to both the [[United Nations]] at their headquarters at [[Lake Success, New York|Lake Success]] and [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] officials in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]], pleading the case of the Tunisian nationalists.<ref name=":02" />

As part of postwar Tunisia, a new all-Tunisian labor organization was formed, the [[Tunisian General Labour Union|Union Générale des Travailleurs (UGTT)]].<ref name=":02" /> This was one of the stronger components of the nationalist group [[Neo-Destour]].<ref name=":02" />

Habib Bourguiba made his way to the United States on 13 September 1949.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Houssi |first=Leila El |date=2017 |title=The History and Evolution of Independence Movements in Tunisia |journal=Oriente Moderno |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=67–88 |doi=10.1163/22138617-12340139 |jstor=48572291 |issn=0030-5472}}</ref> He attended the [[American Federation of Labor]] meeting in [[San Francisco]], California.<ref name=":12" /> The French were opposed to his presence there, and the US feared political change in North Africa due to the looming presence of possible [[Soviet Union]] communist expansion.<ref name=":12" />

Bourguiba continued to plead to foreign leaders when he traveled to Italy on 6 November 1951.<ref name=":12" /> His contacts included [[Alberto Mellini Ponce De León]], [[Mario Toscano]], and [[Licinio Vestri]].<ref name=":12" /> De León was an old friend of Bourguiba who had helped free him from German captivity, Toscano was the head of the ''Ufficio Studi e Documentazione'' in the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], and Vestri was an [[Africanist (discipline)|Africanist]] scholar.<ref name=":12" /> Despite his best efforts, the Italians remained neutral as they did not want to ruin relations with [[NATO]] ally France, nor did they want to hamper any possibility of future relations with Tunisia as it served as a key part of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]].<ref name=":12" />

The French Resident General in Tunisia, {{ill|Jean de Hautecloque|de|Jean de Hauteclocque|fr}} left Tunis to go to Paris on 25 August 1953, when he was replaced by [[Pierre Voizard]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Levy |first=Henry L. |date=1955 |title=TUNISIA |journal=The American Jewish Year Book |volume=56 |pages=435–445 |jstor=23604900 |issn=0065-8987}}</ref> Voizard had previously been the French Minister to [[Monaco]].<ref name=":2" /> A month after his arrival in Tunis on 26 September 1953, Voizard made many changes to ease tensions in Tunisia.<ref name=":2" /> He lifted press censorship and freed several political prisoners.<ref name=":2" /> He also restored the full powers of civil authorities and raised the state of siege in the [[Sahel, Tunisia|Sahel]].<ref name=":2" />

On 26 January 1954, Voizard announced that there would soon be new reforms in favor of granting more sovereignty to Tunisians while insuring the interests of the French and French citizens in Tunisia, at the Cercle Republicain d'outre Mer in Paris.<ref name=":2" /> The Neo-Destour group was not in favor of these reforms if they themselves were not involved in their creation.<ref name=":2" /> They also demanded the freedom of Bourguiba who was imprisoned on the Isle of Galete.<ref name=":2" />