Tunisia forbids opposition protests due to “plots”
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Roshan Amiri
- . March 4, 2023
- . Update: March 4, 2023 6:15 pm
Authorities in Tunisia announced on Thursday that they had forbade a demonstration by the main coalition of the country’s opposition, claiming that prominent members are accused of crimes against the state.
The “so-called National Salvation Front’s” request to stage a march on Sunday, according to Tunis prefect Kamel Feki, “was not granted since some of its leaders are suspected of planning against state security.”
This month, some 20 important political figures—mostly opponents and detractors of President Kais Saied—have been detained in Tunisia.
The largest set of arrests since Saied overthrew the government and shut down the legislature in a power grab in 2021 resulted in the detention of numerous members of the Front and its main constituent, the Islamist-leaning Ennahdha party.
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Two party leaders, Sadok Chourou and Habib Ellouz were reportedly arrested on Thursday, according to Tunisian media.
Ennahdha called for Tunisians to take part in the protest “en masse” and claimed that the arrests were undertaken with the objective of “terrorising the opposition.”
In response to “political arrests and breaches against public and individual liberties,” the NSF had called for a demonstration on Sunday.
One of the people imprisoned, the head of a well-known radio station, has been accused by Saied of “terrorism,” causing ongoing food shortages, and engaging in government-hating activities.
The arrests have been termed as a “politically driven witch hunt” by Amnesty International.
Another demonstration against Saied’s “one-man rule” is scheduled for Saturday but was not included in the prefecture’s announcement.
A senior official from one of the largest unions in Spain, who had planned to attend the protest, was turned away at the Tunis airport, according to the UGTT, which reported this on Thursday.
The statement said: “We recently learned with amazement that comrade Marco Perez Molina has been forbidden from accessing Tunisian territory.
The UGTT characterised this as “another violation of the fundamental principles of freedoms and human rights” as well as trade union rights.
It takes place less than two weeks after Saied urged Esther Lynch, the highest union official in Europe, to leave the country after she spoke at a UGTT rally in support of Tunisian workers.
Since one of its executives was detained in connection with a walkout of traffic employees, the UGTT and Saied have been engaged in a simmering conflict. According to Saied, political considerations are the cause of the strikes by unions.
