By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL (TURKISH JOURNAL) – Tunisia’s government has come under fire after Tunisian security forces arrested a number of prominent people including a judge over the weekend. There are major concerns about democracy and human rights in Tunisia after several MPs critical of Tunisian President Kais Saied were arrested along with parliamentarian and influential blogger Yassin Ayari. Also, Judge Bechir Akremi was placed under house arrest for 40 days. Reports indicate Saied made the moves after he promised to spearhead a campaign to eliminate widespread corruption in the North African nation. Saied has been under intense scrutiny and pressure for quite some time but especially after his sudden move to eliminate immunity for members of parliament, his sudden appointment of a new interior minister and his takeover of the government last week.
Saied’s sudden actions prompted leading parties to accuse him of staging a coup and has thrown Tunisia, into a head-on political crisis after he also fired the prime minister and suspended parliament for 30 days. So far, critics say Saied hasn’t taken any steps to reassure Tunisians of any government stability. Major criticism leveled at Saied is that he hasn’t yet appointed an interim prime minister or created a roadmap to end emergency measures he initiated. His actions came a day after he said he would “not turn into a dictator.” In a statement from his office, the former law professor commented: “I know the constitutional texts very well, respect them and taught them and after all this time, I will not turn into a dictator as some have said.” The military judiciary said on Sunday that Ayari would serve a two-month prison sentence for the accusation of “demoralizing the army.” Tunisian news agency TAP reported that Ayari was previously arrested in 2018 for comments criticizing the government.
Meanwhile, in an interview with TRT World on August 2, a prominent Tunisian politician from Ennadha, the largest party in parliament, called for all parties to come to the negotiating table in a democratic process. He grudgingly admitted that Tunisia had been headed for a political crisis for some time and that he is in favor of hearing a wide range of viewpoints to resolve the crisis. On Monday, Ennahdha had a sit-in outside parliament after it was surrounded by the army. Hundreds of Ennahdha supporters faced off with Saied supporters. Though Ennahdha has called Saied’s moves “unconstitutional” – they toned down their rhetoric with calls for open negotiation. Meanwhile, the judiciary said it opened investigations into four people linked to Ennahdha for what it claimed was “attempting to commit acts of violence” during the protest, including a member of a party council and two members with connections to its leader. The Ennahdha Islamist party has been a major player in Tunisian legislative elections since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution leading to Arab Spring uprisings throughout the Middle East. Some analysts report that Saied’s move to grab executive control may garner support after decades of mismanagement, corruption, political paralysis and economic stagnation in Tunisia.
