Tunisia: several thousand demonstrators against the suspension of Parliament

Published on : 11/14/2021 – 12:39

Clashes between police and demonstrators took place Sunday, November 14, near the Parliament in Tunis, where several thousand people had gathered to protest against the concentration of power in the hands of the president, Kaïs Saïed.

Several hundred police officers had been deployed in the neighborhood before this demonstration, organized to demand the resumption of parliamentary work and the return to normal functioning of the institutions.

“Freedom! Freedom! End of the police state!” Chanted demonstrators, who knocked down barriers obstructing several streets leading to Parliament near the Bardo Palace.

Kaïs Saïed assumed almost all constitutional powers in July, suspending parliament and sacking the government.

Accused of a coup by the opposition, he justified his decisions by the need to put an end to the paralysis of government action.

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He has since formed a new government, headed by Najla Bouden Romdhane, a little-known geologist with little political experience, and promised a “national dialogue” on the political system.

But several prominent political figures have been arrested, hundreds of people are banned from leaving the country and ex-President Moncef Marzouki, who has publicly criticized Kaïs Saïed, is targeted by an international arrest warrant for undermining interests. of the nation.

“We have been living under one-man rule since July 25,” Jawher Ben Mbarek, one of the protest organizers, said on Sunday.

For Abderrouf Ettaib, a former adviser to Saïed present in the procession, “Tunisia is now isolated on the international scene with the closure of Parliament and the coup d’état (…) We want to restore democracy”.

Last month, several thousand supporters of the president marched through the streets of the capital.

With AFP and Reuters