In Tunis, “supporters of the president threw stones and bottles at pro-Ennahdha”

Published on : 07/26/2021 – 19:05

He also announced the lifting of the immunity of parliamentarians and the freezing for one month of the activities of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP), whose President is the leader of the Islamo-conservative Ennahdha movement, Rached Ghannouchi. Finally, Kaïs Saïed announced to take the head of the executive power. Government premises in Tunis were closed to officials on Monday.

Supporters of the Islamo-conservative Ennahdha party, the main formation of the National Assembly with 54 seats, and which included government ministers, gathered in front of Parliament on Monday July 26 at dawn. They were quickly joined by supporters of the Head of State’s decision. The two camps exchanged insults and throwing projectiles.

They were separated by a cordon of law enforcement elements that tried to contain them, as shown in the video below. In the sixth minute, supporters of Ennahdha take up a slogan used by the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt against the seizure of power by the army in 2013: “Down with the military regime!”.

_{Video shot Monday, July 26 in front of the seat of Parliament in Tunis, showing pro and anti Ennahdha revolt.}

The video below shows pro-Ennahdha protesters attempting to forcibly enter the precincts of Parliament. Several Ennahdha supporters injured, radio reporter Zied Hosni says Shems FM.

This video shows supporters of the Ennahdha party attempting to invade the seat of parliament on Monday, July 26.

“Almost all of the injured are supporters of Ennahdha”

Zied Hosni, journalist for local radio station Shems FM, had been outside the Parliament building since the early hours of the morning.

At around 6 a.m., and while Rached Ghannouchi was still at the scene, supporters of Ennahdha flocked to the seat of Parliament to support him. Supporters of President Kaïs Saïed also arrived. They gathered in front of the exterior portal of the Assembly.

At first, the security forces directed the supporters of President Kaïs Saïed to another location around the Assembly, in order to avoid any clashes. But some have managed to get through the police network and approach the pro-Ennahdha to do battle.

Two hours later, sympathizers from both camps began to shout at each other. It was supporters of the President who started throwing stones and bottles at the pro-Ennahdha. The latter, in turn, retaliated. Supporters of the President mainly targeted the deputies of Ennahdha.

Almost all of the injured are supporters of Ennahdha, as they were violently attacked with stones by young people, who are believed to be supporters of the president. In the adjacent streets, there were also scuffles. There were a dozen minor injuries in all.

Rached Ghannouchi, the Speaker of Parliament had indeed gone to the seat of Parliament at 2:30 a.m. on Monday. Accompanied by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Samira Chaouachi (of the allied Qalb Tounes party) and other parliamentarians, he was refused entry by elements of the army posted behind the gates.

In these images, we see him getting out of his vehicle and then heading towards the gate. When the vice-president asks a soldier to open the door, he retorts (at 10’33 ”):“ We have received instructions. […] Parliament is closed ”.

_{Video showing the President and the First Vice-President of Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi and Samira Chaouachi, being refused access to the institution by soldiers, in the early hours of Monday July 26.}

At around 1:30 p.m., he left the scene according to Zied Hosni.

_{Members of the Tunisian parliament, including its president Rached Ghannouchi, held an online session on Monday, July 26 in protest at the freezing of the activities of the National Assembly.}

From the evening of July 25, a few minutes after the announcement of Kaïs Saïed, thousands of Tunisians had taken to the streets of the country to celebrate the president’s decision, braving the curfew in force to fight against the spread of Covid-19 ravaging the country.

_{Scenes of jubilation in the district of El Mourouj, in the south of Tunis, on the evening of July 25.}

“The police cars have joined the horn concert! An unreal scene ”

Ghaya Ben M’barek is a journalist based in Tunis, for the Tunisian media Meshkal :

Shortly after the President’s announcement, at around 9:30 p.m., cheers and fireworks were heard from the streets despite the curfew. Even though the details of Kaïs Saïd’s announcement weren’t very clear, people were happy to hear that the Ennahdha party was sidelined. [de l’Assemblée]. Everyone honked their horns and chanted slogans supporting Kaïs Saïed and insulting Rached Ghannouchi. On Avenue Habib Bourguiba [en plein centre-ville de Tunis, NDLR], there was almost no security presence: even the roadblocks usually placed at the level of the Ministry of the Interior were lifted, to our great surprise. Police cars have joined the concert of horns! An unreal scene: the very morning these same police officers beat the anti-government demonstrators at Bardo [devant le parlement]! ”

_{Police officers celebrate Kaïs Saïed’s announcement at the Soukra, in the north of Tunis.}

At around 11 p.m., three military tanks reached Avenue Habib Bourguiba, cheered by the demonstrators. It was around midnight that the crowd started to move towards the national headquarters of the Ennahdha party, located at Montplaisir (2.2 km from the city center). The aim was to invest the party premises [dans la journée, plusieurs manifestants ont saccagé des locaux de branches régionales du parti, NDLR].

_{A regional office of Ennahdha invested and sacked by anti-government demonstrators, in Tozeur (southwest), on July 25.}

On my way there, I passed safe vehicles. Protesters threw stones at the building. Others tried to enter through small alleys adjacent to the main entrance to the building. The party headquarters were surrounded by police officers who then shelled the crowd with tear gas and chased the protesters. This lasted until around 1:30 a.m. when most of the crowd dispersed. I did not see any Ennahdha supporters at the headquarters when leaving the premises.

_{Tear gas fire in front of the Ennahdha party headquarters in Tunis on the evening of July 25. Video Ghaya Ben M’barek.}

A political crisis that has lasted for months

For several months, the country’s leaders have failed to install a stable government. Against the backdrop of an acute economic, health and social crisis, three leaders clash without collaborating: the President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed on the one hand, the now dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and the president of the assembly Rached Ghannouchi, predominantly Islamist, on the other.