Opposition leaders in Tunisia struggled to hold a public meeting on Sunday (January 8th) against President Kais Saied’s policies in a working-class neighborhood near Tunis, after police attempted to stop them, according to a statement and reports. local media.
The National Salvation Front (FSN), the main opposition coalition which includes the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha, had chosen for an outdoor rally the district of Mnihla, where Kais Saied lived before moving in the fall of 2019 at the Palace of Carthage, after his election as President. On images from news sites and Facebook pages, including that of the FSN, we see the police trying to prevent the holding of the rally intended to mobilize the population against the monopolization of all powers by Kais Saied, since his coup de strength of July 25, 2021.
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On several videos, police surround the president of the FSN, Ahmed Néjib Chebbi, before he addresses several dozen people. “Despite the government’s attempts to ban the DSF from meeting in Mnihla, it managed to hold a public rally and convey its message on the fight against the coup.“, said this coalition of political parties in a press release. Social media footage also shows pro-Kais Saied activists shouting “get out, get out” Where “traitor», in the direction of Néjib Chebbi, a left-wing politician who served time in prison under the dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, overthrown in 2011.
“We denounce the attack by members of the Kais Saied militias and their use of physical and verbal violence against the leaders of the DSF“, commented this political coalition in its press release, castigating “threats against the right to expression and assembly“. The coalition called forstrong turnoutat a demonstration scheduled for January 14 for the anniversary of the fall of Ben Ali.
In addition to deep political divisions, Tunisia is in the grip of a serious economic crisis which is reflected in shortages of basic products (milk, rice, etc.) and a sharp drop in the purchasing power of families due to a inflation above 10% since December. Highly indebted, it has received an agreement in principle for a new IMF loan of nearly 2 billion dollars but is still awaiting confirmation.