Published on: August 07,2021 14:55 IST
By Isabelle John
Introduction
Tunisia faces its worst crisis in a decade of democracy on the 26th of July succeeding the removal of government and suspension of parliament conducting by the President, Kais Saied. This move was aided by the military and was condemned to be a coup by the country’s principal leading parties, which included Islamists.
The President’s actions emanated after months of cessation and disputes that pit him against the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Hichem Mechichi and a fractured parliament.
This was as Tunisia plummeted into an economic crisis, amplified by one of Africa’s detrimental Covid-19 outbreaks.
The Crisis
The crisis involved intense confrontations on the street, criticizing the President. These critics included Islamists and they provided warnings that he was jeopardizing the democratic system which was introduced shortly subsequent to the Arab Spring uprising in 2011.
As a result, in response, Saied, under the constitution, invoked emergency powers, on Sunday the 25th, in order to suspend parliament for 30 days as well as dismiss Mechichi in the process.
This caused a great riot and the parliament speaker, Rached Ghannouchi, head of Ennahda condemned the move as an assault on democracy and called for protests to take place voicing their dissatisfaction against the ousting. “Kais Saied is dragging the country into catastrophe,” he stated to Turkish television.
However, an enraged Saied extended the already existing pandemic restrictions on movement the next day and promised that if there as an uprising of any violent opposition that they would be faced with force.[1]
He also tried to persuade people to not go out into the streets and to stay away from responding to any aggravated assaults, “I call on the Tunisian people to stay calm and not respond to any provocations”.
The White House is yet to determine whether the Tunisian President’s actions can be constituted as a coup. The U.S. State Department, however, has warned the country not to “squander its democratic gains”.[2]
What occurred on the Streets?
Though the President warned citizens that violent opposition would be faced with force, rival groups opposed each other outside the parliament building on Monday.
They threw stones at each other and yelled insults. However, these protests were of a minimal amount, limited to several hundreds. There were also no major incidents of violence that was reported.
In response to this, the Tunisian military surrounded the government palace and the parliament and prohibited state workers and members of parliament from entering the national television station as well as the buildings. Al-Jazeera stated that the police came to its bureau and ejected staff.[3]
Support for the President’s Decision
Large gatherings of individuals filled the streets in support of the president’s recent move which directed their anger at the moderate Islamist Ennahda, which was the biggest party present in Parliament.
They also vocalized their dissatisfaction on the economic stagnation, the country’s pandemic response, and the government over political paralysis.
Tunisia records one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the African region, their economy shrank 8 percent last year and on Monday their hard-currency bonds plunged.[4]
The Citizen’s Take
One individual, Abderrazak Gasouma of 53 years, said that he was in almost full support of the president’s decision. In his words, “the decisions are 99% correct, I’m just not sure about the methods, they should have been more democratic.”
He also mentions that the parliament has lost their citizen’s trust and that what they need is for the younger generation to be a part of it all and for a reduction in the amount of people fighting. He also went on to say that the parliament was very much needed, however “it needs trust”.
Another citizen, Firas Gallah, who is a 24-year-old student, said that the coup, described as such by the elected officials, was way overdue. “It should have been like this for 10 years. Those corrupt politicians, they took the money, and they did nothing. You have to go and see our hospitals. They would shock you. Look at our hospitals, our houses our cars. It’s wrong.”
He agreed that democracy was fine however, “The problem is Tunisian democracy. We’re all fine. We want to live together, and we should. You want to pray, I want to drink beer, so what? Everyone can do what they want.”[5]
Mechichi’s Response
He is currently not under arrest and present at his home and a source who is close to him has stated that he would not be a “disruptive element” and was willing to hand over the reins to whoever the President, Saied wanted to appoint.
Saied, till date, has not said when he is going to appoint a new premier or relinquish the emergency powers. However, he has ordered that the foreign institutions and state administrations stop their work for two days.[6]
Saied’s Defense
Saied has stated that his actions can be deemed constitutional and a popular response to a great period of political and economic immobility. His support comes from Article 80 of the constitution, which provides him with the power to freeze parliament and lift the immunity of its members, dismiss the government, and appoint a temporary administration.
As expected, Ennahda and other principal parties have proceeded to dispute Saied’s interpretation of the article and what it states out and Ghannouchi has denied any statement of his consultation.
In addition to Ennahda accusing Saied of a coup, two of the other principal leading parties in parliament, Heart of Tunisia and Karama are also in support. Regional allies of Ennahda, which includes Turkey, have also decried Saied’s decision as a coup.[7]
The social media Uprisal
The crisis has caused a surge in social media manipulation and propaganda, most of it skewing details and altering the narrative to justify Saied’s decisions. The hashtag, “Tunisian’s revolt against the brotherhood” began to trend on Twitter not long after the news broke out. This was a reference to the Muslim brotherhood.
It is clear on Twitter that the Tunisians are not reporting en masse that they are rebelling against the Brotherhood. Contrary, it is the propogandists that are speaking on behalf of the Tunisians and are trying to convince international and local audiences alike that the Muslim Brotherhood is in representation of an existential threat and that the thought of liberation from them, and their power is justification enough to return to a rule of authoritarianism.
Hence, the support for Saied’s actions.[8]
Conclusion
There is great opposition that supports both sides and both sides fight a good fight. However, time is yet to tell if whether this action by the president can constitute a coup and what is to happen next. The Prime Minister himself proves to show no opposition to Saied’s actions despite being removed from power.
There has been constant opposition to the democracy after decades of its presence and this could just be the push towards authoritarianism that Saied wants, especially after the support he is receiving both by the citizens and individuals internationally through social media.
Reference-
- Tarek Amara & Angus Mcdowall, “Tunisian democracy in turmoil after president sacks government”, Reuters, July 27 2021, available at: reuters.com (last visited on July 30, 2021). ↑
- Ibid ↑
- Simon Speakman Cordall & Martin Chulov, “Tunisia’s political crisis greeted with indifference on streets of capital”, The Guardian, July 27 2021, available at: theguardian.com. (last visited on July 30, 2021). ↑
- Ibid ↑
- Ibid ↑
- ibid ↑
- Ibid ↑
- Marc Owen Jones, “Tunisia crisis prompts surge in foreign social media manipulation”, Al Jazeera, July 28 2021, available at: aljazeera.com (last visited on July 30, 2021). ↑