Tunisians protest against decline of freedoms in the country

Hundreds of Tunisians demonstrated in the centre of the capital yesterday to denounce what they considered as a decline in freedoms in the country.

The march, organised by the Tunisian Network for Rights and Freedoms, a coalition consisting of leftist and liberal associations and parties, started in front of the Municipal Theatre on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in the centre of Tunis and moved towards the Ministry of Interior on the same street.

It was organised to mark the 14th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power.

Protesters chanted slogans, most notably “No fear, no terror, the street belongs to the people,” “Leave”, “The revolution is coming” and “The freedoms of the police state are over.”

Secretary-General of the Tunisian Workers’ Party, Hamma Hammami, told Anadolu news agency that “the Tunisian people have tasted freedom since 2011, and they cannot back down from this achievement.”

He added that “the people aspire to achieve the slogan chanted in 2011, which is: Work, freedom and national dignity.”

Hammami called for “restoring the spirit of the 2011 revolution to confront this regime [of President Kais Saied], especially during the stage that the country is going through and the unrest that threatens the region and our country.”

“We are back at square one of tyranny, but under the ashes there is a flame. The people are submissive now, but this submissiveness will not last, as this is the history of the Tunisian people, but the rulers have not learned their lessons,” he added.

The party leader noted: “I am certain that the Tunisian people will act again, provided that we are united, have an alternative to this regime, and learn from the mistakes of the 2011 revolution.”

Tunisian opponents believe that the revolution has suffered a setback in terms of democracy, rights and freedoms since Saied imposed his exceptional measures in 2021. They denounce the arrest of politicians, media professionals and activists, some of whom the authorities accuse of “conspiring against state security”, while the opposition attributes their arrests to their rejection of the exceptional measures.

These measures include dissolving the judiciary and parliament, issuing legislation by presidential decree, approving a new constitution through a referendum and holding early legislative elections.

Tunisian forces consider these measures “a coup against the revolution’s constitution and the establishment of an absolute individual rule”, while other forces supporting Saied see them as a “correction” of the course of the revolution.

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