The protest march was organized on the initiative of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT)
Thousands of Tunisians participated on Saturday in a protest march in the capital, Tunis, to defend the right to organize and denounce the deterioration of the economic and social situation.
According to the correspondent of Anadolu, the largest union in the country (UGTT) called for participation in this demonstration, which started from Place Mohamed Ali towards Avenue Habib Bourguiba.
Labor Union secretary general Noureddine Taboubi said in a speech that ”the UGTT will denounce any act of violence and will be on the front lines if the Tunisian president is the subject of an assassination attempt” .
”We want peaceful change through democratic mechanisms,” lambasted the UGTT.
On Friday, Saïed met with the Minister of Social Affairs, Malek Ezzahi, wondering during their meeting, ” if there is a state in the world which accepts plans to assassinate the President of the Republic, without that they are held responsible?”.
”There are many enemies hiding in Tunisia. Some ally themselves with those who want to escape the law. The latter are calling on foreigners to demonstrate on our territory, but this is unacceptable at all levels,” said Saïed.
On Thursday, the union announced that authorities prevented a Spanish union official from entering the country to take part in Saturday’s protest march.
”The trade union center will not agree to jeopardize freedoms in the country, whatever the outcome. Workers around the world are united against injustice and fighting for the right to organize and to strike,” Taboubi said.
And the president of the UGTT added, ”some are trying to demonize the central trade union. The last fortress that remains in the country are the unshakable forces of the components of civil society, so let’s be unshakable”.
“Our only weapon is argumentation and persuasion, and we are not supporters of violence and terrorism,” he continues.
Taboubi underlined, in this sense, that “the term dialogue” has become a crime. However, we are in Tunisia, a land of openness and tolerance, despite the difference of opinion”.
As of 09:55 (GMT), Tunisian authorities have not commented on Taboubi’s statements, but they generally deny the accusations and affirm their commitment to rights and freedom of expression.
The demonstration is part of a series of protest movements announced by the UGTT since the beginning of last February, to defend trade union rights and reject the deterioration of the economic and social situation in the country.
The country is experiencing a severe economic crisis, exacerbated by the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, and the high cost of importing energy and raw materials, following the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
Tunisia has also been going through a political crisis since July 25, 2021, when President Kaïs Saïed imposed exceptional measures.
Tunisian political parties consider Saïed’s emergency measures to be a ”coup against the 2014 Constitution and a consecration of autocratic power”, while other political parties consider it a ”restoration” of the process of the 2011 revolution.
Saïed, who began a five-year presidential term in 2019, said his decisions on emergency measures were taken within the framework of the Constitution to protect the state “from imminent danger”, emphasizing the preservation of rights and freedoms.
