Opposition leaders in Tunisia struggled to organize a public meeting on Sunday (January 8th) against the policies of President Kais Saied in a popular neighborhood near Tunis, after an attempt by the police to prevent them, according to a statement and reports. local media.
The National Salvation Front (FSN), the main opposition coalition of which the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha is a member, 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 information sites and Facebook pages, including that of the FSN, we see 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 FSN from meeting in Mnihla, it succeeded in holding a public rally and conveying its message on the fight against the coup d'etat
," this coalition of political parties said in a statement. communicated.
On the images of the social networks, we also see militants favorable to Kais Saied, shouting “get
out,
get out ” or “
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 FSN
", commented this political coalition in its press release, castigating "
threats against the right of expression and meeting
”.
The coalition called for "
strong participation
" in 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.
