Tunisian President Qais bin Said, who has assumed almost all powers in Tunisia since the end of July, continues the so-called campaign against corruption, but judges, lawyers and opponents fear the country's drift towards tyranny, especially since the dissolution of Parliament can start from today, Monday, according to a road map. Unofficial.
The French newspaper (Liberation) summarized an article by Mathieu Galtier, in which he started from the arrest of Nabil Karoui, head of the Qalb Tounes party, and his brother Ghazi, an MP from the same party, to say that Kais Saied's supporters see their "flee towards Algeria" as evidence of the importance of the state of emergency that was established. On July 25, which granted the head of state almost complete powers after suspending Parliament and dissolving the government.
The president's supporters - according to the writer - are arguing that the most powerful personalities in Tunisia are trembling, and that the Karoui brothers are not the only ones, as the head of the Court of Cassation was placed under house arrest, elected officials were arrested, and managers of private and public companies were prevented from traveling, and the reason is always one, which is suspicion of corruption. without further details.
The writer saw that Tunisian citizens in general are tired of the parliamentary system, accusing the deputies of wasting time in mutual insults and cursing, instead of curbing unemployment of 18%, and the Corona epidemic, due to which Tunisia became the 18th country in terms of the number of deaths.
Extrajudicial measures
In this atmosphere, the president and professor of strict constitutional law multiply videos and speeches against what he calls "beneficiaries" as MPs who "stealed" and "mistreated" Tunisians, declaring that "the law applies to everyone", but human rights NGOs began to question intended law.
According to the French newspaper, the non-judicial measures used, such as travel bans and house arrest, are based on the 1978 decree, which the Administrative Judicial Code declares to contravene the 2014 constitution. Adjudication.
“It is not possible, even under the guise of fighting corruption, to break the rules of the law, especially the most basic ones,” said Amna Guellali, Director of Amnesty International’s office in Tunisia. Businesses who have been arrested, placed under house arrest, or banned from travel since September 8.
The writer cautioned that judges and lawyers in particular are targeted, and they are systematically questioned at the airport to see if they can board the plane or not. She - says a disgruntled lawyer who prefers to remain anonymous - "was promoted a little earlier in the Tunis Court of Appeal. We no longer understand the criteria" on which he was based.
The writer asked about the 63-year-old head of state, this lawyer famous for his integrity. "Does he want to start his career as a dictator?"
Explaining that he likens himself to French President Charles de Gaulle in 1958, and sees him as restoring order to a country in chaos.
However, Munther El-Shirni, a lawyer and member of the Organization against Torture in Tunisia, sees this as a continuation of decades of arbitrary policies, as former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali used Decree No. 78 to monitor political opponents, and then the police after 2011 resorted to using This text is in the name of fighting terrorism, and today Kais Saied uses it as a weapon against corruption. “Slogans change and practices are constant.”
roadmap
The writer cautioned that what the president is doing has remained vague so far after 50 days, but Qais Saeed pledged on Saturday evening to form a government “as soon as possible,” and hinted at the fate of the constitution with reference to possible amendments, while stressing that the Tunisian people “rejected” this text. .
The day before - as the writer says - an unofficial draft roadmap appeared in the media, stipulating the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament on Monday, the appointment of an interim government on September 21, a constitutional referendum in January 2022 and the holding of general elections in the spring.
However, the uncertainty raises the nerves of international players who are eager to know the name of the interim government head to judge his economic credibility, especially since negotiations between Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund to obtain a new loan have been suspended since last July 25.