Qais Saeed responds to Erdogan: Tunisia is not an Ottoman state waiting for a firman

Today, Wednesday, Tunisian President Kais Saied responded to the statements of his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, hours after summoning the Turkish ambassador to inform him of Tunisia's protest against these rejected statements.

In a speech he delivered during his visit to the tomb of former Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba, in the city of Monastir, on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of his death, Kais Saied stressed that his country "rejects foreign interference in its affairs," saying that "Tunisia is not an Ottoman state waiting for a firman."

He added: We have our sovereignty, and we have our choices based on the popular will. We are not a deer - in the Ottoman administrative division, it was the initial administrative level between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries - and we do not wait for our decree from a certain authority, and we do not accept foreign consuls.

He continued: "The Tunisian people will say their word away from any attempts at foreign interference, and we will work, God Almighty, to complete the people's march towards complete freedom away from any interference in our internal affairs."

The Tunisian Foreign Ministry announced, earlier today, the recall of the Turkish ambassador to Tunisia, against the background of the recent statement made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the situation in Tunisia.

The ministry stated, in a new statement, that "Tunisian Foreign Minister, Othman Al-Jarandi, had a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.

And the Tunisian Foreign Minister said, in a tweet to him via Twitter: "I made a call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and the ambassador was summoned, and I informed them that Tunisia rejected President Erdogan's statement and considered it an interference in Tunisian affairs."

He added that "the relations of the two countries must be based on respect for the independence of the national decision and the choices of the Tunisian people alone, and that our country does not allow its democratic path to be questioned."

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Tunisians Abroad expressed its deep surprise at the statement made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding her country.

In a statement, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry considered this statement an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs, and totally contradicts the fraternal ties that unite the two countries and peoples, and contradicts the principle of mutual respect in relations between countries.

She stressed that as far as its commitment to the constants of its foreign policy and its keenness to build close relations with brotherly and friendly countries, based on cooperation, solidarity, consultation and mutual trust, it also adheres to the independence of its national decision and strongly rejects every attempt to interfere with its sovereignty and the choices of its people or to question its irreversible democratic path.

Yesterday, Tuesday, the Turkish president stressed that the dissolution of the elected parliament in Tunisia constitutes a blow to the will of the Tunisian people, saying: "We regret the dissolution of the Assembly of People's Representatives, which held a plenary session in Tunisia on March 30, 2022, and for the start of an investigation against the representatives who participated in the session."

Erdogan expressed his hope that these developments would not harm the ongoing transitional phase towards establishing democratic legitimacy in Tunisia.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news