Tunisia.. a protest by the largest trade union, and Said warns against the participation of foreigners in it

The Tunisian General Labor Union is organizing a gathering and a protest march in front of its headquarters today, Saturday, in the capital, Tunis, in rejection of the government's policies, while Tunisian President Kais Saied warned against the participation of foreigners in the protest.

The federation said that its protest came to denounce what it considered targeting union freedoms and individual and public freedoms by the authorities, in light of the unprecedented deterioration of the economic and living conditions of Tunisians, according to the expression of the largest trade union organization in the country.

These moves come amid escalating tension between the trade union organization on the one hand and the state and government presidencies on the other.

The trade union organization accuses the ruling authorities of seeking to lift subsidies on basic materials and selling public sector institutions in implementation of the conditions of the International Monetary Fund, and attempting to target the organization and trade union work.

President's position

On the other hand, the Tunisian president said that the Labor Union "is free to organize demonstrations, but it is not free to invite foreigners to participate in them," as he put it, in what seemed to confirm the authorities' decision to prevent a number of foreign union officials from entering the country to participate in the demonstrations organized by the Labor Union.

The meeting of the President of the Republic #Qais_Saeed with Mr. Malek Al-Zahi, Minister of Social Affairs.

#TnPR https://t.co/qai9r6RII7

- Tunisian Presidency - Tunisian Presidency (@TnPresidency) March 3, 2023

President Saeed said - during his meeting with Minister of Social Affairs Malik Al-Zahi - that inviting foreigners to demonstrate and participate in protests in Tunisia is "absolutely unacceptable."

The trade union organization considered the decision to prevent foreign trade unionists from entering Tunisia as a decision that harms its reputation and represents another witness that it is heading towards tyranny, as described by the union's spokesman, Sami Al-Tahri.

The Labor Union stated on its official Facebook page on Friday that the authorities prevented the entry of representatives of union federations in at least 6 countries in order to participate in the protest.

Salvation Front

In turn, the opposition National Salvation Front said that it would not respond to the authorities' decision to prevent the front's protest scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday, and said that it was an arbitrary and invalid decision, adding that it was issued by an uncompetent authority for reasons not related to the law.

The Front added in a statement that it upholds its right to demonstrate on March 5 at 10:00 am (09:00 GMT) from Republic Square to Habib Bourguiba Street (in the capital).

The Front includes 6 parties: the Ennahda Movement, the Heart of Tunisia, the Dignity Coalition, the Tunisian Movement of Will, Hope, Action and Achievement, in addition to the "Citizens Against the Coup" campaign.

international positions

In turn, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said on Friday that work must be done to preserve democracy in Tunisia, from which the Arab Spring began.

Guterres added in an interview with Al-Jazeera that no one should be arrested in Tunisia for his political opinion.

Yesterday, Thursday, the US State Department expressed its concern about the campaign of arrests against activists in Tunisia, under the pretext of their communication with the US embassy there.

"This is part of an escalating trend of arrests against those perceived to be opponents of the government," said State Department spokesman Ned Price, noting that US diplomats around the world meet different people in all countries.

Since July 25, 2021, Tunisia has been experiencing an acute political crisis after President Said took exceptional measures, the most prominent of which is the dissolution of the Judicial Council and Parliament, the issuance of legislation by presidential orders, the holding of early legislative elections, and the adoption of a new constitution.