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Marzouki criticises arrest of activists at Tunisia protests

January 18, 2018 at 9:46 am

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki holds a press conference in Tunis, Tunisia. [Nacer Talel/Anadolu Agency]

The Tunisian political party, Al-Irada Movement, has condemned the campaign of arrests that took place in the past few days of several bloggers, activists and young people who participated in peaceful protests in a number of Tunisian provinces.

Al-Irada Movement, led by former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, explained in a statement yesterday that the arrests affected a number of bloggers in the cities of El-Hamma, Korba, Takelsa, Sened, Sidi Bouzid, Goubellat, the capital Tunis and others.

The statement pointed out that “the arrests were accompanied by a campaign of incitement against the opposition and against the social movement by the head of government and a number of its members, political leaders of the ruling coalition and the media outlets that are loyal to them”, adding that the campaign of incitement included foreign journalists which suggested the revival of the official propaganda institution which was present during the time of tyranny.

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According to the statement, signed by the party’s Secretary General Imed Daïmi, these events indicate “the ruling regime’s instability and the will to exaggerate things by targeting the freedom of demonstration, the freedom of expression and the rights of the opposition, and through seeking to distort the popular movement and linking it to subversion so as to abandon its responsibilities to find solutions to lift the country out of the deepening economic and social crisis”.

Al-Irada Movement want a serious investigation into the burning of the local headquarters of the Popular Front in El-Aroussa, Siliana province, to quickly expose the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and to stop pursuing political activists, bloggers and actors in the popular movement.

The party held the ruling regime responsible for stopping abuses, protecting freedom of demonstration and maintaining security, and called on all “members of the political and social spectrum to address serious deviations that may threaten the democratic process”, according to the text of the statement.

At the beginning of this year there were a number of protests in Tunisia. Several private and public institutions were looted and set fire to in protests against the 2018 budget, which resulted in the increase of prices of a number of basic goods.